Bristwestival: Twitterati coming together for charity
Mar 3rd
On Thursday March 25th, Twitter users from Bristol and all over the country will be gathering together to help raise money for a well-deserved charity at BRISTWESTIVAL.
Follow Friday – 17th February 2010
Feb 19th
In an attempt to continue on from last week’s #FollowFriday post here are my recommendations for peoploe you should e-stalk on the Twitters.
@Clear_Thinking – Worked closely with these guys for over a year. I learned a great deal and they just lovely people. They publish really useful and insightful marketing tips on a regular basis, know what they are talking about and have the experience to back it up! They also have fascinating collection of clients, which they often refer to, meaning you uncover interesting things like Trollbeads.
@bristwestival – A fantastic event on March 25th, bringing Bristol’s Twitter community together for some music, food and a natter, while raising some vital funds for Concern Worldwide, an international humanitarian organisation working to reducing suffering and ending poverty. I attended last year’s event, which was raising money for charity:water, and had a fantastic time even though I’d just gotten into Twitter. Now I know more, its bound to be even more enjoyable! (I’m trying to drag @lgladdy and @Chutzpah84 along)
@tfma_event – I’m off to this event on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, so its interesting to me to follow them. They’ve got Google giving an Analytics masterclass as well as other keynotes speakers helping you get the best from digital marketing, CRM, SEO, PPC – all sorts marketing focussed.
@lgladdy – Although I recommended him last week and I’m trying my best to vary them, my workmate Liam gets another nod. His recent work on my wedding list and the Gradwell homepage – http://bit.ly/64N0fI – is fantastic, with the addition of a new navigation, oversized footer and, best of all, a telephone number search. It also doesn’t hurt that he is a genuinely nice guy, bargain hunter and proud geek.
Until next week fair followers…
Follow Friday – 12th February 2010
Feb 12th
When I started this blog, my first post was about a new in-depth way to take part in the popular Twitter trend #FollowFriday. My blog post even inspired my workmate @Chutzpah84 – who I recommended in that post – to create his own blog with his Follow Fridays.
I’ve been a bit slack on following my first go, since that was the 27th of November, but here we go…
The first round goes to my new workmates who are still terribly bewildered by Twitter, so help out @hamsterpawz, @jameskellock101 and @mr_ozmaster. These guys all work together in the Gradwell Sales office, and have felt that Twitter has passed them by, so are drastically trying to catchup with everyone else!
My second recommendation is another Gradwell workmate. @lgladdy is a great source of tech news (with a little iBias), hot bargains and new interesting apps (such as Glympse). He is a generally happy, giggly fellow who seems to thrive when given a project, whether it be develop the Gradwell homepage or find me some cheap shoes!
My third promo slot goes to a podcast. This only really applies if you like football, but the @FootballRamble is a fantastic listen. Very funny down-to-earth guys, who can deliver an in-depth analysis of the latest football news when needed, plus there is the profile at the end of every episode, teaching you about some of football history’s great players, teams, competitions and venues.
Staying on the football lines, @optajoe is like a sporting rainman and gets my fourth nod. An endless feed of stats and sequences relating to the latest football news and results. How many goals have a certain team scored in the last 15 mins of each match? What percentage of goals have been conceded from corners? What are the head-to-head results of an upcoming clash? Opta Joe is your man. And if you like different sports or countries there is Opta Jean, Opta Jim, Opta Jose and Opta Paolo to choose from!
I do have a few more to recommend, but I’ve run out of space on my tweet for all their usernames, so they can wait until next week!
The wedding rumbles closer…
Feb 8th
The past two weekends have been very busy. In fact, the past two weeks have been very busy. Kelly and I had a day off last week and we were busier than if we had gone to work!
Wedding plans
They take a lot of time and effort – even for the bridegroom! The past two weekends effort has only a nearly-complete wedding list, some invitation/order of service ideas and a meeting with our Reverend.
And with under 5 months to go, its going to get busier!
We’ve done all the major stuff. church booked? Check. Reception venue secured? Check. Rings bought? Yup. Kelly’s dress delivered? Done. We’re just getting a little lost on the honeymoon and evening entertainment front. Oh naff it, I even managed to forget we’ve kind of forgotten about the cake!
While we try and tackle these obstacles, I’ll just continue to lurch from “holy crap this is a huge deal” to “holy crap this is exciting” with the regularity of a Swiss timepiece…
Which is your URL shortner of choice?
Dec 7th
We all have one. A favoured URL shortner to save those precious characters on Twitter. I personally use is.gd, mainly because its nice and short – and thats all that matters right?
Wrong!
URL shortners are not just for doing that very thing. They can also be utilised for marketing pruposes, as they can track statistics and sources, so you can really analyse where your link went and what it brought back for you.
This was a very recent realisation of mine as I was pointed towards bit.ly. My account is now filled with the links I have shared and I can quickly see how many clicks they got, where those clicks came from and where the link has been used (I often reuse the same short URL a few times).
Statistics report from bit.ly
As far as I’m aware, tinyurl.com was the first popular link shortner, pre-dating Twitter. It was utilised by businesses to shorten truely long URLs, perhaps for really long knowledgebase URLs, or URLs that contained lots of info, such as pre-filled forms. However, I feel that although it led the way, tinyurl.com is being overlooked by the majority of the Twitterati as it uses up 6 more characters than the ever popular bit.ly.
So I ask you, dear visitor, which URL shortner do you prefer and why?
Save money with Twitter this Christmas
Nov 27th
I started the Holiday season early recently with my ‘What makes your Christmas playlist?’ post detailing my festive top 10, so thoughts now turn to presents – what to buy everyone?
As I get older, the excitement of Christmas is dwindling as the danger of the overdraft looms more and more each year. There is no getting away from it, Christmas is expensive. However, there are certain Twitter accounts you can use yourself a pretty penny (if not pound).
1. @quidcodeals – http://www.quidco.com
Quidco is a cashback site. I’ve gone through them to buy CDs, signup for gas, buy home insurance – and I’ve earned back over £300! Well, @quidcodeals is their Twitter that alerts you to their time-sensitve deals, such as free £12 chocolates from Thortons,50% cashback on Hallmark cards and £125 cashback on 02 mobile broadband.
2. @playcom – http://www.play.com
Play.com is one of the leading entertainment retail sites and it one of my first stops for CDs, DVDs, games and books. their Twitter feed is running a new deal every day at the moment. Over the past few days there have been headphones, TV boxsets, clothing and today’s special offer is the Godfather Trilogy for just £14.95 delivered, so they are well worth following.
3. @MoneySavingExp – http://www.moneysavingexpert.com
Money Saving Expert has become synonymous with claiming back bank charges over the past year or so, but it does still have a great community that alerts everyone to great deals on all sorts of things from cashback, sales, loopholes and just ways in which to cut everyday costs.
4. @netvouchercodes – http://www.netvouchercodes.co.uk/
Net Voucher Codes is a new one to my radar, but they have been posting codes and sales to places like Argos, Kurt Geiger, Boots and Marks + Spencer. Most are referral codes that give you a percentage off, but they also alert you to any one-day sales.
I’m still trying to find a UK version of Cheap Tweet…
Have you got any Twitter accounts or websites you keep an eye on to save money? Let me know, leave a comment!
Follow Friday – 27th November
Nov 27th
Last week I made my first post here about a new way to post your recommendations for the Twitter trend ‘Follow Friday’. I also mentioned that it was a method I might pick up, so, thanks to @efficiencycoach, here are my Follow Friday recommendations for this week:
I’d first like to suggest @GradwellTweets. I’ll come clean. I work for Bath-based Gradwell, but they have great offers with other companies, innovative telephony products and were recently named as one of the fastest growing tech companies in the UK.
My second reccomendation is really a double-header. @BryonyThomas and @CherylCrichton. I worked with Bryony and Cheryl on a year-long project for Gradwell. They are now both Clear Thinkers at Clear Thought Consulting and are producing fantastic blogs, the most recent being about writing a thorough brief to suppliers, as well as being generally excellent marketing consultants!
Next up is @quidcodeals. From the cashback site Quidco, this feed gives you the best of time-sensitive deals from participating retailers. For example, yesterday there was free £12 chocolates from Thortons and an extra 20% off at Burton – well worth following in the build-up to Christmas.
Penultimately, my work colleague @Chutzpah84, or Rob Weeks as I know him. An all-round nice guy, Rob’s tweets provide an insight into the ‘everyman’ life and findings on the Interwebs of a new dad in and around Bath/Bristol – although he does like talking about ‘The Restaurant‘. Also helps out at Freelance Supermarket, which showcases the best of freelance services in the UK.
Lastly, @efficiencycoach, because I can’t steal her idea without giving her a mention!
What makes your Christmas playlist?
Nov 25th
So its official. I saw the advert on the TV and that’s it. The holidays ARE coming.
Its time for Christmas music – all sleigh bells and choirs – to dominate the eardrums and airwaves (although we might be granted a reprieve until December 1st).
To try and get round a month of Slade and Wizzard, I’ve compiled an all-time Christmas playlist of my own:
1. A Marshmallow World (Live) – The Rat Pack – Christmas with The Rat Pack
A great Christmas tune, which sets a classic scene of snow everywhere, the sun shining, sharing it with “your favourite gal” and generally having fun. Also shows the great chemistry between the famous three in this live version, with the crowd laughing along to their presumed horseplay.
2. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – Jackson 5 – Ultimate Christmas Collection
A generally upbeat tune about the imminent arrival of the jolly red fellow, while showing why Michael Jackson was a star from a very young age. Includes the classic line “You better watch out, you better not cry…”, so it all but demands to be included.
3. What’s This? – Danny Elfman – Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack
A song from 1993’s animation, written by Tim Burton (and the general look is very Burtonesque), about Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween, discovering Christmas for the first time. He’s excited about everything, from hanging garlands to the food. It’s near enough just one big list of why we love Christmas!
4. It’ll Be Lonely This Christmas – Mud – Playlist Christmas
A more mellow choice, with the focus of this one on how Christmas is not always a happy time for everyone, as some people have few people to share it with. Yet, the optimist in me sees it as a little call to make sure those you know who might be alone around Christmas are invited to share your Christmas time!
5. Wonderful Christmastime – Paul McCartney – Playlist Christmas
A return to cheery Christmas tunes. This one appeals because of the sleigh bells throughout, a general bounciness, the bizarre, wavy synth at the start and the repetition of the message “Simply having a wonderful Christmastime” over and over.
6. Little Saint Nick – Beach Boys – Christmas with The Beach Boys
Christmas sung by surfers. Cool, eh? The voices, as always with The Beach Boys, layer so well and its jut generally a good sounding tune, especially “Run Run Reindeer” sections. it was also used in a Coca-Cola Christmas Ad. Can’t get more festive than that can we?
7. A Spaceman Came Traveling – Chris De Burgh – Spanish Train and Other Stories
When you really think about it, this song is a tad odd. Its a re-telling of the Archangel Gabriel telling the Shepherds about the birth of Jesus, but with a spaceship and a spaceman instead… Yeah. Told you. Either way, it captures the atmosphere of space really well with all its twinklings, but it really comes into its own with its “And it went, la-la-la-la-la” etc.
8. It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – Andy Williams – The Very Best of Andy Williams
Although it might fall into the ‘overplayed’ category, you can tell its going to be a good one when a Christmas song begins like a Disney movie, lots of ah-ah‘ing and building cymbals – then Andy ‘Moon River’ Williams pops in. “Its the ha-happiest season of all”. Spot on Andy. All about being cheery and enjoy it. Talks of carols, parties, Christmas tales, mistletoe, loved-ones and snow. What else does a Christmas need?
9. Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Balls End) – The Darkness – Platinum Collection
All the classic Christmas tunes tend to come from over two decades ago, so there needs to be a more recent entrant on this list. Chistmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End) fits the bill. It has great guitar solos, falsetto vocals, a children’s choir and it was only beaten to Christmas Number 1 by the non-Christmassy Mad World in 2003, plus its a much better choice than Walk This Sleigh by Robbie Williams…
10. Christmas Time All Over The World – Sammy Davis Jr. – Christmas with The Rat Pack
Back to the crooning classics for my last choice as Sammy Davis Jr. gives us a jaunty tune about how its Christmas for everyone all over the world, which (queue cheesy grin) is what its all about. Its just really happy and even has kids singing Happy Christmas in the background in different languages.
So thats my choices, what are yours? Are you an avid fan of John Lennon, or perhaps Shakin’ Stevens? Let me know by leaving a comment!
If you think my choices are spot on, or you can’t be bother to make your own, this playlist is available on Spoitfy via this link.
A better way to Follow Friday?
Nov 20th
Its long been a staple of the Twitterati but there has always been serious flaws with one of the most popular hashtag trends on Twitter.
Follow Friday – often seen as #ff or #followfriday – is a great way to broadcast your favourite users to new followers, and its something I usually partake in myself. It is a way of showing your followers the interesting people that you keep tabs on and is an endorsement that their tweets are well-worth a read.
However, the system is very flawed in the fact that a typical follow Friday post will be the hashtag and usernames (e.g. #ff @jakepjohnson @GradwellTweets), without an explanation as to what the user tends to post about, what they do or why you think they are worth following.
Today I came across a Twitter user who I had come across a few times from various RT. Heather Townsend, known as @efficiencycoach, tweets a simple message of “my #followfriday recommendations for this week” followed by a link to her blog, explaining why these people are worth following, what they’re like as people and why she endorses them, as seen below:
I found this to be a much better than the traditional #ff post as it gave an insight into the users and wasn’t just a list of names. Although Heather’s method of recommendations requires the visitor to follow the link to the blog, it does not require more effort, in fact, it could quicken to process. The traditional process is as follows:
- Click on the recommended username
- Read 5-10 tweets to get a feel for the personality of the user
- Either follow them or go back to the original post and do it all over again
Heather’s method for #ff allows you to find out about more than one recommended user in just one click! Instead of going to several user pages and reading hundreds of tweets, one click gives you snapshots of several users.
It is also better for Heather to post like this because the recommended users can see what Heather thinks of them and why she recommends them. It becomes less of a nod in their direction and more of a testimonial!
I thought it to be such a time saver – and of benefit for those being recommended – that I set up this blog to do the very same next Friday!