What I Learned at 140 | The Twitter Conference (round-up)

View this blog post “What I Learned at 140 | The Twitter Conference (round-up)” on my new blog site at SmokeJumperStrategy.com/blog.

Well its been a couple of weeks since the 140 | The Twitter Conference ended. The Twitter Conference (#twrcon) has come and gone. A NYC Twitter conference – 140 Character Conference – is now on (#140conf).  And I completed my 8-part round-up of my learnings from my experience at #140tc.

1. The Power of Presence. Insights from Alex Payne, Twitter API Lead.
2. I am a Twitter God(ess) and So Can You! The View From Twitter Stardom with @ijustine, @missrogue and @davepeck.
3. Don’t Take the Drive to Manic Feature Explosion. What Makes a Good Twitter App.
4. Twitter business start-ups are combination socialist and radical markets.   Twitter Strategies:  Real-World Success Stories.
5. WTF, No Twitter TV!? Direction from Anamitra Banerji, Twitter Product Management.
6. Even with a simple hash tag, there is a learning curve.   Soren MacBeth, Co-Founder / CEO of StockTwits.
7. You can’t own social media. You can only interact with it. Corporate Use of Twitter by @JetBlue.
8. Twitter will transform conferences & events. Surprising takeaways from an in-person Twitter conference experience.

What I Learned at 140 | The Twitter Conference (part 6)

View this blog post “What I Learned at 140 | The Twitter Conference (part 6)” on my new blog site at SmokeJumperStrategy.com/blog.

“Even with a simple hash tag, there is a learning curve.”
Soren Macbeth
Co-Founder / CEO
Stocktwits

Soren (@sorenmacbeth) joined a panel with Brian Solis (@briansolis) of PR 2.0 fame.  Brian unveiled a new tool, Twitterverse, that attempts to map the Twitter Universe.  (Interesting when searching for Brian’s Twitterverse image, I found 17 Ways to Visualize Twitter.)  Unfortunately I missed most of Brian’s talk – he has written a good recap of The Twitter Conference and TWTRCON, complete with his broader perspective on Twitter on his blog post:  Is Twitter Evolving from the Facebook to the Myspace of Microblogs? Analyzing Twitter trends and demographics.

Soren shared his experience in founding and building StockTwits.  His original idea was to develop detailed and complex algorithms, reputation indicators and stock pricing information.  That idea evolved into something dramatically simpler with the use of the “$” tag.  I missed whether this was something Soren pushed on Twitter or

merely observed and utilized.  In any event, as those interested in stocks utilize $ preceding a stock symbol, it gets pick up by StockTwits for all others to see.  StockTwits is positioned as a real-time Bloomberg for the small investor.

Soren’s experience contains some potentially valuable lessons about Twitter and sites based on Twitter.  My quick takeaways:

• Real time data.  By engaging twitter users interested in stocks and the market, StockTwits provides immediate insight into how people are viewing, reacting, thinking about companies.
• Simplicity is key. Soren is clearly a bright and thoughtful individual.  His business got traction once he let go of the more complicated casting of his original idea and latched onto something mere mortals could utilize.  One of the cool things about StockTwits is many users don’t know (or care) that they are actually using Twitter!
• Power in structured data. This panel seemed to understand something that could be Twitter’s biggest contribution to technology (and dare I say to humanity?) – the mass amount of real-time data that Twitter is generating (or users of Twitter are generating to be more precise).  Products that can utilize this data and present it in a compelling manner are likely to be winners.  The categories that this basic concept could be applied are plentiful – travel, gossip, wine, etc.
• Interface matters. Although this point wasn’t discussed directly, as I looked at StockTwits as well as the many tools and utilities that are being built around Twitter, the sites that capture and hold my attention focus on design and usability.  It’s not that I can’t use crude or “techie” interfaces, it’s just that I’m impatient.  Soren did note that he is loathe to add complexity – a philosophy that is perhaps inspired by Twitter itself and I believe is one that will continue to serve him.

I’m satiated . . . more later.

 

1. The Power of Presence. Insights from Alex Payne, Twitter API Lead.
2. I am a Twitter God(ess) and So Can You! The View From Twitter Stardom with @ijustine, @missrogue and @davepeck.
3. Don’t Take the Drive to Manic Feature Explosion. What Makes a Good Twitter App.
4. Twitter business start-ups are combination socialist and radical markets.   Twitter Strategies:  Real-World Success Stories.
5. WTF, No Twitter TV!? Direction from Anamitra Banerji, Twitter Product Management.
6. Even with a simple hash tag, there is a learning curve. Soren MacBeth, Co-Founder / CEO of StockTwits.
7. You can’t own social media. You can only interact with it. Corporate Use of Twitter by @JetBlue.
8. Twitter will transform conferences & events. Surprising takeaways from an in-person Twitter conference experience.

 

Just Because You Can, Should You?

Read this blog post Just Because You Can, Should You? and on my new blog site at SmokeJumperStrategy.com/blog

Just because you are technically able to create a product, should you? Google announced a new feature called Mail Goggles in their gmail blog yesterday. It is a play on words on “Beer Goggles” (presumably) which describes a state whereby previously unattractive individuals start to look better after imbibing in a few alcoholic beverages.

So is it a good idea? Michael Arrington doesn’t think so – hates math and doesn’t think a few math problems will prevent him from sending that drunken email. I tend to agree. Why do people need to self-moderate? I suppose those with more impulsive and compulsive personalities and those that create irreparable damage and chaos with their emails.

Personally, I look back with some fondness and a wry smile of the early morning, post-bar “drunken dial” long distance calls I allegedly made to afar female friends. (There was a time when I actually “dialed” a phone that was tethered to the wall with a cable made of copper wiring). Even if the call necessitated a sheepish apology in the morning or the following day, I’m not sure having to do some math (which I actually enjoy) would have stopped me – hormones and liquid courage are a potent combination.

As a marketing & product guy, I’d love to see the market research and target personas that point to the immense product opportunity here. Next time make me karaoke an Irish folk song and DDR a jig and I might not only sign up for a Gmail account but also turn on Mail Goggles.