Our Geek Life

Does your company really *get* Twitter?

Posted by shegeek at April 23rd, 2009 | 3 Comments »

The Hipness of Being

According to the media Twitter is the latest, hippest thing for individuals and businesses.  The flood of news items and the resulting buzz has resulted in a corporate rush to leverage the power of Twitter. Finding your favorite business on Twitter is no longer a surprise. 

This mad dash to attain high visibility on Twitter prompted me to delve into the ways companies are using Twitter.  While some seem to understand how to leverage Twitter, a review of corporate streams uncovered a sad trend:  Many inhabitants of the Exec Suites have missed what is truly useful and meaningful to their business and brand.

It is common for marketing departments to track what is being said about their company and products.  What is different about Twitter is the fluid nature of the medium.  The comments are broadcast into the Twitterverse and millions know about them as soon as they are said.  News travels much faster these days and the viral nature of Twitter can be difficult to reverse.  Make no mistake – bad buzz in the Twitterverse can do damage to individuals and businesses. 

Having a Twitter account for a business or corporation is about more than just being there.  It’s more than tracking what is being said about you, your brand, your products.  Having a corporate face on Twitter is only meaningful when you use that presence to enhance your brand.

Getting it right

Do your executives use Twitter?  Do they understand the power of the medium?  From my observations and experience Communispace CEO Diane Hessan, tweeting as CommunispaceCEO, gets it.

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Categories: Twitter
Tags: Communispace, Customer Service, Diane Hessan, Social Networking, Twitter

Hello, Moto!

Posted by shegeek at March 9th, 2009 | No Comments »

I decided to refrain from posting about my rather nightmarish AT&T customer service experience that came with the return of the latest FAIL of my Samsung Blackjack II phone.  I couldn’t quite wordsmith an appropriate illustration of my displeasure without sounding like a complete head case.  Just trust me when I say that it was less than fun, more than frustrating, yet somehow ended with no blood spilled, no insults, no cursing, no shouting, and a new phone for me. 

Because I was about to be on Blackjack II number 4, I was given the choice of three other phones in the AT&T trash can…I mean arsenal:  the Pantech Duo, the Palm Centro, or the Motorola Moto Q 9h.  By default the Moto Q was the phone I told them to ship.  I already gave a big fat FAIL to the Pantech Duo last year.  HG and I both test drove that phone and while there were some cool things about it, the construction was so cheap and flimsy that I couldn’t justify the cost of the phone.  The call quality also sucked, which made that one a double no-go.  And I had decided previously that the QWERTY on the Palm was too small and too cramped for my liking. 

My phone arrived last Thursday.  I was happy to find that it came with 2 batteries – a regular life and an extended life battery.  I have never had a spare battery before, so it’s a treat.  I’m not sure how much I will use it, but it’s a “nice to have” I wasn’t expecting.  I was also pleasantly surprised at the spaciousness of the QWERTY.  The keys are a bit bigger which makes texting, tweetin’ and responding to emails a lot easier.  I am still learning the layout of the keys.  The placement of the special characters (i.e. @ , *, etc) is a bit different, but all in all I am having no problem getting my Tweet on!

I haven’t had a chance to completely test out the new device, but at first blush, I will say that I am happier than I thought I would be.  We shall see how I feel in about 60 days.

Categories: Commentary
Tags: AT&T, Customer Service, Mobile, Motorola