Why does Twitter hate us?

According to the company blog, Twitter is killing TweetDeck on Android because people aren't using it.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a steady trend towards people using TweetDeck on their computers and Twitter on their mobile devices.

We aren't using it because the Android app was last updated on September 15, 2011 and hangs on updates.

More on the Great White Elephant of Social Media

I've long said that if someone presents themselves as a social media expert[1], run away.
This is not that, but I'm not sure what it is:

The video link explains something.

[1]alternate titles include the following, by themselves or in combination: ninja, guru, black belt, rockstar.

Republicans Target Marketing Guns on New Hampshire

Republican candidates are using a mix of old and new-media marketing tools to reach state voters for the important New Hampshire primary on Tuesday.
Read the rest of my latest blog on  The CMO Site - Republicans Target Marketing Guns on New Hampshire.

That third place

The stuff that shows up on the Intertubes over the weekend seems to address more social issues than technical ones. Political topics sometimes get stirred up by events in the nation and world and by the Sunday morning talk shows. Mostly, though, the articles, blog posts, and tweets tend to show how people are living their lives.
One post, Why Teens Don't And Won't Tweet, gave a view about social networking that's lost in the breathless rush to the Next New Thing. Twitter isn't useful to teens because teens, for the most part, want to hang out with their friends. Facebook gives them that. Twitter is something else. It can be a way to hang out with your friends, but that's not really what it's designed to do best. Twitter is about broadcasting to the world, giving everyone a chance to hear what you can say in 140 characters or less. Again, teens generally don't want to talk at everyone, even if it sometimes seems like that. They want to talk with their friends, hear their friends, trade inside jokes, and experiment.
Facebook becomes that important "third place" in their lives, a place that while often overlapping with home and school, is something essentially different, something close. Nearly 30 years ago, Ramon Oldenburg and Dennis Brissett authored a key analysis of American culture titled The third place. In it, Oldenburg and Brissett describe an America that is increasingly time-bound. "Most individuals, except in unusual situations, seem able to estimate the time of day within 15 or 20 minutes when they are at home or at work," they write. In the third places, time easily gets away from you.
The third places can get wild as people step out of their typical roles and often play against them. 

Often third place participation is loud and boisterous. It is reassuring to observe that the average person, given the opportunity to let off steam, rarely will be vulgar, obnoxious, or spiteful in the presence of his companions.

Yes, people can appear to behave badly, but it's relatively rare for people to cross that line into bullying. (If abusive behavior was the norm or even something frequent, Facebook wouldn't have a half billion users.)
The authors wax wistful, often idealizing the purpose and performance of these third places, but they're onto something.

Third places provide enabling, not escapist, experiences for their inhabitants.They are a forum for "play" in a society interfused with a stubborn commitment to work and purposiveness. Association in third places envelopes individuals in a temporary world within their ordinary worlds.

I saw the best minds of my generation ...

It used to be that Marley would run into the other room when I started cooking. We had a very sensitive smoke detector that would sound the alarm whenever it, well, detected smoke. I'm a better cook now, more careful, more patient. I also rely on the microwave to pre- and re-heat a lot of foods.
So, it was serious when those puffs of acrid smoke came from bottom of the microwave as I prepared our contributions to Christmas Eve dinner. At his age, Marley's got better things to do that to be running from my cooking again.
Sandra and I brought the microwave to the Sears repair department. Upon learning that there was a $90 minimum charge for repairs, we told the repair tech that he was the proud owner of a microwave that only emitted smoke when it was on. We then went upstairs to buy a new oven.
The guy selling appliances looked like so many guys I know, guys I went to school with, guys a lot like me. I'll bet that he didn't look in the mirror often, but when he did, he was surprised by the white hair that was taking over.
Sears had taught him the basics about features for each of the appliances, but he had to check the weekly sales flyer to find out about specials.
As we looked at the various models, sometimes a price tag fell to the floor. "I'll get it," he said, thinking that he could pick up something from the floor as easily as he could 40 years ago.
We decided to go with one of the larger units.

We wanted it in white. He checked the computer and told us that he didn't have it in white.
"Can we buy a floor model?" we asked.
"I'm sorry. I can't sell floor models."
"What other colors do you have?" we asked.
"I'll have to go downstairs and check." With that, he left the floor and went to the stockroom to write down model numbers of what was in inventory.
While he was gone, I sent a Twitter message.

Sears won't sell us the last microwave we want because then they won't have any.

He came back and told us that there were no other microwaves in other colors. We asked about the stainless steel model that was on display.
"It's $199.99"
"But the sticker in front of it says $152.99."
"That's for the black or white."
"But you don't have those."
"Right."
"Do you have any stainless steel?"
"No."
"Can we buy the floor model?"
"I'd love to sell it to you, but the company won't let me."
"Because if you did," I said, "then you wouldn't have any left."
"If this was a Mom-and-Pop store," he said, ignoring me, "they'd sell you the floor model just like that. I can't do it, though."
And so we left without a microwave and Sears didn't get our $152.99 or $199.99.

A few hours later, Sears customer service finds me on Twitter and sends me some notes.

More on Twitter followers

So, I get an email saying that ValBloomberg is following me on Twitter. Getting a new Twitter follower is sometimes a good thing, so I click the link to learn more about my new friend.

I learn that it's a local person, which is a good thing.

via ValerieBloomberg (ValBloomberg) on Twitter

I click the link to check the person's web site.

Aw, come on. At least fill the placeholder text on your blog home page.

via brenaris-bloomberg.com

And, on your About page,*really* don't leave the placeholder text there.

via About : brenaris-bloomberg.com


Look, if you want to be taken seriously as a social networking force, show like you care.