digital art science

Mst of us know the story. Facebook is huge, but Twitter is creeping up. Facebook tries to buy Twitter, Twitter says ‘er…no’. So Facebook launches Twitter-like functionality within their status updates.

The general consensus, or what I have gathered from the buzz around this development is that it’s pretty poor. Well, those that weren’t confused by it felt it was poor…And regardless of what the masses were saying, I was always gonna come out and say that it’s rubbish.

Why? The 140 character update loses all it’s charm when lost in the Facebook interface.

The beauty of Twitter is in it’s simplicity. True, I lie awake at night thinking of all the functionality I’d love to see in there to help me tweet, but at the end of the day, what I adore about Twitter is watching the stream of conciousness updates from friends, family and tweeple I find interesting. It’s pure, un-adulterated aggregation. 

So, pooh to you Facebook. Stick to what you do best, making it easier for people I have intentionally lost touch with to find me and harass me.

1. I will always propose the least expensive, simplest solution to any problem.
2. I understand Google is the homepage and I will ensure everything I do is sensitive to this fact.
3. My job is to facilitate business. When I start talking brand dialogue it’s only because I can’t find a way to really add value.
4. My job is to help you with the interface between your company and the customer on the web. They are using the web for utility; my job is to find that utility wherever it may exist.
5. We’ll be clear about the returns.
6. We have a chance to do things better to improve from our learnings.
7. The Internet has changed the world; let’s make sure we treat it with the respect it deserves.  It took us many years of TV to develop the technology to skip ads.  Let’s not clutter our communities and forums with useless messages that add no value. Consumers want to hear from companies who are relevant to their circumstance; let’s work with that.
8. Our job is not to sell our ideas to the client.  Our job is to sell the clients product to their customers.

Twitter. No doubt you know what it is by now, or have heard of it.

The boffins have been pegging it for big things for the last 4 years running, the law of averages (and the amount of media coverage it’s getting) would dictate that ’09 is the year for it. Soooo, what does that mean for your brand or agency? I’ve got a few ideas, ranging from the mundane to the ridiculous.

There’s several ways to approach ‘the next big thing’, be it a digital thing, or an other, erm, thing. The breadth of my thinking on Twitter encompasses both the quick win and the long game. And if you think I’m being a bit obtuse here, there’s a reason. I have a killer idea that I’m itching for someone to ask me to implement. Get in touch, for curiosity’s sake if nothing else.