Advertising Age weighed in on the #motrinmoms incident from this weekend

“[It was] amazing to have that happen over 48 hours, on a weekend in the blogosphere,” she said. “People are now spreading around the apology; it’s such an immediate time frame.”

Indeed, seven of the top 10 search returns today for “Motrin” and “headache” on Google referred to the marketing debacle.

“We now have indisputable proof that online marketing, YouTube and Twitter and all that it encompasses is meaningful and has arrived,” said Gene Grabowsk, chair of the crisis and litigation practice at Levick Strategic Communications. “We are seeing real consequences to a mistake. If [social networks] didn’t matter, you wouldn’t see this type of reaction from J&J or consumers.”

The apology on the Motrin site.. Was it enough?

Shout out to @KatjaPresnal who got here SkimBaco lifestyle brand featured on AdAge and NY Times by compiling this video of angry moms
Technorati Tags: twitter revolution, twitter power, nytimes, adage, motrin, motrinmoms

I’ve been holding off reviewing and recommending Tweetlater becuase so many tweeps in Stage 2 use the autoresponder to try to sell me.

I’m not against auto-responders (remember “no rules”).. but annoyed at the “hey check out my blog” copy that most use.

I’ve been using TweetLater for months to send a post that I know will be timely at a time that I’m not sure where I’ll be. Sometimes the “TwitCast tonight” posts are done in advance (though often a lot less than I think I could).

I’ve been using the new feautures a lot more. I like getting my @ messages in my email inbox and assume others will like knowing that they can catch more without actually using Twitter as much as me

@incSlinger wrote a good review of Tweetlater. I especailly liked the last line of his comments on auto-repsonders and auto-follow:

There is much written about auto-responders and their place in Twitter. Some people feel they are very useful, some feel that they are so un-human that it takes the Social completely out of Social Networking. Guy Kawasaki admits that he autofollows everyone on Twitter that follows him. Others send an auto-response with a link to a welcome video (an idea I quite like) but it isn’t for everyone. Some users feel it is rather like going to a mixer and having a taped message that you play to people who come up to you and say hi.

Read the full review of TweetLater here

My recommendation is to use caution with any auto posting. Twitter is about connecting person to person and there is little allowance for abusing people on social media today.

But if you use automation.. there are few tools better than TweetLater.

It’s been a busy day on Twitter. The Twitter Moms have been roaring about a Motrin ad, it was the top search term under #motrinmoms plus as high as #3 for #motrin.

My take on the bad ad was posted earlier today on the Twitter Moms site

As of this writing, the offending ad was taken down, and I’m getting an error for the Motrin site, you can read a synopsis of the damage here

Long term, I think the more revolutionary change is how we get our news. Earthquakes and wild fires are reported faster on Twitter and now the Orange Country Register is openly showing that it uses photos from TwitPics and news from Twitter to cover stories.

Companies and brands need to be monitoring social media 24/7 and media needs to think about how this could change the viability of their future business models.

Now that we all are the media, what happens to the old school?Technorati Tags: twitter news, fires on twitter, motrin, motrinmoms

In the top 10 words on Twitter, I noticed “TwitterRank“

Yes, once again, an site looks at your profile and give you a grade. Fun to play, not really much information to help you use Twitter better. Quoting @ryochiji, who wrote this toy, the Mashable story:

As for Twitterank’s future, it’s self-deprecating developer probably describes it best: “by tomorrow, most of Twitterdom will have forgotten about Twitterank. Thank goodness for short attention spans.”

What really matters is how you grade the time you devout to Twitter and social media. Great tools to help you connect and build meaningful connections. Use them as you wish, not for some rank.

Attend my session via Twitter. Click here to use this search phrase

I’m speaking at a PubCon seminar session titled “Social Media: The Big Sexy”

The session is described as:

It
got the buzz - it got the press - and it got your attention. Everyone
is loving talking and playing social media. However, you blog, you
tweet, you Facebook – so now what? Social media is the new frontier
with new rules and players. Skeptics don’t get social media because
they don’t see how they can measure results. In today’s world a mention
on a social media Web site is just as valuable as getting your name in
The New York Times, but not all companies understand that. Many CEOs
still believe that traditional media are the only media that matter,
but think again. To convince these skeptics companies have been pulling
their hair out trying to show them the value of a blog or tweet, but
don’t know how to convince the non-believers. This session will look at
the importance of social media hits and how to measure them, what you
can do to convince non-believers, and what you can do to show them that
social media is just as good as print media.

I figured the best way to explain the power of social media sites like Twitter would be to show them. So I’m planning to show them, and I NEED YOUR HELP

Here’s how you participate

1. Tweet that you are going to help me show the power of Twitter and Social Media. Include the hashtags #sexy and #pubcon

2. A few minutes before the start time, tweet again and open a window to follow these tags ( #pubcon OR #sexy) http://search.twitter.com/search?q=+%23pubcon+OR+%23sexy

3. We will have people in the session tweeting live. There will be links for fast action fun and prizes.

If you have questions, comments, ideas, PLEASE tweet me @WarrenWhitlock

pubcon, webmasterworld, vegas, social media, twitter revolution

@ShannonYelland has compiled a list of every Twitter term she could find, including “Tw..” words, shorthand and some Twitter tools.

An exhaustive list. Did she get them all?

http://www.sitemasher.com/smblog2/2008/10/my-twittonary-every-twitter-term-and.html

I was asked by a Facebook friend why he should bother with Twitter.

Right away, I could tell he was in Stage 1.. so I wrote back:

I’d only recommend using Twitter if networking is important to you business. If you need to meet new people, build closer relationships with your network or keep in touch with a lot of people Twitter is the tool for you.

Most people go through 3 stages getting into Twitter.

1. It looks like a complete waste of time and “why would anyone want to know what people had for breakfast”
2. Friends say “use Twitter” and you get an account to secure your name while you can and still think it’s a waste of time
3. You get into a conversation with someone, pick up a new recruit, learn about some news and start saying “how did I live without this?”

Stage 1 is most of the world right now. I’ve seen people in stage 2 for over a year.

FYI, these same three stage occurred in other technologies. For instance, when telephones came out, most executives assigned someone to make calls (if they had a phone at all). The same thing happened with email, Facebook, etc.

If you don’t use Twitter, that’s ok too. Most of my friends are also in Stage 1. I even know a few that refuse to use a phone. No sense worrying about getting everybody to do things the same way.

As we say.. NO RULES in today’s marketing. Just give people what they want, whenever, wherever, and in whatever format they desire. We all demand that today.Technorati Tags: need twitter, twitter book, facebook twitter, social media networking

I get asked about the future of Twitter all the time. It’s a fun question, and I can see how people might think I have an opinion on this.

But the truth is.. I don’t know what will happen to Twitter

More important to me.. the Twitter Revolution will continue regardless of what happens to the company. We are all making meaningful connections with people and building the relationships we have with people.. through Twitter, social media, and the old technologies.

To me, the revolution is all of us using any technology we can to connect with people.

Thanks to a feed on filtrbox.com, I got an email today about mentions of “Twitter Revolution” and read it in my gmail account. On the side were sponsored links from Google, including a link to a NYtimes article on Twitter by @SarahM.

I wondered “who is this person, and why would she write about Twitter?” and clicked on her Twitter Profile link where I found a link to her blog.

I was surprised to find Blawg & Order and Sarah’s passion for watching a TV show that I know (a 2nd connection). Still not knowng much about her, I did think it was worth tweeting and shared it with my twitter friends.

This led to several other conversations about my former addicition to a show that always talks about murder, the TV viewing habits of my friends, a further discussion of our need for meaningul connections and another question from @SashaKane about the future of Twitter.

Finally, I got an idea for this blog post.

Chaotic? yes

Wasted some of that time? maybe

But, I made some new connections, build relationships with people that I’ve met a conferences, had two request for interviews about Twitter Revolution, and had side conversation about Amazon, book marketing and promotion, the kindle and social media strategy.

Not a bad outcome for the time I was “just messing around”

What about you? Do you have a story about a chaotic path to meaningful connection through Twitter and social media?

Share a comment below. Make sure we have your @ handle somewhere in the comment so others can follow up with you… this may be the chaos that brings just what you were looking for.

I’ll be talking about chaos on my very chaotic radio show. We’ll share some of these stories and invite others to share there on the chat.

Oct 27th Coach Deb will be on stage in front of a LIVE studio audience talking about Twitter & Tribal Marketing. Mari Smith will be presenting about Facebook, and Denise Wakeman from the BlogSquad will be talking about blogging for business.

Will you join us as VIP or guest and be in LIVE studio audience that will be in the next hottest social media learning DVD set in the world?

Social Media Simplified is the LIVE event held in Ventura this Monday, with an optional VIP dinner at a local winery where you’ll be able to strategize with Coach Deb, Mari Smith and Denise Wakeman plus two other special guests in a casual setting.

Simon Leung (Google Insider) will be our special guest panelist along with Nancy Marmolejo when we take questions from the LIVE studio audience.

Join us by registering directly at: Social Media Simplified and leave a comment below if you’re able to make it to this rare event where 5 of the Top 50 Influential Social Media experts will reveal secrets not shared anywhere else!

PS: For those of you who know Coach Deb, Mari Smith, Denise Wakeman (BlogSquad) Simon Leung and Nancy Marmolejo, you may be shocked to see how affordable this event is compared to their usual speaking gigs where you pay $2,000 to get in the door. That’s because the Technology Development Center is underwriting the costs of the live studio production and creating a DVD set that they’ll be using in order to train their students.

This is the speakers way of giving back to the community while at the same time giving YOU a rare opportunity to learn everything you can about the hottest social network, and how to market your business or non-profit online using the free advertising channels available to you.

Our Twitter Radio show this week will focus on using social media to promote you book or business.

Many in our network are authors, many others want to become a best selling author at some point. Twitter and Social Media are great tools for any author or business wishing to build meaningful relationships to attract new customers and readers, sell book and products, and form strong bonds with your market.

Special Guest @BBSpress

Alan Bechtold has been using high tech solutions to build information products and businesses for since the mid 80’s. Alan (@BBSpress on Twitter) will be on the TwitCast to tell us how anyone with any passion can turn their knowledge into info-products.

Get Results Before, During and After the TwitCast

Before the show: Signup and login to http://TwitCastRadio.com. While there, look for the bookmark button to share the show with your network. Tweet about it.

During the show: Login to chat, and say hello to those you know (and the host). We have an active group and love to follow like minded tweeps. You will have more followers after the show, and they will be people that are on a similar path. Tweet that you are on http://TwitCastRadio.com

After the show: Post a comment on the show’s page and rate it. If you make the show a FAVORITE, we’ll grow in influence and reach more new people for future shows. More tweeps to add to your network, build into friends and connect for more publicity for your business or cause and more influence in everything you do

Do you want to become a famous best selling author?

We take questions live, and from COMMENTS here.  When you post a comment below, you have a chance to create a link to your web site (in the form) and include your @ handle so that anyone that identifies with you can connect on Twitter.

Make sure you follow others that comment if you like what they are saying. It’s the highest of compliments when people see a tweet that you liked their comments and build more meaningful connections in our group.

Twitter Revolution, the handbook, the radio show and this blog are here to help us all grow our networks in social media. We know that by helping you grow, we ALL have more influence and power to spread important memes to make the world a better place.

Tweet me at @WarrenWhitlock and let me know how you are using comments on blogs, the TwitCast Chat, and social media to help other spread good causes. I want to know about the best ideas and memes and help you build your network.