More About Twitter

I wanted to talk a little more about Twitter and world events. In the last few months we have seen the power of social media affecting the flow of information and, possibly, outcome of events and world affairs. From the disputed elections in Iran to the deaths of pop star Michael Jackson and Senator Ted Kennedy Twitter becoming an important destination for information sharing and gathering.

During the disputed elections in Iran, the opposition supporters quite successfully used Twitter to communicate and organize in protest of the incumbent's supposed victory. In addition, the outside of Iran the rest of the world watched the drama of ballots, deceit, inquiry, and protest ending in the authorities quashing independent voices via Twitter. Even after the Iranian government blocked the Twitter website people found other ways to access the messaging service to stay in touch with friends, comrades, and the outside world.

When Senator Ted Kennedy lost his battle with cancer again Twitter was a central place for people to share their thoughts. Friends, colleagues, constituents, and journalists all shared their feelings, opinions, and reactions to Senator Kennedy's death. Many people used Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets to thank the senator for his service to the country. It took me a long time to decide how to thank you in 140 characters or less but finally decided to use the senator's own words:

• "The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die." - Senator Edward M. Kennedy, 1980.

In the more distant past, both the Obama and McCain campaigns used Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets to share news and information with supporters. The Obama campaign also incorporated social networking features into BarackObama.com (now Organizing for America). This allowed supporters around the country to more successfully connect and organize with their neighbors.

So, is Twitter just for news, politics, and culture? Most definitely not! Increasingly there are more and more brands that are joining the Twitter conversation. The Comcast Cares team is working to help customers and improve their companies image at the same time! Brands have been creating fan pages on Facebook for a while and are only recently learning how to be effective on Twitter.

A trend that I find particularly interesting is how small businesses are using Twitter. Owners of cafes, ice cream shops, and food stands are starting to use Twitter to share menus and special offers with their customers. Some of my favorite examples of this are:

• The Crème Brûlée Man in San Francisco
  

• Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream in San Francisco

• Cupcake Stop in New York City

• Jacques Torres Chocolate in New York City

• A good list of street food vendors in the US is available at Serious Eats.com.
  

I expect to see more and more individuals and companies creating interesting ways to communicate using Twitter in the future.