YOU COULD WIN TWITTER!

Not sure why I said that, just felt like it after seeing Mercedes-Benz use Facebook to promote a Tweet contest. Integration! Except, for the brand concerned about attention to detail (I worked on them in the past), the curly Q quotes on “Like” scream type noob. Amazing what a digital age still doesn’t know. Yeah, I know, amazing what people like me still care about. So let me throw some more confusion out: You have to like them to find out more information about this amazing Cannonball Twitter run, but like most contests, the rules say no purchase required to enter. But... I won’t enter until I find out more. In other words, if the proverbial *we* have now assigned a value to likes and followers, then my giving up a like has some value to the brand. (Otherwise, why would they be asking for it?) By doing so though, they’ve unknowingly lumped that value in with the idea of purchase. They’re not the first brand to apply old school sweepstakes thinking to social networks, but for a brand focused on details, it’s one that highlights a lack of seamless integration.

Twitter™ Thwarts Tweeting Twitterers.

“What are you in for?”

“I didn’t capitalize the “T” in Tweet.” 

“That’s badass.”

A simple post announcing a new logo that few would’ve cared about if it didn’t also include a link to their new guidelines. Less simple, those. The two new guidelines causing the biggest problem:

1) Please remember to capitalize the T in Twitter and Tweet!

2) Don’t use screenshots of other people’s profiles or Tweets without their permission.*

Good luck enforcing it.

Profiles in courage.

From Twitter, all rel, all the time. Featuring scrapbookers and life Earthologists:

1) “Is passionate about changing the world through empowerment of our brilliant Earth Ambassadors in the national field, who are solar solutions sages.”

2) “Hypnotherapist, First Aid Trainer.”

3) “Allowing you to pursue your passion by providing key services to support your business!”

4) “Hey I am professional blogger and doing all my blogging in part time. I am passionate about online jobs.”

5) “I'm 23, no kids, a degree holder, handling my own, and I LOVE GOD! Can you match that?”

6) “I teach Scrapbooking and Stamping to all that wish to learn and I do it for FREE! Let me show you how to preserve your memories, Faster,simplier and easier!”

“Twitter needs to decentralize or it will die.”

It all gets covered here. All of it. (Okay, well, nearly mostly all.) By now, you’ve likely heard about Twitter updating its site. (HENCE ALL THE #NEWTWITTER TAGS.) Lost in the noise though is a piece from Alex Payne, one of their first employees and the person responsible for building their developer platform. He recently left the company to pursue a new online venture, but writes about his time at Twitter, what they need to address, and his takes on their growth relative to generating income. Straight from the Fail Whale’s mouth, he touches on some of the past concerns voiced by hardcore users who thought ads could lead to the service’s downfall. (No worries—people giving SEO tips on a Saturday night when they should be out getting drunk have already checked off *that* box.) As he says in the title of this post, he sees Twitter at a crossroads, almost facing a Jerry Maguire scenario:

Does Twitter sell out by doing the one thing it needs to in order to survive?

(Via.)

“Get short, timely messages from Louis C.K..”

There are a few times in Twitter history when you can say you remember where you were when. Tila Tequila’s (weekly) meltdown, the premier of @shitmydadsays, @THE_REAL_SHAQ using every vowel, and so on. Add drunk Louis C.K. to the list, because it might have to rank right up there... or down there, depending on your view and whether you think ranting drunks are cute or just racist. Picture a passed out comedian in first class, Blackberry in hand, unfinished tweet ready to send. Before that point though? Well, see for yourself. (Really NSFW and Beatles’ fans.)