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Archive for March, 2009

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It’s Twitter Time! Why your brand should care about Twitter
30 Mar 2009

Twitter is the talk of the moment! We here at w3haus really like it (OK – some of us do!). Twitter is fun, nonsense, breaking news, cool links and our new web toy to play with and explore!

But, as a creative digital agency, helping our clients with their digital strategies, why do we care about Twitter and how does it matter for the brands we work for? To be able to answer this, let’s first talk a bit about Twitter:

Firstly, what is this Twitter thing?

So, what is Twitter? The basic idea behind Twitter is for people to answer the question “what are you doing right now?” in a short 140 characters message.These messages are then stored on the persons profile page. As well as write messages, users can choose to subscribe to other users messages, thus receiving updates on what other people are doing right now. In simple terms, Twitter is a hybrid between blogging and SMS text messages and technically there is not much to it, but the simplicity and realtime stream of messages combined with the social aspect of following others and being followed has many people hooked.

How Twitter has grown so much is one of those internet mysteries, but now you can find millions of people using it and the service receives more visitors worldwide than Digg.com and has grown 10-fold in the UK last 12 months and shows no signs of slowing down.

Here is a recent graph from Alexa.com of visitor reach to give you an idea of Twitter’s current reach and influence.

Who created Twitter? The service was created by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams founders of Obvious.com in March 2006. Evan Williams, had already created another successful web service Blogger.com – one of the first free blogging platforms on the web which was very successful and later on sold to Google. Twitter began life as a side project which grew so much that it has turned into the company’s main product.

The fact that Twitter is so simple technically and what it asks of it’s users is a key point of its success. Twitter is not confined to the desktop or laptop, it has also gone mobile. Users can Tweet from practically any internet connected digital device or SMS enabled mobile phone. This has generated many talking newsworthy events. Recently Stephen Fry, british QI presenter and actor, tweeted that he was stuck in an elevator in the Center Point building in the middle of London. He then proceeded to tweet pictures of himself and the people stuck in the elevator with him. The mainstream media picked up on this and the whole Twitter phenomenon. Fry now has 360,000 followers and growing.

Also recent news was Facebook tried to acquire Twitter for $500 million in Facebook stock but Twitter refused to sell believing in a better valuation in the future. Facebook execs liked Twitter so much,that they have redesigned it’s interface to be more twitter-like .

Here is Evan talking to the TED crowd about the Twitter:

How are people using Twitter? What are they doing right now?

So, how are people using Twitter and what do they put in their tweets? Well, a lot of things. Different people use Twitter in many different ways, for example:

- People are using it to follow other people they are interested in keeping up with in every update – friends in their social circle, celebrities, companies, NGOs, news outlets, etc.

- Famous people are using it to communicate directly with their fans (Shaquille O’neal, Neil Gaiman, Stephen Fry to name a few) and have hundreds of thousands of followers which read every tweet eagerly.

- Users are sharing information they find relevant, including links to websites, images and videos. A term soon to become vernacularly recognised: Re-Tweeting, or repeating someone else’s Tweet post if they liked it.

- Bloggers are using Twitter to let people know about new blog posts and news updates, using it almost as an RSS feed

- Publishers and companies are using it to let consumers know about promotions and product launches as well as engage in conversation

- Journalists are using twitter to gauge realtime reactions from events such as talks, presentations, shows, and other live events

With a big enough audience people get creative and many new ways to use Twitter will emerge and no doubt Twitter is already thinking about which new features to incorporate into the service in the near future.

But how can I use it for my brand? And why should I waste my time with it?

OK, now that we know a bit more about Twitter and what people are using it for, what can a brand or company do with it? The first obvious answer is communicate with your consumers or potential consumers. How? By offering something of interest to them, preferably something where the realtime/very new factor counts. Here are some examples:

- The first place to break news on promotions, discounts and new product collections should be Twitter. This will ensure fans of your brand are always tuned to your feed and remain loyal as they will have peace of mind you will tell them and other fans first!

- It’s a no-brainer that news outlets should offer latest news updates on twitter. this will not cannibalize your website traffic but in fact strengthen it as more and more people become aware of your new stories.

- Communicate with your clients via twitter for the whole world to see and feel enticed to interact with you as well.

- Integrate Twitter into your communications efforts, reinforcing promotions, websites, articles via Twitter and vice-versa. It’s a great branding vehicle.

Remember, Twitter is a social media above all else, people will follow you if they like you. And if they like you, they might just tell all their friends about you and what do you know? You might just end up with 50,000 followers in no time! With the replicating effect of re-Tweeting, this could mean hundreds of thousands of visitors with a very low cost attached.

We believe, pretty soon we will witness the “Twitter effect” on servers, when websites simply cannot cope due to Twitter users all passing along the same link and visiting the website at the same time. This already happens with websites that are linked on the front page of digg.com a popular social bookmarking website and is bound to happen with Twitter if it keeps up the frantic pace at which it is growing.

Names! Real world examples of companies already twittering:

Here are some brands using Twitter right now:

Reuters – breaking news and links to full articles on their website

Jet Blue – american airline talking about promotions, flight cancellations and changes – check here before you fly! Also a lot of interaction with followers answering questions

Amazon Latest deals from Amazon.com

Starbucks posts new offers and also participates in threaded discussions of these offers with their Twitter-followers.

Whole Foods Market asks what their clients like to read and watch, recommends new food podcasts and invites them to the company upcoming events.

Kodak Chief Blogger both posts the company blog updates and discusses them with the company customers.

I’m convinced! (or a little less skeptical) what next?

Start tweeting! Follow w3haus on twitter.com/w3hausuk Explore the service to see if you find ways you could be relevant on Twitter. If you’re stuck, get in touch so we can come up with some good strategies to promote you whether on Twitter or another digital location.

Send me your thoughts on this article to rodrigo@w3haus.com and if you would like to know more about w3haus and see some of our work please visit www.w3haus.com

This post was written by Rodrigo Cauduro, one of the creators of w3haus and managing director of w3haus London. With a degree in Architecture and urbanism, Rodrigo abandoned all that when he met the Internet in 1994 and has been working with it ever since - advertising and promotion online.

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Gisele Evolution! ( !! warning !! übermodels ahead!)
26 Mar 2009

We have been creating the online presence for the Ipanema Gisele Bündchen sandals since early 2003. Gisele has reigned absolute in the world of fashion for many years as THE topmodel in the world. Still don’t know who she is ? Here is a wikipedia link and a Forbes link.

Here is a look at the latest 4 iterations of online campaigns launched:

Ipanema Gisele Bündchen 2006 live link here

All about body tattoos and the brazilianess coming out from under the skin, the TV commercial showed a bare Gisele being tattooed from head-to-toe in real-time. The online campaign got everyone involved with website visitors contributing withe their own tattoos and each having a go a tattooing Gisele themselves.

Ipanema Gisele Bündchen 2007

The 2007 edition took us to the Amazon rainforest, more specifically, the Xingu river, suffering from the effects of recent population growth nearby. This took the brand to a social preservationist role with Gisele going to meet the local tribe and learning of conservationist efforts. Proceeds from sales went to this cause. The online campaign was all about exploring the amazonian and indigenous population way of life. Navigating various 3D typical scenes from the jungle made for a cool interactive experience. Users could also have a go at creating paintings for the under-soles of the sandals using one of the local tribes body painting techniques.

Ipanema Gisele Bündchen 2008

In 2008, the social dimension grew and the cause expanded to social projects geared towards maintaining river water unpolluted. The campaign theme was all about water and Gisele did her bit by wearing nothing but a water dress!

Ipanema Gisele Bündchen 2009 – live link here

2009 sees the brand going back to the Amazon, this time in efforts to stop deforestation and increase reforestation. A noble cause which w3haus supports fully!

Watch this space for Gisele 2010!

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Confused with Twitter? Twittelicous!
23 Mar 2009

Just launched, a website to find interesting things on Twitter – www.twittelicious.com. Good for those who aren’t sure what all the fuss is about

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Where’s Wally? London.
20 Mar 2009

Only a few days after google streetview in London appeared, already we are seeing some cool and interesting sights! Link here

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Street view in London ;-O
19 Mar 2009

This is us!

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Drive around London on Google maps!
19 Mar 2009

Pretty cool mashup idea from phatvision. Do your own driving clicking here: http://www.phatfusion.net/googleDrive/

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the Brazilian ministry of cult…
18 Mar 2009

the Brazilian ministry of culture is on twitter! http://twitter.com/culturagovbr

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Iaia photo-shoot @w3 Porto Alegre
17 Mar 2009

photos from the making-of the Iaia fashion label photo shoot in our Porto Alegre office. Visit the website to see the new season collection: www.iaia.com.br

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Red nose day aftermath!
16 Mar 2009

Thanks to everyone who participated in our red nose website!

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Peter Saville – from Designer of Joy Division to Manchester creative director!
16 Mar 2009

Thursday we went to hear Peter Saville talk about his career at the D&AD event. Having become famous with his Joy Division and Roxy music album covers in the late 70’s and 80’s he has since moved on to become creative director for the city of Manchester! Probably the first city in the world to have a creative director.

Some of his work can be viewed here: http://www.savilleparriswakefield.com

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