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Category Archives: Tools
Why and how I changed my Twitter name
Last week I made a big decision: to change my Twitter name (or ‘handle’ – although I dislike using words like that as they can exclude people who aren’t ‘in the know’).
Why is it a big deal?
I’d been thinking about it for a while, but I dreaded doing it – mostly because my Twitter name @eggboxrobin was also the one I have adopted across the social web. I’ve been @eggboxrobin since I joined Twitter nearly 5 years ago (April 2007); it represents me not only on other social networks but also on hundreds of comments on other blogs, on profile pages, on stationery, in my email signature and probably plenty of other places I haven’t yet thought about.
An example of why social media shouldn’t be outsourced
I was recently followed on Twitter by an acccount claiming to be a social media agency, whose tweetstream consists entirely of brags and ads.
You know the sort of thing: XYZ client tells us how great we are, outsource your social media to us, we're the greatest, etc. Some of the ads were promos for their clients. Many tweets were repeated every week or so, with the wording just slightly changed (sometimes). I went back six months and the pattern was the same. Nothing of information, nothing helpful, no RTs, no real conversation.
Welcome to 2012 and the growth of long-term thinking… maybe!
What's going to be significant in 2012? I tend to leave the annual predictions up to others, but at the start of a new year it's very tempting to at least reflect and take stock.
Last year my loose round up of promising trends included QR codes, a new 'blogging golden age' and the growth of storytelling. Blogging does seem to be as strong as ever, but I'm not sure QR codes are being used effectively – at the moment they are 'the thing to have', appearing on billboards and newspaper pages like a rash.
Company Christmas cards – traditional, electronic or none at all?
If you are a B2B business, do you send traditional Christmas cards to customers and partners, or opt for an electronic alternative? Or send none at all?
A few years ago I went through a stage of sending e-cards, (although always created in HTML in the body of the email, no Flash, attachments or the need to follow a link to view the card on the web.) The card included a greeting and 'thank you for your support/business' message, and a note to say that I made a donation to charity in lieu of buying and posting actual cards.
