Twitter and Bansko

Will You Be On Twitter To Find Out Where It's At Tonight?

Twitter, everyone has heard of it. It’s been the single biggest technology story of 2009. In fact a quick search revealed, according to Global Language Monitor (GLM), a Texas-based company which analyzes and tracks language trends, that ‘Twitter was the ‘Top Word of 2009. GLM president Paul Payack said “In a year dominated by world-shaking political events, a pandemic, the after effects of a financial tsunami and the death of a revered pop icon, the word Twitter stands above all the other words.” GLM said it uses a ‘proprietary algorithm that tracks words and phrases in the media and on the Internet’ to compile its rankings. Words are tracked in relation to ‘frequency, contextual usage and appearance in global media outlets, factoring in long-term trends, short-term changes, momentum and velocity.

So that’s tekkie stuff; but when Microsoft say “Twitter”, “Michael Jackson” and “Swine Flu” were the top searches a few months back, it must be time to start taking notice.

And when I first started using it… I felt, what was the point of it? I thought it would probably fade out fast. Now I think it will, eventually… but like facebook it may have quite a long shelf life. It initially seemed to me that 99% of the people on twitter were there with the only purpose of trying to sell you something, mainly snake oil “get rich quick” nonesense. But I am beginning to understand this twitter thing a little more — especially now that my “followers” are steadily increasing and I’m seeing more and more content pop up. And also the considerable power of retweets (hint, hint) at getting new readers to BanskoBlog.com.

But What Exactly Is Twitter?

Twitter is a micro blogging site, 140 characters maximum plus links and pictures and audio. I started getting interested in it when I saw that Google and Bing were starting to include tweets in their search results.Search results are everything to businesses — including this blog!

So with the big name search engines taking note of twitter it’s getting harder to dismiss social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter as a short lived fad.

But I am trying hard to see how the short hand content can be arranged and filtered in a way that is actually useful! But what I have learned is that it works on a time line… like a conveyor belt before our eyes…once out of site it’s pretty much forgotten. This makes it perfect for very instant conversations. I remember the London riots, post election events in Iran — all breaking news to share with the world. But on a local level I see a lot of potential. If you switch it on twitter has a geographic sensor… so in the future you can tune into people twittering within a few kilometres of where you are.

The Twitter Potential

Ahh… now I see potential. News of a superb band in a bar or club. A special deal in a restaurant… or even lift pass special discounts (here’s hoping!). This real-time availability of data be it with twitter, Google docs or social media in general is likely to have a an impact on how businesses market their products and services and how we interact with businesses. I found that US ski resorts are really using twitter effectively to publicise all manner of things. My bet is that in the same way the “voucher” culture has exploded in the UK, then twitter communication will explode in Bulgaria — its just happening a few months behind . A little like facebook took longer to explode in popularity. But it will.

The celebrity culture is here to stay and if you join you will see how Stephen Fry, and the like, have the power to influence opinion as well as entertain. Fascinating stuff.

For me, the unexpected benefit has been able to make connections with people interested in similar things as I am. Without twitter these would never have occurred.

I recommend that if you are just a little curious, to give it a try soon — especially if you have a passionate hobby or sport.

Oh… and I always follow in return for genuine twitterers in topics I have interest in. And I retweet stuff I think others may fond interesting — particularly if its a Bansko related twitter. Will twitter be of use to those who have a stake in Bansko? I think so. It has the immediacy to improve the holiday and traveling experience. And, if its someone you trust, then a twitter may just help you find the best bar, or indeed the hot podium dancing venue — or whatever your thing is.

Find me on twitter.com/bansko .

I wish you a very Happy Christmas.