Woofer vs. Twitter – Why Woofer Will Fail

August 27, 2009

It was just a matter of time.  The microblogging tool, Twitter, needed some “competition.”  Enter Woofer.  Woofer is being deemed the “Anti-Twitter.” Why?  Because Twitter limits your tweets to 140 characters and some people find this to be a problem.  With Woofer’s macroblogging you now must post a minimum of 1,400 characters.  But does this really solve the problem?  I don’t think  so.

Here’s why:

  • While 140 characters is not always enough to get your message out, it forces you to be creative and not ramble.  It is much easier for me to remember 140 characters than 1,400 and making Tweets memorable is key.
  • 140 character Tweets are much easier to sort through and digest than 1,400 character novels.  Organization and navigation must be easy.
  • Twitter was first and has already been adopted.  Second never wins on the web unless you are better and Woofer is not better.

Woofer is creative.  I will give it that.  And it may or may not serve as a good way to draw attention to Shuffletime, the other venture from the people that brought you Woofer.  But the Woofs will soon fade to Yelps and then back to Tweets again…

3 Comments | social media, twitter | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain

What Makes an Effective Online News Headline?

August 23, 2009

MSN.com is set as my home page.  Not because I like using the built in Bing search, but because I love the way the site displays the latest news.  While the home page is very busy, it is laid out in a way to my eye has become accustomed and I can quickly find what I want. 

Being a big golf fan, I recently was drawn into several headlines about Tiger Woods potentially being fined by the PGA because of his criticism of a PGA official enforcing a strict time rule during his win over Padraig Harrington at the Bridgestone Invitational.  These were very well written, enticing headlines.  But when I clicked the headline, time and time again I became disappointed with the content.  It was almost as if they were lying…well not lying, but more like stretching the truth.  I also noticed within one of the articles several comments going back and forth from people feeling the same way.  Disappointed searchers were definitely critisizing whomever could be held responsible for writing such headlines.   Headlines such as, “Me?  Fined?  Tiger blasts erroneous report” would lead you to expect Tiger saying more than just “There was no fine.  That was just an erroneous report.”  It became ridiculous how misleading a series of headlines about this incident became.  And NOTHING ended up happening to Tiger.

So the question I have is – Do the same people that write the articles also write the headlines?  If so, shouldn’t it be their job to deliver relevant, accurate content for both.  Or if different people are writing the headlines – is it their job to ONLY worry about getting the clicks?  What do you think makes an effective online news headline?  Do you get frustrated when the content behind the headline does not deliver?Tiger-Woods-MSN-Effective-Headline

3 Comments | case studies, internet marketing | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain

Managing Facebook and This Crazy Social Media Fad

August 19, 2009

I ran across some quality links about social media tools such as Facebook that I just have to share with you.  One is about managing your Facebook account.  The other is about how social media is changing the way we communicate.  If you have any links you would like to share, just leave them for me in the comments area.

How I Manage Facebook – Chris Brogan

Four Minutes of Video Awesomeness: Is Social Media A Fad? – Marketing Pilgrim 

So what do you think?  How do you manage Facebook?  Is social media just a fad?

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Posted by derekmcclain

Case Study: Using Twitter for Businesses – Dick’s Sporting Goods

August 14, 2009

Dick’s Sporting Goods is in the midst of a Dick’s Sporting Goods $100 Gift Card Twitter Giveaway and it looks like they are getting the hang of social media strategies for business.  For me, it is always refreshing to see large brands rewarding customers through social media campaigns that will go far beyond the gift cards they are giving away.  Here is the idea:Twitter-Case-Study-Dicks-Sporting-Goods-100-Gift-Card

  • Dick’s will be giving away a $100 Gift Card on Twitter every day for 50 days in a countdown until the Fall season – follow Dicks Sporting Goods on Twitter to stay up to date
  • Twitter users are required to post a tweet (or many tweets) in an @ reply to @dickssportcmo telling the twitosphere what they would do with the $100 Gift Card and why
  • They will be automatically entered into the drawing by doing so and each day the previous days winner will be announced.  From that time they have 48 hours to DM Dick’s their mailing address to receive the gift card.

The idea is great.  People sharing what they like at Dick’s Sporting Goods all over Twitter.  This will result in more followers, increased brand awareness online and offline, as well as giving people ideas on things to buy at Dick’s.  Sure they are giving some money away, but the overall amount money that will be taken in through this campaign will go on for a long time after it’s through.  Don’t you agree?

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Posted by derekmcclain

My 100th Blog Post – What I’ve Learned and What’s In Store

August 5, 2009

This is my 100th blog post!  The first of many milestones for this blog.  I originally created D-Mac’s Blog with the intention of learning as much as I possibly could by obtaining first hand blogging experience.  As I started blogging regularly, I began to open my eyes to all of the benefits of blogging.  It truly is amazing.  I’ve learned that blogging is great for creating, building, and maintaining relationships.  Both on a personal and business level.  My blog has given me the opportunity to meet a lot of great people and I have also been able to generate some leads for business in doing so, which was not its original intent. 

Check out some of my earlier posts for more information on why I started blogging:

Why Should I Start A Blog

Blogging-Just Go For it!

What can you expect from D-Mac’s Blog in the future?
I will continue to vary my posts in style and make an effort to include more posts that really reflect a strong opinion about a particular topic.  Robby Slaughter suggested including a rant and more constructive critcism…and I have to agree I need more of these posts.

I will include more Reviews and How-To themed posts.  I continue to see a great deal of feedback from these types of posts with our clients at Fusework Studios and also on my personal blog.  My BlackBerry Storm reviews and Facebook How To posts really helped some people out which is always an awesome feeling.

Finally, I will be changing the design up a bit and including more videos, slideshows, and other interactive.  But make no mistake about it…my number one focus will always be to deliver quality content.

Thank you for being a reader and I look forward to sharing my next 100 blog posts with you!

1 Comment | Blogging | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain