Monthly Archives: August 2009

Microbroadcast to Engage Your Audience or Not…

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Since I was on Twitter before they launched their verified accounts, I hadn’t followed many if any of their recommended accounts.

Somehow I came across Dane Cook’s account and decided to follow him.

Tonight I saw he posted a Bubble Tweet, so I thought I would check it out.

Bubble Tweet

Bubble Tweet

When I went to view his Bubble Tweet however, I was somewhat disappointed because he used the Bubble Tweet format to tell his Twitter audience that the news he promised earlier and elsewhere wasn’t forthcoming in his Bubble Tweet or anywhere else for that matter tonight – but somewhere else at another time.

Twitter MicroBroadcasting

Twitter MicroBroadcasting

Granted, Cook did say something kind of funny in his Bubble Tweet but other than that his post had little substance or entertainment value.

I understand Twitter and its related apps are still in the early stages of development, but I think everybody who is successful in maintaining their audiences attention on Twitter stays on topic and engages their audience through consistent messaging.

They do it by consistently delivering on topic and not wasting the time and attention of those who cared enough to sign up for their Tweets in the first place.

Such did not appear to be the case tonight with Cook’s rather vacuous Bubble Tweet.

SRS Renewals?

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When I first registered a handful of domains with SRS Renewals seven years ago, the domain registrar business hadn’t matured and I wasn’t sure which company was going to become the leader.

Not that I thought SRS Renewals was going to become the leading registrar, but at that particular point in time they appeared to have their act together better than any of the alternatives and they offered registrations for less than half what Network Solutions did.

Because 99% of my domains are registered through other registrars, I don’t see as many renewal notices from SRS Renewals as I do from the domain registrars.

Apparently, I missed a renewal notice for one of my domains recently.

My SRSRenewals registered domain has since gone AWOL.

Normally, this wouldn’t pose a problem unless of course the domain registrar (SRS Renewals) didn’t answer their phone, return emails or respond to their “Customer Support Tickets”.

Such is the case at the moment with SRS Renewals.

I thought about moving my remaining domains from their clutches a couple times over the last several years but each time I did, it proved to be a hassle.

How many red flags do customers need to see before they lose confidence and trust in a vendor before they jump ship?

SRS Renewals

SRS Renewals

If I don’t get a call back from SRS Renewals about my domain that has went into redemption within 24 hours – I will consider this their final red flag.

Redemption Period

Redemption Period

Twitter Hacked?

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I received some odd Tweets yesterday from one of my technically challenged friends.

I had to prod him to get him on Twitter.

All of sudden he starts sending me get rich quick and how to lose weight tweets?

Not like him.

After some investigation, I concluded Twitter is getting hacked.

I wrote more about what I think is happening to Twitter on my Search Marketing Communications blog.

When Will I Be Able To Tweet My WordPress Posts Directly To Twitter?

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WordPress recently introduced a new url shortening feature to the blogging community called “Get Shortlink”.

Wordpress Get Shortlink

Wordpress Get Shortlink

WordPress bloggers can now get a shortened url for each of their WordPress blog posts by simply clicking the “Get Shortlink” button next to each of their post’s Permalink addresses.

The new url shortening feature from WordPress will save bloggers time and several keystrokes when Tweeting their most recent blog post to their Twitter account.

Great new feature Matt!

When will I be able to Tweet my most recent WordPress blog posts directly to my Twitter account?

The Gateway Arch Shadow

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I started my day today by ascending to the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO.

By going to the top of the Arch before 9:00 A.m., I was able to catch the arch’s shadow albeit with a flash reflection in the picture as it cast itself on the objects below.

Gateway Arch Shadow

Gateway Arch Shadow

I then drove 500+ miles from St. Louis to my home in Nichols Hills, OK.

A Summer Road Trip

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I have arrived in St. Louis, MO the next to last stop on my final big summer road trip.

A Summer Road Trip

A Summer Road Trip

My family and I have traveled 2,300+ miles and passed through six states in addition to our own and have had some great experiences.

Other than spending the night with family in Lake le Homme Dieu, MN, we have stayed at Hyatt Hotels in each city.

Our experiences with Hyatt hotels have been consistent and pleasurable.

Our two rooms in each city – Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago and St. Louis were clean and had better than expected views.

My hotel room in the St. Louis Hyatt provides a magnificent view of the Gateway Arch.

St Louis Hyatt Gateway Arch

St Louis Hyatt Gateway Arch

Chicago River and Sears Tower Skydeck

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Today I took a tour of the Chicago River and then viewed the city of Chicago from atop the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) observation deck and their new SkyDeck.

Sears Tower Skydeck

Sears Tower Skydeck

A side view of one of the four SkyDecks puts them in perspective.

Willis Tower Skydeck

Willis Tower Skydeck

I was surprised to learn 6,000 to 9,000 people visit the Willis Tower daily since announcing their new SkyDeck.

I think its instructive how adding something as simple as four clear lucite ten foot by four foot viewing decks could relaunch, reposition and re-energize such a well known product like the Sears Tower Observation Deck (Willis Tower).

I think Chicago city leaders would be hard pressed to come up with a comparable level of new differentiation to spur greater public interest in and visitor traffic to the Chicago River.