Twitter world’s best opt-in ad server or daily social network?
The following is a conversation between Al Social and Darrin Marketer, their names have been changed to protect the innocent; they are both avid Twitter users with two very different perspectives on the platform. We invite you to interrupt them with your comments.
Al Social – Twitter has done so much to enrich my life.
Darrin Marketer – yeah me too
Al Social – This summer I kept in touch with the family while kayaking the Fjords of Norway, imagine that texting from my phone to post to a blog, website and mobile while in the water.
Darrin Marketer – Yeah, I saved 20% off a computer on Dell outlet
Al Social – New ideas about global warming from Tris Hussey, social media insights from Jeremiah Owyang and Todd Defren. Santa Cause gives twitterers great places to contribute to social change.
Darrin Marketer – it’s the greatest freakin’ opt-in Ad server on the planet, these people are agreeing to follow companies just to get essentially ads pushed at them. I’ve got plenty of clients using twitter to hawk their stuff and getting people to agree to get it.
Al Social – no dude, it’s not about ads it’s about idea exchange. You are just gaming the system. It’s all about the collective of people to advance change.
Darrin Marketer – yeah right, ok I got an idea, let’s get people to follow some company that pushes the latest super bargains for that week, what’s wrong with that? It’s all about me baby, all about me.
Al Social – No no, it’s a snapshot at people’s life is not a bazaar.
Darrin Marketer – that’s where you are wrong my friend, life is a bazaar, and everyone is trying to scrap a piece of turf, a piece of attention. Twitter is just another way to pull the spotlight over to you and there is nothing wrong with that. Oh and your boy Santa Cause, he’s helping promote business, so my friend you just proved my point.
Al Social - Well you are surely not being creative, you’re slapping an old model over a new way of connecting. That’s going to ruin it.
What do you think? Is twitter an opt-in ad server, a social hang out, or both?
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 13th, 2007 at 5:54 am and is filed under advertising, blogging, blogs, business marketing, corporate blogs, corporate marketing, interactive marketing, mirco blogging, social media.
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December 13th, 2007 at 7:32 am
It is a social hang-out. The ad server stuff is also of interest since it would be 100% opt-in, and would only “bother” those who had requested the info (vs. everyone else in their tweetstream).
December 13th, 2007 at 8:57 am
1 for Al Social, thanks Todd
May 9th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
[...] anything novel. I’m actually just echoing the thoughts of several notables, including Todd Defren (@DougH), who points out that Dell has managed to do this inobtrusively with its @DellOutlet [...]