A Tweet flashed across the timeline – 16,000 followers in 90 days. At times like this it pays to be a native of New York City, a former journalist, and political hack for a decade, my BS meter is extremely sensitive. However, my curiosity radar draws me in to see what’s up with that!

So I watch the Twitter Traffic Machine video. In the video, Bill Crobsy, the founder of the Twitter Traffic Machine system, is thrilled about two qualities of his system, 1) it gets 16,000 targeted people to follow you in 90 days and 2) at any time it can get two percent of them to click on a link to content that is automatically generated. The outcome of all these numbers is companies will pay you to drive traffic to their content. The sample of Crosby tweets shows its a feed of captions and links.

Since I’ve spent 25 years in marketing, I’m hearing this and thinking – Twitter is green direct mail. Yeah, that’s got something going for it right?

At first, maybe second glance to some, this is a hijacking of Twitter relationship paradigm. Perhaps it’s the “Infomercial-esque” style of marketing that generates a visceral reaction. However, if Twitter is a relationship machine isn’t it then what each party in the relationship wants it to be. When there is agreement that’s a good relationship – when not, it ceases to be a relationship.

In 2007, I raised the issue of Twitter being a 100% opt-in ad network using Dell Outlet as an example. When I am in the computer market I follow Dell Outlet because the profile sets the expectations about what I’m getting. It’s a classic case of good relationship management, set clear expectations by communicating.

However, when you take the human factor out by automating the discovery and communication, can that be called a relationship? Do I introduce you to my imaginary Twitter friend Write4cash at the local tweet up? Dharmesh Shah raises the Twitter Spam Bot question last week in Mashable.

The extremely fast product lifecycles as we move through the early adopter phase of social web tools is creating interesting questions about the proper use of the new medium. What was created for a certain purpose at the start is viewed as something very different as more people evaluate its use. The issue being grappled with here is age-old. Twitter, which is a versatile communications platform, is being use for quantity by some, and quality for others. Where they clash there will be a bit of friction.

Time 12:57

1:00 – 8:00

No catch really, just the reality that everything is integrated. Kind of like the Chaos Theory for marketing. Every piece of data you get about a market or customer behavior can make a difference. OK, enough theory — here’s what is happening. The U.S. Postal Service is pushing variable data and direct mail capabilities. Hey, the right creative can drive about 5 percent of the recipients to give you so much data that you’ll be able to begin a meaningful dialog. Those are the metrics of USPS direct mail piece called Direct Mail Deli. I like to call it “the sandwich piece.”

We interview Rod DeVar, manager of advertising and promotion for the USPS, about the power of using variable data in direct mail pieces. The dynamics of the Web being able to serve relevant data on sites — whether its banner ads or associated products and services — is refining consumers expectations even when it comes to the old standby, direct mail. That paper-based communication, too, now needs to be as relevant and targeted as a frequently visited dynamic Web site.

So when catalog recipients account for 37 percent of a retailer’s Web site sales, that’s a good combination that can get even better.

8:00 – 13:00

In this podcast, we also tie in a preview of the Blog World Expo session “Integrating Social Media into the Marketing Mix.” Imagine that. Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers and one of the speakers in that session. He highlights participation in social media from Nikon (digital learning center on Flickr) and Kodak (1000 Nerds Blog).

Kodak is also one of the major sponsors of the USPS direct mail piece, along with AdAge and Printing Impressions. Oh, one more thing: The USPS direct mail effort also drives recipients to its new Web magazine, Deliver. And if you think that the Web 2.0 crowd is too cool for direct mail, a podcast and writing contributor to Deliver magazine’s site is Joseph Jaffe, author of Join the Conversation and host of the Jaffe Juice podcast (formerly Across the Sound). Here’s the first installment.

Didn’t we start this post talking about direct mail? Wild.

Time 14:09

This podcast is one part business strategy for marketing companies and one part examination of a neat direct mail piece from the US Postal Service.

Printers are in one of the more competitive business environments, one in which they work to grind out every cent of profit. In Minnesota there are more than enough printers to go around. As a result, some are doing more than putting ink on paper. They are expanding their services to provide logistics and additional marketing-type functions. Design, copy writing, even PR and Web development are services that printers are taking under their umbrella. They are doing this by either the outright purchase of firms, with alliances, or through referrals.

David Radziej, president of the Printing Industry of Minnesota trade association, and Steve Smith, vice president of business development for the printer Johnson Anderson, provide some insights about how marketing firms can explore this potential channel.

Mail Call

We examine a solid direct mail piece from the US Postal Service. I call it the “sandwich piece.” It’s an introduction to using variable data as the foundation for direct mail and electronic campaigns. The theme of the piece is to collect the recipient’s sandwich order. The offer associated with this data is a DVD called “Extreme Marketing Success.”

In addition to a description on the audio podcast, view the video below to see the elements of the piece. You can see more about the piece and participate at www.usps.com/mysandwich13.

In the podcast we also feature a lunch webcast idea that is a spin off from the sandwich idea. Host a webcast over the lunch hour to a set of qualified audience members. Buy them lunch or charge them for it; either way, it’s a tactic that plays to the productivity angle. Tie it into the Subway corporate sales program.

Movie Madness

We have some fun — perhaps too much fun — in the office. We throw around lines from movies just to keep the creative juices flowing. In this podcast, we want our listeners to get in on the fun. I included a quote from a movie in this podcast episode. Listen to this episode, and if you think you know the movie from which it came, e-mail the title to me at marketingedge@providentpartners.net. The first person who gets it right will receive a $10 Subway or McDonalds gift certificate. Why only Subway or McDonalds? ‘Cause it ties into the podcast.