1: Multiple Accounts/Profiles

I can remember a blog post put out by this company MD (and it was within the search industry) trying to emphasise the need to have both a personal and professional twitter account. Hmm, there’s some logic in that and if you’re someone who has a lot to say then this is a definite strategy. As I mentioned above, I can remember when Twitter was the domain of the SEO professionals so why would your friends and family want to hear about Google updates or social media strategy? That most certainly would be very boring to read. However, two twitter accounts you need Tweetdeck and a shed load of time to manage it. Organising everyone into lists helps but that still means you have your homepage Tweets to sift through.

2: Just had toast for breakfast

As the title suggests! I once followed someone in the industry (I won’t name names here) who tweeted almost on the hour, every day. This included quite a lot of updates on the guy’s cats. I love cats but to be honest, when I’m following someone for their brain and position I’m not at all bothered about his cat that just ate some prawns. Seriously, are you really bothered about who had what for breakfast? In my mind following a celebrity and getting excited about what they had for breakfast sort of puts you in the bracket of a stalker. This should be saved for something really special – or funny.

3: Updates from conferences

This is actually near the top of my public beating list. I recently attended a conference that had quite a number of big names in the audience. One of which sat next to me during a talk with his laptop. I saw he had TweetDeck open and he spent the whole session tweeting what the speaker was saying. Adding of course the obligatory hash tag for the conference. If you follow this guy, your entire inbox will be taken up with on-the-minute tweets about stuff you’re not privy to or will be able to know what it’s about. And if you’re not able to attend, are you going to get any value from fragmented lecture notes which you’re not able to know if full? I seriously doubt it. Would it not be better to simply take notes, write a good blog post and then share it with people later, with of course a hash tag for the conference? Isn’t that a more useful means of tweeting the learnings from a seminar?

4: Auto follow

Its great to get people following you. Obviously, Twitter does fall victim to spam bots putting fake profiles but some follow you for legitimate reasons. What is worst though is the automated follow. Its quite funny when you mention something quite simple, say ‘Microsoft’ or ‘Apple’, and then your followers doubles in minutes. These people who follow you may or may not continue to do so or after close inspection they may have followed you for the wrong reasons. I would hate to know how much time that a user has to spend to sift through the autofollows to see which one(s) are actually useful. Not a profitable use of time if you ask me. Seems that this should be developed further to include more broad and exact match keyword following.

5: The chronic re-tweeters

This either shows a lack of originality from the person, a lack of understanding about how to use Twitter or even a lack of anything worthwhile to say. It would be nice to know that there is some personality to the people you are going to follow. Obviously, points 2 and 6 need to be taken into account before starting to tweet!

6: The constant updaters’

Not to be confused with points 2 and 3 above. Its good to have a regular amount of Tweets as this will encourage people to follow you back. However, sometimes some people just don’t know when to stop. This is even applicable to people who are putting out good information and even better re-tweets. I have regrettably un-followed quite a few people who are guilty of this and I may have suffered for it. Some people in the industry just put out too much information so the problem occurs that you can just be bowled over by information overload! The main problem with people who Tweet too much is that they don’t consider their followers. More than 70 updates a day will totally clog up your homepage so the likely hood of seeing updates from other people you follow becomes remote. Quite often News sites are the most guilty of this. The result…Unfollow! Its like Email Marketing, you should only send out a mailshot when you’ve got something to say. Anything more, or send too much and people just un-subscribe. Simples.

7: The bandwagoners

Quite easy to spot from the randomness and general lack of thought to the Tweets. I think these people have been hearing about Twitter a lot on TV or heard about it from other people and have just joined because everyone else has. A lot of businesses are guilty of this approach as well (explained more in my previous post here). If you don’t believe in Twitter or sharing information, why bother setting an account up in the first place? This trend is also guilty of being nearly all of this top 10 list in one.

8: The clear mistaken identity

This doesn’t happen very often but some followers don’t really search correctly or just simply follow the wrong people. I once got a follower from someone who thought I was a long lost friend from College. Quite easily done but this chap didn’t look at my profile to actually see that I was English and not American. Therefore, clearly the wrong Stu. Twitter has perfectly allowed the facility of having the official account of people (mostly celebrities) to appear as  Verified Accounts. Its a shame that the same can’t be true of brands or companies. It can be quite annoying when trying to find certain businesses or brands only to see that there are 20 odd fake accounts. The official one could be elusive. This I think is something Twitter should really be doing for brands by adding the Verified Account to give the confidence that they are following the correct one. Another reason is brand protection. Just as Google prevents brand advertising on PPC, the same should be true of Twitter accounts. If you are a big brand, the last thing you want is to miss out on your Brand username as someone who is sending out fake updates with your details defeats the legitimacy of the Twitter account in the first place.

9: Twitter is not a competition

A lot of people on Social Networking sites seem to treat them as some sort of popularity contest. Just as I don’t add people I’ve had a conversation on a bus with as friends on Facebook, I don’t see the point of following as many people as possible. As I mentioned on a previous post about how many people you can effectively follow on Twitter, there is a finite number of people that you can follow. Similaraly, there are finite number of people who can follow you. If you’re not someone who is an industry expert on something, famous or a big brand, you can’t possibly know 56,000 people all of whom are following your every more. If you’re just using Twitter for fun, why go out to follow as many people as possible in order to get that 50% of people that will follow you back. Lets face it, unless you’re Richard Branson or Rand Fishkin, you’re not going to get 56,000+ people following you so why try?

These are just my thoughts on the issues that Twitter faces along with how to monetise the site. After all, its still a young site and has plenty of room to develop. I hopefully see Twitter developing to being the place to get information. I use it everyday and I love it…but that doesn’t mean there is plenty of opportunity for people to use if effectively.

My all time favourite is Panang Curry. Its a red curry, quite spicy if you do it correctly, and extremely tasty. What I love about it the most is the rich curry sauce, quite thick and full of flavour.

To start with I always make my own Curry Paste. For some reason it takes me ages. I think because I make sure everything is perfect and chop everything so finely. Or come to think of it, perhaps its because I like to have a few beers whilst doing it. I’m a bit of a Keith Floyd when it comes to cooking.

The recipe is so easy as all you need to do is pretty much throw everything in when its ready. I always like to slice my own chicken breast as the pre-prepared Chicken is never as good. Thai Basil is also a necessity so be sure to have a good look around for some as its not always easy to find. Another must is Chilli Oil to finish. Good luck finding that one as I had to go to a market stall in Leeds to find that! Most important is the Panang Curry Paste:

Curry paste ingredients:

• Fresh Galangal (2cm)
• Ground Cumin (1 tsp)
• Ground Coriander (1tsp)
• 25 long red chillies
• 2 cloves of Garlic
• Peanut Oil (2 tbsp)
• 8 green onions
• 2 sticks of fresh lemon grass
• shrimp paste (2 tsp)
• 75g of roasted peanuts

Contrary to popular belief, Thai cooking does not require a scolding hot wok so use gentle heat. I was a bit shocked by this too but straight from the horses mouth of a Thai cook, don’t use lots of heat. This is to blend the flavours with all the ingredients. Cook for about 20 minutes on low heat and serve with Thai Jasmine Rice cooked in fresh coriander. Et voilà! Awesome Chicken Panang Curry.

]]> http://www.thetaipan.co.uk/i-will-make-a-good-husband-one-day/feed/ 0 http://www.thetaipan.co.uk/holding-out-for-strangers-who-i-can-dream-with/ http://www.thetaipan.co.uk/holding-out-for-strangers-who-i-can-dream-with/#comments Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:07:20 +0000 TaiPan http://www.thetaipan.co.uk/?p=468 Just a note (or two) of some music that’s been the soundtrack to my life over the past couple of months.

Sitting on the train every morning is actually quite relaxing and can empty your mind of everything about your life. I can dream for hours on trains, just staring out of the window and getting lost in my thoughts. I love to do this to music most of all, as it helps me to think and to dream. I see familiar strangers every day…sometimes I think about who they are and what they are doing, sometimes just listen to things they say. Its amazing how we all live in such close proximity to one another but do we actually notice anything about other people? I quite often spend most of my time avoiding eye contact with some people. Maybe other people are wondering why or perhaps even thinking about me as a person. Probably.

Staring out into the scenery rushing past the window is like bedtime for me. I love going to bed sometimes as I look forward to dreaming. Wondering what amazing thing I can get up to or amazing place I can visit. I quite often look forward to time when I can dream. If a nice thought enters my mind I get all excited as I can save it for later and dream about on the way home.

Some choice music that’s been helping me on the way to work everyday:

• ‘Departure Lounge’ – Amplifier
• ‘Protection’ – Massive Attack
• ‘Birds’ – Emilina Torrini
• ‘Heart Skipped a beat’ – The XX
• ‘New Day’ – Karnivool
• ‘Sonnet’ – The Verve
• ‘Broken’ – Seether
• ‘Hummer’ – Smashing Pumpkins
• ‘Three Days’ – Jane’s Addiction
• ‘Seasons’ – Chris Cornell
• ‘R U Still in 2 it?’ – Mogwai

…thanks for the inspiration…and the daydreaming (when I’m most happy)

Daydreaming helps the world to become an even more beautiful place.

I’ve never been good at art, drawing, painting, sculpting etc and I’ve always envied those who have the gift. But when the gift of creation manifest itself as something that merely any mortal messy handwriting human being can create then I’m sorry but that’s just bollocks.

Bringing me to the point of the ranting exercise was a recent excursion to Boughton House in Northamptonshire. Not all of this was bad. In fact I really enjoyed walking around the grounds and going through gates where I was probably not supposed to go. The house was enormous, un-inhabited for most of the year and quite amazingly only opened to the general public for 2 months of the year…or was it 1? Anyway, this was supposedly only due to getting the National Heritage grant from the Government to contribute towards the up-keep of the estate. Err, when you’re that wealthy and own half of Northamptonshire why would you need a grant to keep your house clean and gardens mowed?

Anyway, walking around the grounds I can across this:

On the surface it looked quite spectacular but then when I read about what it actually is and signifies I couldn’t help but shout out that this is bollocks! Set in the grounds of a 16th Century family estate, with a reflecting pool, rose garden, winter garden, fountains and luscious  scenery, the last thing you would expect to see is a giant modern art mess. A huge mound of earth removed to create this sort of inverse Pyramid that had a sloping path to the bottom and the tip filled in with water. What’s more amazing was that it was supposed to represent the family history…somehow. Hmm, he could have paid me hundreds of thousands of pounds to come up with that idea and then get a large excavator to create it. I mean come on!

Modern Art….FAIL. There, I’ve said it and enough said.

Returning home from my first travel adventure all those years ago

This post is not to moan or complain but to kind of celebrate my own sense of adventure. I’ve recently left the city of Nottingham…for the fourth time! After University, the first time was a bit sad as it felt like the end of an era. The second time was the beginning of adventure and travelling the world. The third time was a significant and most awesome life experience of living abroad. Now the fourth time. This time really means something though, it was made after months of planning, preparation, introspection and (dare I say it) necessity. The best thing is that I can take these things in my stride these days. One thing I have learned about getting older is that you definitely become more resilient in dealing with things.

So a definite career move was in order and this was what it was all about. I’d spent a long time planning this move to coincide with opportunity and being ready for the change. When I told people what I was planning to do they were and were not shocked. The shock was from me actually calling it quits and saying I’m moving to a new location. Then again, people who knew me well then realised that this was me and I can easily do this sort of thing.

I like Nottingham and I guess I always will. There are a lot of things wrong with the place but I’m not intending to go there right now. Suffice to say that I had a good time there and I got the necessary experience I needed to be where I am today. It also served as a good reason to motivate me to do the things I did. Am I making sense? No? Jolly good I will miss the place but I knew that it was not providing me with what I wanted and needed. Funny thing is I didn’t actually think I would stay there long term. There was always a better opportunity looming that I was preparing for.

So here I am in a big move again. This is a good one and with stacks of opportunity and absolutely the best decision I’ve made. Right now I’m feeling pretty proud of myself that I can take on this challenge and also be not afraid of it. Change can be a difficult thing for the ego but it can do wonders for the soul. New job, new city, new challenge and new environment. It helps me to see things from a new perspective, enrich my experiences and allows me to grow as a person. It can be very difficult to make a new life somewhere new but I know that it will be ok. Nothing can be as hard as living in Taiwan for the first year, not knowing anyone or not being able to speak the language. That was life being hard and I like to remind myself that I got through that so this is nothing!

A new challenge awaits in Leeds and I’m ready!

Some things I’ve been thinking about this week:

• Am I ready for this? HELL YES!
• Experience counts for a lot
• I’ve always loved Leeds
• First impressions count
• The right environment can really make you bloom
• Sometimes its good to feel just a little bit scared…always makes you realise that it really means a lot to you!

Things I have been thinking about recently:

• Australia: I just realised I haven’t been there for 5 years. Doesn’t seem like long ago but I guess time flies when you’re busy. Sydney or Melbourne?
• Trouble in Bangkok…again! I’ve been following This Development for weeks. I’m just hoping the airport is going to remain open. But then again, I can think of worse places to be stranded than Bangkok.
• 3.5 weeks to go.
• Optimism  – well I have to be!
• My first Easter Egg in about 3 years. And it tasted good.
• Clash of the Titans was an utter travesty of a movie. Every time I see a movie like that I just think of what the money could have been used for instead. Cancer research? Charity donation? Ease Third World debt? School or Hospital in Africa? I think so.
• 31 years old and The Muppets still make me laugh. No, I’m not ashamed.
• Think I shall go to Download Festival.

…”and our lives are forever changed. You can never feel the same. The more you change the less you feel.” – Billy Corgan.

Not sure if i agree with the latter as I’m still feeling…very much so. There are some things that you’ll never forget.

I can remember when the internet really began to be social. I can remember when I first came across the word ‘Blog’. What is that supposed to be? All started with MSN Spaces and the popularity that was Messenger. A perfect way to keeping in touch with people and the very first popular real-time communication vessel. Now I don’t know anyone who actually uses Messenger? I do have one big thing to thank to Messenger though.

Facebook changed things in a big way. There wasn’t much that was innovative or different on Facebook initially and the functionality was limited. Poke people, turn them into a vampire, send people flowers, vote for each other and upload some photos. Anything else? I can remember when I first set up a profile, I was really disappointed that I could not customise it to how I wanted it. I was a fan of MySpace initially as I could have the freedom to make my profile really different. As well as uploading photos, music, message people and post blogs etc.

It is incredible to see how the two horse race was won by the slower horse. Really it was! It was almost like a two cars coming on the market, one with power steering, AC, ABS, Sat Nav, bigger engine, stronger chassis, Slip Diff etc etc, the other with only half of that. Both at the same price. The winner, is the latter less features car. Why? Popularity.

Another similar fad that gets me confused. PC and Mac. To use the car analogy once more, the PC that is unreliable, cheaply made and slow against the stunning, reliable and fast Mac. Most people wish to drive the slow car that breaks down often. Why? Popularity.

In this world of innovation and design, it is not always the best that wins. Remember Betamax? What can often be a market leader, is just simply down to what is popular because if everyone else has one, you want one too.

I have set up a new Facebook account despite my whining and complaining. Don’t hate me, I’m just like you.