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Twitter: still misunderstood by many

I’ve just read yet another article on Twitter: an insight into the goings on at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. While it was interesting enough, I certainly agree that the media’s been saturated with Twitter stories recently. As with any topic repeatedly reported on, people are getting a bit, well, bored of it all.

So, the comments left by readers at the end of the piece were not a surprise. However, they did show that despite all of this coverage (and the millions that use it already), many people still don’t really understand Twitter and how it can be used.

I really don’t care what most of the 35million people who have Twitter are doing in their everyday lives, whether they can put it into 140 or 20 words, I don’t want to read about it.

I just don’t get it. why would I be egotistical enough to think anybody would be interested in my random thoughts?

It’s a site where you can post a status, this has been around for ages. It’s a Facebook but where all you can do is update your status.

I don’t think it’s important that everyone ‘gets’ Twitter or even uses it, but I think it’s interesting how its potential is misunderstood.

If at first you don’t succeed…

What’s my personal perspective? I’ve been using Twitter since the end of 2008, and it’s my second attempt. The first time was a result of feeling I should give it a go to find out what all the hype was about.

Like lots of people, I thought it was basically like the status update on Facebook, so I started out with similar comments to those I would post to my friends. I also looked for my friends on Twitter, but didn’t find many, and so I lost interest. I wasn’t sure what I was getting out of it and it felt like a waste of time.

Second time around, I decided to approach it from a business angle to benefit my knowledge and profile as a web copywriter. So, with an objective in place, I started tweeting about work-related subjects and news that interested me and, more importantly, people I didn’t know.

Facebook for friends, Twitter for business

And it’s here that I think the difference lies. For me, Facebook is for my friends – people who understand and want to read (!) my inane comments about what I’m doing because they know me and have a personal interest.

Twitter has professional benefits, helping me to connect with individuals who I would not otherwise be in touch with. Many are experts in their field and I want to know what they think on related topics. It’s purely a business interest; I certainly don’t care what someone’s eating for lunch and I won’t follow them!

And if you’re thinking of using an example of a celebrity as a ‘friend’ on Twitter, forget it. It’s a business decision to maintain their public profile; would anyone really follow Demi Moore if she wasn’t famous? Of course not. Although Stephen Fry might cut it – but he writes useful tech-related Tweets.

Sharing, spreading and breaking!

So, I don’t think Twitter will ever take off among people such as those that left the above comments. It’s not a Facebook status replacement, which would never work without all of those other elements – photos, comments, etc – that help it all make sense.

Twitter is about sharing information, spreading knowledge and helping to break news rapidly. And, yes, maybe it is an instrument for social change too. Only time will tell.

My Twitter tips

So, if you’re new to Twitter, here are my tips for getting the most out of it.

  • Firstly, don’t use it because you feel you have to; if you have no interest in it, you won’t get anything back from it. But there’s no harm in giving it a try, is there?
  • Decide what you want to get out of it; I wanted to learn more about accessibility, but it’s expanded from there into general copywriting, usability and language.
  • Don’t use Twitter as a way to blatantly market yourself or your company, and don’t expect to find work directly from it.
  • Write thoughtful, useful Tweets (which is possible in 140 characters!) that link to good resources and which provide value to your followers. You’ll soon find interesting contacts in your area following you too.
  • Keep the number of people you ‘follow’ to a minimum (I follow around 175, which is probably too many), to make sure you only hear from the people that really interest you and to avoid too much ‘noise’.
  • If someone follows you (and they’re not following 10,000 other people) take the time to say ‘thanks’. Don’t feel obliged to follow them back though.
  • Try to keep its use under control; it’s easy to lose time on Twitter, especially if you work from home and you’re looking for a distraction!

What do you think? Do you have any additional tips? And if you’re on Twitter too, follow me!

Writing for your audience: overseas students

One of my Spanish ‘intercambio’ friends has recently booked a place on a summer course in London to improve her English (which she speaks to a good level already).

She’s also booked a room with Nido, accommodation for overseas students. She received the following email from Nido, but asked me for help because she couldn’t understand all of the details.

Original letter

We are happy to inform you that your application has been successful and we have provisionally booked a room for you and your application is now pending. [Is the application successful or is it pending? This is confusing.]

In order to confirm your reservation, you will be required to make payments as outlined in your payment plan.

The refundable damage deposit and 2 weeks rent in advance is due first, shortly after receiving this acceptance email.

Please note that your damage deposit will be refunded on the same method it was paid.

A copy of your payment plan is attached.

There are three method of payments accepted:

Credit Card: Attached is a copy of the credit card authorisation form for you to fill our and send back to us via post, email or fax: +44 203 102 1001.

Bank Transfers: Bank transfers are accepted as well and a copy of our details is attached.

Cheques: If you wish to pay by cheque instead, it will need to be made payable to “Nido King’s Cross Limited” and this can be sent to us in the post to the following address:

Nido Student Living, Reservations Team, 200 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE A CASHLESS BUILDING AND DO NOT ACCEPT CASH

Once all required payments have been received your booking will be confirmed and we will require the following documentation:

  • Acceptance letter from university or college
  • Passport and VISA copy
  • 2 passport photos

For further information regarding general policies, please visit our webpage: www.nidolondon.com alternatively a member of our reservations team can be contacted.

Your reservation summary is indicated below:

Name:  XXXXXX

Period: 2 weeks

Check in date: XXXXX

Accommodation type: Nido single cube

Rate per week: £240.00

Payment plan: See attached excel sheet

[Table regarding ‘Cancellations and refunds’]

Extend the use of the tone of voice

At first glance, to a native English speaker, this is pretty well written and clear (as a standard response letter). But take another look and you’ll see that there’s a lot of words that could be cut out, making the information more concise and easy to understand for the intended recipient.

In addition, this email has six attachments! That’s an overwhelming amount of information.

And why the formal approach? Nido has a funky, youthful website; why not extend this to the confirmation email, which is one of the first communications with the student coming to stay, by using an informal tone of voice?

Alternative letter

I’d suggest the following:

Your application has been successful! We have provisionally booked a room for you. To confirm your reservation, you must make the payments listed in your personal payment plan (attached).

The refundable damage deposit and two weeks’ rent are due first; please pay them as soon as you can. After your stay with us, the damage deposit will be refunded in the same way as you pay it now.

We accept three payment methods:

  • Credit card: Complete the credit card authorisation form (attached) and send it back to us via post, email or fax: +44 203 102 1001.
  • Bank transfer: Our bank details are attached.
  • Cheque: Make your cheque payable to ‘Nido King’s Cross Limited’ and post it to us.

Our address is: Nido Student Living, Reservations Team, 200 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP

Please note that we do not hold cash in our building; we do not accept coins or notes.

Once we have received all of the required payments, we will confirm your booking. You then need to send us:

  • a copy of your university or college acceptance letter
  • a copy of your passport and visa (if applicable)
  • two passport photos.

To find out more about our general policies, please visit www.nidolondon.com. You can also contact our reservations team, who will be happy to help you!

Your reservation summary

  • Name: XXXXXX
  • Period: 2 weeks
  • Check-in date: XXXXX
  • Accommodation type: Nido single cube
  • Rate per week: £240.00
  • Payment plan: attached

[Table regarding ‘Cancellations and refunds’]

Simple and approachable: not just for web copy!

This still isn’t perfect, but I think it’s an improvement – it’s easier to understand, simpler language and friendlier (with more use of ‘we’ and ‘you’).

These are generally thought of as things to keep in mind when writing web copy. It’s not a website, of course, but they still apply, especially as there is a large crossover of audience characteristics.

I’ll send it to my friend to see what she says and let you know! What do you think?

(PS – Dear Nido: if you happen across this post and like my suggested alternative, please contact me to request its use. Thanks very much!)

What makes a successful Facebook group?

When I logged onto Facebook this morning, I spotted that two of my friends had joined a new group. The group name caught my attention: ‘Stop the usage of dogs as live bait for sharks!’. Curious (and slightly sceptical), I took a look.

Creating a sense of credibility

The group has a well-written description:

Innocent dogs are being dragged behind boats and used as LIVE bait for sharks!! Defend the rights of animals! We are asking that the French Government ensure that this never happens again. […] INVITE ALL YOUR FRIENDS. EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW HOW SO MANY DOGS ARE KILLED EACH YEAR!

There is a photo of an injured dog, the description offers a link to a ‘…video that shows one poor dog being rescued’, and the administrators also appear to be genuine. All of these factors combine to create a credible-looking cause, which, at the time of writing, is supported by 1,208,122 members.

But digging deeper…

Looking beyond the facts above suggests slightly less than sincere motives. The story itself has been around for at least four years (as this Sun newspaper article from 2005 shows) and, while it has some grounding in fact, has been blown out of proportion.

In addition, the group’s contact information is not an animal rights organisation; it’s a ‘Home Business opportunity’ and the first (and only) piece of news begins with ‘EARN FROM HOME..ARE YOU INTERESTED?’. The only other links on the page are to the organisation’s website.

Typical social networking behaviour?

I think this shows that people on social networks such as Facebook:

  • take things at face value
  • believe large membership is a sign of credibility
  • aren’t always concerned with the organisation behind a group; simply the cause
  • use groups as a badge of their beliefs, views or interests.

All the ingredients for a successful Facebook group

So, despite its dubious motives, this group is a good example of how to be successful on Facebook.

  • Select a group name that appeals to people’s emotions, beliefs or passions; capture their attention and make them curious, so that they want to find out more.
  • Create a well-written description of the group and present its aims clearly.
  • Provide supporting materials for your group or cause, such as an image or video.
  • Make the administrators easily identifiable and approachable.

Provide relevant links

I doubt many people will have actually clicked through to the amazing ‘home business opportunity’, so this group has probably failed on one important point: providing a relevant link for further information.

If the link had been along the lines of ‘Sign a petition to stop this cruelty NOW!’, I am certain that a large percentage of the group’s supporters would have chosen to follow it. As it is, regular web users are now completely wise to offers of this type and, I would guess, have mostly ignored it.

More information

Here are some more indepth articles from around the web on creating (and maintaining) a successful Facebook group:

A local domain name is important

Nomensa reports that ‘the .co.uk domain name is now an essential part of a company’s brand presence in the UK’, according to research by Sedo (a global domain name marketplace, funnily enough).

I’m not that surprised, really. For many global companies, for example, a regional domain name is a key part of their localisation strategy.

Inspires trust and creates credibility

The Nomensa article goes on to say that ‘the research, undertaken at Internet World 2009 revealed that two thirds of respondents said the domain extension inspired trust and security in a website’s credentials. In addition, 45 per cent of respondents highlighted that .co.uk was their primary domain’.

You’ll notice that this website’s domain name is .co.uk too, which was a deliberate choice on my part. I freelance from Spain and I felt sure that a .es domain name would put some potential clients off, rightly or wrongly (well, wrongly in fact).

Also, I think (correct me if I’m wrong) but .co.uk sites rank more highly in an English-language search than .es, for example. This is important, because my target audience is still the UK market. Once I translate my site into Spanish, I’ll register it with a .es domain for the same reasons.

.com still popular though

‘What about .com?’, you’re asking (maybe). Apparently, it ‘remains the most popular domain extension overall, with 80 per cent of businesses using .com [as] their web address’.

Again, people perceive this in different ways too; for me, .com leads to the impression of a large company or a global organisation. So, even if .com had been available (it isn’t) for my site, I’d still have chosen .co.uk.

Mobile web experience: could do better

People are increasingly using the internet on mobile devices and companies need to provide an equal user experience for visitors accessing their online information in different ways.

However, a recent Gomez/dotMobi report says that mobile web performance is getting worse (in the airline, banking and search industries at least): there’s an increasing gap between ‘traditional’ and mobile websites, with the former getting faster and the latter getting slower.

Are two websites better than one?

Many organisations (such as Vodafone) are producing two websites: a ‘traditional’ one for PCs and another version for mobile browsers. This is generating a lot of discussion in the industry (including among accessibility professionals) regarding the need for – and wisdom of – separate websites.

The arguments are wide ranging, from making the same content available to everyone (without forcing people with different browsers to use a different version of a website) to providing a good user experience across all devices.

It also raises issues of doubling maintenance efforts (and therefore costs) as well as ensuring content is consistent and up to date across both sites.

Mobile performance criteria

The Gomez/dotMobi study looked at the mobile web experiences provided by leading companies in the three sectors, across major wireless networks. It measured:

  • availability – making sure customers get the information they need, when they need it
  • response time – how quickly visitors can access content and perform tasks
  • consistency – consistent user experiences, no matter where they are
  • discoverability – how easily customers can find a mobile site from various URLs
  • readiness – making sure the mobile website renders as intended on popular devices

American Airlines, Bank of America and Amazon ranked highest among the selected companies in their respective sectors (Google wasn’t included because its mobile web application “did not meet the technical requirements for benchmark participation”).

What are the roots of the problem?

Gomez says that despite consumers’ high expectations for mobile web experiences, quality experiences continue to be a challenge for many businesses. The company says that this should be a concern for both brand managers and technical teams.

I’d be interested to know what the study team thought were the main causes of these performance issues: bloated code, poor navigation and content that’s not fit for purpose, for example? Of course, this is common to all types of websites; not just mobile ones.

The majority of these issues could begin to be addressed by following standards and accessibility guidelines. Sites that do often perform better, make maintenance simpler and decrease related costs. In addition, effective use of CSS can also avoid the need for separate websites for different devices.

I’d be curious to know how some of the other corporate sectors perform, those that aren’t as consumer facing as the three chosen for this study. If anybody’s aware of any reports, let us know.

Further reading

This post also appeared on Corporate Eye, where I write articles on whole-site issues for corporate websites.