PepperDigital

‘Tis the season to be tweeting…

By Carl Foster, PepperDigital

In the UK, Monday was not just the start of any other week, it was ‘Mega Monday’, the busiest day of the year for online shopping. Apparently, the onset of December coupled with the prospect of sharp elbowed crowds on the high street means we fire up the laptop, get out the credit card and load up the shopping cart (or trolley, as we say over here). Mega Monday has grown year-on-year as more people feel comfortable shopping online. This year, £400 million was predicted to be spent, 25 per cent up on last year.

 What’s new this year though is Twitter. Some big high street retailers, including Marks and Spencer, Debenhams and Waterstone’s are using Twitter to extend their personal customer service online. What is encouraging is that these outlets are not using Twitter as just another broadcast channel for new products and special offers; they really are using it to engage with their customers. Check out the Waterstone’s Twitter page (twitter.com/waterstones 6944 followers). It has the special offers in there but it is full of back and forth with customers, both chatty and personal, but also on issues such as delivery problems and other customer service issues. Debenhams (twitter.com/DebenhamsRetail 2007 followers) is an even better example of Twitter being used to engage with customers. Apparently Debenhams issued blackberries to some staff at its Oxford Street branch, which even led to people tweeting requests from the changing room for clothes in different sizes.

A survey by Immediate Future on how 140 UK and global organisations are using Twitter found that majority of organisations are using the platform to broadcast content from other sources - usually their own websites. The example set by the high street retailers shows that maybe this is starting to change and companies recognise the value of engaging with consumers through Twitter. Let’s hope the trend continues in 2010.

FT 20 questions with Biz Stone

In a repeat of Maureen Dowd’s interview in the New York Times with the co-founders of Twitter earlier this year, the Financial Times has interviewed Biz Stone, with all answers limited to 140 characters.

 

While not as entertaining as Dowd’s piece, the article does offer some insights into the world of the entrepreneur, or “artist” as Stone says he would like to be remembered.

 

Stone is in the office from 7-7 or 8-8 but says he is “always on.” His iPhone is left on even when he sleeps, although he admits “I don’t always answer it.” Incredibly he says his guilty pleasure is watching TV and that he loves everything “from Gossip Girl to sci-fi.” I’m not sure when he has the time for that, or the painting of everyday objects he does in his “spare time.” At that point I started to wonder if Stone had developed some kind of time machine rather than a micro-blogging platform.

 

Other interesting tidbits include Stone’s stint as a caddy when he was 14. “I felt like a mule, carrying heavy golf clubs, for $12 a day. It was mind-numbing.” When asked about his most hated business expression Stone says “all of them” and “I always take “at the end of the day” literally, meaning at night.”

 

What really comes through is a that Stone is a nice guy who found himself at the helm of a social media juggernaut and had the brains to make the most of the opportunity. He says his best business decision was to give away as much data as possible and being open. There is the lesson for any budding internet entrepreneur. Be brave and open up to the collaborative input of the internet. As our recent webinar highlighted, it’s all about being ‘spreadable’.

Microblogging is a portal to blogging

By Michael Blankenship

An article on TechCrunch today compares and contrasts the October comScore estimates of Twitter (58.3 million unique visitors) and Wordpress (151.8 million unique visitors). Author Eric Schonfeld asks the question “…is blogging back, while microblogging is on the skids?”

The short answer, I think, is yes and no.  First, considering Wordpress experienced a growth of about 10 million unique visitors from September to October, blogging is indeed not dead. While Wordpress is only one of many blogging platforms, other platforms saw huge climbs in visitors as well. It is also worth noting that Wordpress is experiencing recent growth due to the acceptance of Wordpress as a valuable Web site CMS.  More people and companies are using Wordpress to manage their sites rather than as a blogging platform.

Second, microblogging is far from dead. While Twitter’s unique visitors are slightly down from September to October (about 100K), comScore does not track visits to Twitter via external applications and mobile platforms, such as TwitterBerry (now called OpenBeak), UberTwitter and HootSuite. Growth among Twitter users via the momentum of apps for iPhone and Blackberry is on the rise.

The correlation of microblogging to blogs is that microblogging has become the primary portal to the blogging world. Microblogging has permeated our lives as the leader in marketing news and blog headlines. I regularly find myself scanning my Twitter feed for article recommendations and trending topics to learn what’s going in the world. The number of blogs that exists makes it difficult to stay completely in the loop without the aide of microblogging. I rely on those I follow who make article recommendations via Twitter. In fact, I came across the TechCrunch article from a Tweet by @RobLongert.

Customer Service With a Smile from Shutterfly

By Rob Longert, PepperDigital

I can't resist telling a good Twitter customer service story when I have one, so here goes.

I ordered some photos from Shutterfly on November 5, and according to the email receipt I received, my photos were supposed to arrive on either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. For whatever reason, they have not arrived just yet, and after being a Shutterfly customer for nearly a decade, I know that isn't typical.

My first thought was to see if Shutterfly was on Twitter to see if I could get some help tracking down my order, and that is just what I received.

Jonathan Levers, who manages the Shutterfly Twitter account could not have been more helpful or responsive. He tracked my order, communicated with me rapidly and even re-printed and re-sent my order for priority mail delivery.

In my eyes, Jonathan capitalized on an opportunity to interact with a customer and provide a positive customer service experience, and brands need to take note. Take a look back at some of his past customer interactions and exchanges, and it seems like Jonathan is a master at resolving customer service issues with a smile.

According to a survey released by Weber Shandwick earlier this week, "73 percent of Fortune 100 companies registered a total of 540 Twitter account. However, about three quarters (76 percent) of those accounts did not post tweets very often, and more than half (52 percent) were not actively engaged." Additional survey findings are summarized in this blog post from MediaPost's Catharine P. Taylor.

Corporate and customer service Twitterers, take note of brands that get it right, like Shutterfly and JetBlue. Figure out why you want to use Twitter before you set up an account because once you have a Twitter account, you've set an expectation that you will be there when we need you.

Get started by checking out Guy Kawasaki's top three tips for brand engagement on Twitter in this video from Socialmedia.biz’s David Spark:

Why Not Use Twitter to Prevent Surgery Miscues?

By Mike Blankenship, PepperDigital

Rhode Island Hospital, in Providence, was fined $150,000 by the state's Department of Health after a surgeon operated on the wrong finger of a patient in October. Ever more astonishing is that the same hospital has conducted five "wrong-side surgeries" since 2007. My first reaction is why is this hospital still open? Why hasn't the administrator been fired?

The fine levied by the Department of Health will pale in comparison to the subsequent medical malpractice suit. In addition to the fine, the hospital is going to be required to install video cameras in all operating rooms, and all surgeries will be monitored by a clinical professional--not on the surgical team--trained in surgical safety measures. Why wasn't this done after the first botched surgery?

An even simpler solution, and perhaps an added protective measure, would be to Tweet the surgical procedures. There are examples of successful surgeries that have been broadcast via Twitter, including one we wrote about here. 

Anyone who has had surgery knows that during pre-op, a nurse uses a marker to annotate which side of the body or body part is going to be cut open. Once inside the OR and on the table, the entire team, including the surgeon, discuss the procedure and everyone verbally agrees to what is going to happen and to which body part.  All of this is done prior to the administration of anesthesia.

With a Twitter protocol in place, each step can be Tweeted in detail. The OR Tweeter would provide a detailed account of the procedure, including microblogging the pre-op confirmation discussion:

@RhodeIslandHospital: Dr. Jones has just asked Jim the Patient which knee has been marked for the surgery.

@RhodeIslandHospital: Jim the Patient has confirmed that his left knee has been marked and has confirmed that his left knee is undergoing the procedure.

@RhodeIslandHospital: Dr. Jones has verbally confirmed that he will operate on the left knee. The rest of the team has verbally agreed to the left knee.

@RhodeIslandHospital: Jim the Patient is now under anesthesia. Dr. Jones is making the first incision on the left knee.

This simple Twitter feed provides an additional layer of checks and balances for an obviously screwed up surgery department at Rhode Island Hospital. What is gained by Tweeting the surgery is an additional level of oversight.  A patient's family can also follow each step of the procedure and interject with a direct reply to the OR if anything is Tweeted that is wrong. For example, in the above scenario, if any Tweet had contained "right knee" instead of "left knee," the family could have immediately sent a reply notifying the OR staff.

The other benefit of using Twitter in the OR is that it's free. Of course this requires an extra body in the room but using somebody already on your payroll is a lot cheaper than fines and malpractice lawsuits. Use a med student who is completing their surgery rotation. It could be used as a teaching tool or part of a "scared straight" initiative to demonstrate the need for situational awareness during surgery.