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Hi, I'm William. I'm the Director, Online Banking & Engagement at Vancity, Canada's largest credit union.

My opinions and views are just that, and don't reflect the views of my employer (or, perhaps, anyone else).

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Twitter as a marketing tool?

I have to admit, when I first came across Twitter (I think it was Shari Storm who first invited me to the Twit) I wasn't impressed. But something about it has kept me coming back.

I recently came across a neat example of a business using Twitter to market itself. A restaurant in Buffalo uses it to promote its daily specials. Very nice.

Here's a great and very thorough article on iMedia Connection about what makes Twitter so sticky and how it can be useful. Well worth a read.

Oh, and by the way, here's me.

Labels: azaroff, blogging, innovation, technology, twitter, web 2.0

posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007

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5 comments
Wow - interesting article. I definitely have mixed feelings.

Twitter seems like a natural extension of the same trend that seems to have stolen my ability to read a novel from cover to cover.

I have to wonder if the overhead of managing the twitterverse really exceeds the social value added. I wonder, too, if the law of diminishing returns makes a collective time investment into this tool outweight the benefits. It seems to me just a deeper integration, and wider broadcast net for cellular text messaging.

Regardless of the sociological implications of Twitter, commercial web entities everywhere should probably prepare for its ascent, which seems to be invevitably rising. From a business perspective, this hyperactive child of Web 2.0 will surely create some opportunities.
comment from Jeremy on May 23, 2007

Thanks for your comment, Jeremy - so well worded. I think your perspective is important to keep in mind as we head down the micro-blogging path.

I think Twitter and whatever comes along next in the same vein is a great method for those of us who are a little hyper-connected to do their thing. It can't come at the expense of more detailed communication. I shiver to think whether my kid, whom I'm hoping will fall asleep soon, will be able to read an entire book cover to cover.
comment from

wazaroff on May 23, 2007

Re: The restaurant.
Wouldn't a blog be better for keeping folks up to date on specials...frequent diners could get RSS or email, and you could expand on the yumminess of the day's special.
comment from

Jim Bruene on May 23, 2007

Thanks Jim, good points. I was just thinking that for a business to use Twitter, they have to know that their most frequest customers also use Twitter so they're reaching them effectively.

Also, Twitter has RSS feeds, so you can get a feed of the restaurant's daily specials, just not yummy descriptions. Who knows, maybe the food just ain't that yummy.
comment from

wazaroff on May 23, 2007

I'm hoping that one day we can get the actual lunch special itself via some kind of feed, and eat it at home :)
comment from

Jeremy on May 24, 2007

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