Marketing Pilgrim Published: “Japan’s New Year Tweets Help Set Twitter Record” plus 3 more

Japan’s New Year Tweets Help Set Twitter Record
Mobile Platform Shift Trends Continue
Rumors Say Linkedin May Be First to IPO
New Skype for Business Includes Group Video Chat

Japan’s New Year Tweets Help Set Twitter Record

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 05:10 AM PST

Twitter helped the world ring in the New Year and the world responded. In particular Japan used the service to talk to just about everyone about the new year.

From the Twitter blog

Well, that didn't take long. Just four seconds after midnight in Japan on January 1st, Twitterers set an all-time record in the number of Tweets sent per second (TPS). At that moment, the world sent a staggering 6,939 TPS wishing friends and followers a fond "Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu" ("Happy New Year!").

The photo below is a visualization of the US. The bigger the circle the more activity at that moment so I can't tell if it is midnight in LA and the party is still going on the east coast or did the NY / LA TV thing at midnight EST create this activity? I just don't know.

The Twitter blog has an interesting video showing this phenomenon happen across the globe.

So it is a strong start for Twitter in 2011. Will they be celebrating revenue numbers at the end of this year?

Mobile Platform Shift Trends Continue

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 04:52 AM PST

It will come as little surprise but the latest data from comScore shows that for right now (emphasis on right now) Android is the big winner. Things are changing and if the Verizon iPhone deal ever gets past the "It's definitely coming at some point in the very near but maybe sorta far away future" talk that will be the true measure of who has whom by what body part in the mobile platform space.

The comScore results are

RIM's position at the top is likely to continue to be that way for a while as their position in the corporate world helps them look like they are ahead of the pack. We all know though that the BlackBerry isn't keeping pace with the growing competition from Apple and Android devices and eventually they will slide through that chart. We'll report it as news on that day but no one will be surprised.

When the iPhone does get away from AT&T exclusivity it will be interesting to see just how many people are married to the iPhone platform enough to switch to a pricier provider (Verizon) and get a new phone that will work on the Verizon network. It's a bigger commitment than many are making it out to be so those numbers could be telling.

Also, what if the Verizon network hiccups with the new data surge it will see from iPhone users? Will AT&T service actually improve if some of the current data load is moved elsewhere? If you are a current iPhone user are you thinking of making the switch?

All interesting questions for sure. No one can predict just how this will play out because there are so many factors to consider. As for now though, the Android platform appears to be making hay while the sun is shining. For how long and how bright that sun remains is a question for a higher authority.

Rumors Say Linkedin May Be First to IPO

Posted: 06 Jan 2011 01:54 PM PST

Facebook may get more than its share of buzz, but Linkedin, the social media network with an eye toward business relationships, has been quietly sneaking up on the world. According to the LA Times and a variety of other sources, Linkedin appears to be priming itself for an early 2011 IPO.

Sources say that Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase all took meetings with Linkedin back in November and the timing couldn’t be better. With the financial world all a flutter at the thought of investing in a social media site, Linkedin would be smart to jump in before Facebook steals the spotlight once again.

Of course, comparing the two social media sites is like comparing Kim Kardashian to Oprah. Like Kim, Facebook is all about connecting with friends and realtives for fun — share photos, play games, swap stories over a virtual cup of coffee. Linkedin, however, is all business. Connections are developed through working relationships and the chatter is career based. Linkedin is where you go if you want to find a professional partner, Facebook is where you go if you want a partner of a different kind.

Linkedin may not capture the headlines like Facebook but behind the scenes, they’ve got it all going on. Says the LA Times:

LinkedIn, which has more than 1,000 employees, may not have the explosive growth of Facebook but it is one of the first social media websites to become profitable, making money from premium services and advertising. LinkedIn does not disclose financial results but estimates of 2010 revenue are $200 million.

Which goes to prove that publicly popular doesn’t always mean profitable.

Check out these current facts from their “About” page:

LinkedIn has more than 90 million members in over 200 countries around the globe.
A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second, and about half of our members are outside the U.S.
Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members.

Now imagine where they could go with an IPO.

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New Skype for Business Includes Group Video Chat

Posted: 06 Jan 2011 01:06 PM PST

Group Video Calling is now part of Skype for Business. This handy new feature allows you to host video calls with up to ten people at the same time and it’s only going to cost you $8.99 a month.

From a marketing perspective, this system allows you to do something you can’t do with email and that’s get face time with your customers. Group Video Calling is particularly useful for those of you in the business-to-business arena. For example, you’ve got a new updated widget that you’d like to pitch to a client. Using Skype Group Video Calling, you can get the VP, the department head and the CFO all on the line at the same time while you demonstrate the product. Seeing them react as you progress through the features and benefits is invaluable information that you can use to hone your sales pitch.

In order to use the new feature, the initiator of the call needs to be on Skype Business 5.1 while the participants can use the personal version of Skype 5.0. Calls from Skype to Skype are always free, so you can connect with people in three different parts of the world and it’s all included in the base fee for business users.

To get more mileage out of the video chat features, Skype suggests you record video meetings and training sessions, edit them and send them to customers as a record of the call. This is a fast and cheap way to create training videos for an end user or your sales staff.

If you’ve never tried Skype, you should check it out now. Personal accounts are free and business accounts are very inexpensive for what they provide. Once you start using the system, you’ll find that it’s like duct tape, a simple but effective tool with a variety of helpful uses.