What’s the the most powerful feature of Twitter?

It’s definitely the ability to send an “@” reply to anyone on twitter – without their permission.

Now “great tools come with great responsibility” (yup, just made it up

Spam people on twitter, and you will get blocked, labeled a spammer, folks will hate on you, and word can spread very quickly. So obviously, you don’t want to spam folks and screw up your brand and reputation.

The “@” reply is so powerful that you can basically send a “tweet” to anyone who has an account on Twitter. Did you know that you can send a direct message to anyone from Bill Gates to Beyonce Knowles?

How cool is that?

Just remember, all “@ replies” can be seen publicly by everyone on Twitter.

But Twitter DMs (Direct Messages) are “private” tweets. They are seen only by the recipient. But before you can send someone a DM, they must be “following” you first.

Now there are Social Media experts who will tell you to simply “follow” everyone who follows you.

Now why would I want to do that? Just so that they can send me a DM?

Hey, if they must send me something in private, then it is probably important enough for them to go to my web site and send me an email. Or call me. Or @reply me and ask me for a way to contact me privately so we can take it offline. After all, if it’s that important, then I’m sure it deserves more than 140 characters.

And if I am following 17,541 people, then my twitter stream is going to be moving so dang fast, that it makes it practically worthless!

I only follow people, whose “tweets” I’m interested in.

I follow people because I want to know what they’re saying.

I want to know that they’re thinking.

I want to know what they’re reading, writing, selling, ranting about.

So to blindly follow everyone who follows you, makes no sense.

So here’s my take on this:

* Follow only those whose messages (and/or their timeliness) you’re interested in.
* Auto-DM’s and Auto-Follows are for spammers
* Feel free to use the @reply to butt-in to conversations in a relevant, non-spammy, non-commercial way
* Add meaning to a conversation, add value, and grow your network

Your impending “online rock star” status then can’t help but follow.

I’ve been a fan of Guy Kawasaki for a while now.

Not a fan-boi type, but still admired him enough to call myself a “fan”.

I follow him on Twitter, read his blog occasionally, and love to watch his videos as he is a great presenter and speaker who adds a lot of humor and wit to his speeches.

And then, I started reading about his recent keynote speech at SES 2009, NY (Search Engine Strategies).

Watched a couple of videos. Read a couple of articles.

He says stuff like… (paraphrasing here)..

* Twitter is just a marketing tool

* It’s all about how many followers you have

* Go get as many followers as you can

* Autofollow everyone just because they followed you

* It’s ok to “Ghost-tweet”.

Wow, that’s like Seth Godin saying it’s ok to spam, and email is just a marketing tool you should use to spam folks thoroughly.

Wow, that’s really shocking!

Someone I held in such high esteem, talking with such emotional disconnect and impersonal attitude towards followers (who are basically your fans – like me!).

Yeah, it did take more than 30 seconds. It took probably about 15 minutes. But the Guy Kawasaki brand has been irreparably tarnished, from where I stand. And where I stand is all that matters to me, doesn’t it?

Yeah, it doesn’t take too much to lose your fans. Just a little bit of disrespect will do the trick.

Guy Kawasaki: Un-followed.

1) Article: Guy Kawasaki: Twitter As a Tool for Social Media

2) Sage Lewis Interview: SES 2009

Here’s something I completely forgot to add to my earlier post about “What Would – - – - Do?“…

Yes, I do occasionally think “What Would Microsoft Do?“.

And then of course, I do EXACTLY the OPPOSITE – especially when it comes to the quality of their products, their marketing, and their branding (or lack thereof).

So here’s yet another brilliant piece of marketing from Microsoft.

It really makes you cringe – and makes you wonder, is this the best they can come up with in spite of having all that money?

(Original) Brilliant “Host Your Own Windows 7 Launch Party” Idea from M$ (Original)

And here’s a parody of the ad….

(Parody) Brilliant “Host Your Own Windows 7 Launch Party” Idea from M$

Did you know that the incredibly famous Nike “Swoosh” logo was created by a graphic design student desperate to pay for a dress for an upcoming party, for a stunning total of $35 (at $2/hour)?

I watched a Nike documentary recently, where they interviewed  Philip Knight (one of Nike’s Founders), “His Airness” Michael Jordan, and the legendary designer of all (or most?) Air-Jordan shoes.

Knight talks about how when he first met the folks at Wieden+Kennedy (the media company that helped launch Nike as an international brand, with mainly remarkable marketing), he told them that he didn’t believe in advertising!

There is a clip at the end where LeBron James, one of the highest paid basketball players in the world today, says he grew up watching Michael Jordan, and how he and every single kid he knew felt that if they wore the same “Air Jordan” Shoes that they saw Jordan wearing in the commercials, they too could “soar in the air” and make all sorts of magical moves on the court – Just Like Mike.

Did the kids know deep, deep, deep inside that just wearing a specific brand of shoes won’t make you a better player? Of course, they all did.

But did they still convince themselves (and their parents) against reason and common-sense, that the shoes were really what counted? Of course, they all did!

How much did the association with Michael Jordan help Nike become the sports-wear-juggernaut that it is? Probably a LOT.

That just proves one thing: When you have a really strong brand (remarkable shoes, remarkable computers, remarkable prices, remarkable advice), people are much more likely to  buy your products – AND your recommendations – without thinking too much.

My hero Seth Godin recently recommended a book called “Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions“. All he wrote was, (paraphrasing) “It’s remarkable, just go buy it”.

Had never heard of the author. Didn’t read any reviews. Didn’t care about the price.

I just went and bought it  – just because Seth Godin thought it was good (yes, he has worked hard to build that level of trust, and I’m sure he knows better than to dilute it by recommending purely in return for money (say, commercial endorsements?).

If you read only one book this year, then make sure it is this one.

The difference is pretty simple, actually

Quit Smoking
Simple: We all know the health benefits of not smoking. Quit smoking, live longer.
But Not Easy: The actual act of quitting is really hard.

Losing Weight
Simple: Do it and you will look good, feel good, and have more energy
But Not Easy: Working out frequently, cutting down on your favorite fatty foods, and eating healthy, is the hardest thing to do when you’re overweight.

Raving Fans
Simple: Take good care of your customers, and address their questions and concerns quickly.
But Not Easy: The amount of time and effort spent and processes you need to put in place. And sincerely caring about your customers.

Creating Something “Remarkable”
Simple: Build something that people want or need with a unique twist, go really deep in features, and address all the benefits.
But Not Easy: Think Microsoft. All the money and resources and clout in the world, yet they give us Windows ME and Vista.

Earning A Recurring Income
Simple: Build a membership site, add great content, price it well and market it well.
But Not Easy: Implementing the right membership software, creating great content consistently, doing the research and testing on pricing, implementing solid marketing.

If you just looked at what needs to be done, a lot of things in life are actually quite simple.

But the act of just doing it, doing it well, and continuing to do it well, is never ever easy.

Hope you don’t settle for the easy in life. Because nothing worth doing in life is ever easy.

Simple, may be, but never easy.

I use Amazon S3 to host my business videos.

S3 offers incredible performance, unlimited storage, and is extremely affordable. Another Purple Cow from Amazon.

Plus it looks a lot more professional than hosting your business videos on a crowded social video site with user generated videos and ads surrounding it.

• Amazon S3 for video hosting.
• Camtasia / Jing (both from the same folks) for screen capture.
• S3 Fox Free FireFox plugin to upload videos to your Amazon S3 account.
• FlowPlayer free flv player (flowplayer.org) to play the videos.

And I’m done!

Check out some videos I have hosted on S3.

Ok, I was being dramatic. Plus I’m straight (and I think Seth is too).

Last evening, I was fortunate to be a part of a private group that participated in Seth presentation for his new book, “Tribes” .

The presentation was “remarkable!”, as Seth would’ve said himself.

Filled with extraordinary images, and almost no text, Seth walks the Garr Reynolds talk.

Came away with some terrific ideas for building and nurturing my own tribe.

Thanks Seth!

If you haven’t watched this presentation he gave at Google, it’s a must-see.

`

We all know what turned out to be the answer to that question.

So, here we go again: Do We Really Need Yet Another Browser?

If it’s coming from Google, then it’s definitely worth checking out.

It sends my brain tingling when I read this:

Because we spend so much time online, we began seriously thinking about what kind of browser could exist if we started from scratch and built on the best elements out there.

Also see this interesting thread at Slashdot.

It’s not really purple in color. But I did mean that it is Purple.

Why?

It’s because of the way it was successful in creating an entirely new industry of “athlete marketing” like never before. Because of how it created a frenzy among consumers. Because of the innovative ways Nike marketed it [for instance, they paid $5,000 in fine for every match that Michael Jordan wore these banned (then) shoes on court].

Not even Apple – to this date – has been able to match the hysteria that these shoes created (have you ever heard anyone getting mugged or killed for an iPod or iPhone?)

And yes, I was a teenager when I read and watched news about people getting mugged and killed for Air Jordan shoes.

Now go make your own Purple shoes.

The folks who buy a new product when it first comes out, are commonly known as the early adopters.

These people – who are not the same as the “beta testers” – actually spend money to buy the product.

They risk the annoyances, technical and usability issues of First-Generation products in exchange for the “Wow” factor that comes with someone stopping by at your table at a restaurant, or interrupting you on the train, or huddling near you at a party, to ask about your cool new toy.

There is a certain coolness and hipness that comes along with owning the latest and greatest gadget.

But what if the gadget itself is considered a failure? What if you just kept reading poor reviews everywhere you look, especially from the people and web sites and blogs you visit and respect?

Would you still shell out hard-earned-money when you know there is very little “Wow” factor in it for you?

I’m not an early adopter in any way. I am usually on the other end of the curve, buying only the latest version of the most proven products, after the product has been out for a while, after reading tons of reviews and doing a lot of online research.

Even I was initially tempted to get the new Amazon Kindle. But after reading poor reviews everywhere, I finally pulled the plug on this item from my wish list.

Here’s one of the best, most balanced, most informative reviews I’ve read about the kindle.

So, don’t take my word – judge the Kindle for yourself.