Around the World in 80 Tweets

Twitter as a micro-blog can begin a conversation that is truly global. This can be seen, literally, with the following visual applications:

Twittearth maps a sampling of tweets on a 3D model of the world.

Likewise, Twittermap displays its samples on a goggle map.

Twittervision can toggle from a classic 2D map to a 3D model of the earth as the tweets roll in around the world.

With geocoding applications, twitter maps can display tweets for customized scenarios. An example is tracking attendees at a conference. A street map may be tailored to pinpoint the comments tweeted at specific locations within the campus of the event.

If you are into graphics, Twitter StreamGraphs allows the user to plot keywords versus time. This graph presents a visual model of how people are conversing on different subjects on the web throughout the public timeline.

As a part of marketing strategy, savvy companies strive to address consumer needs. Therefore, Cotweet, that’s for company tweet, can become an integral part of Customer Relation Management (CRM), helping companies reach and engage their customers.

All the above were more cool twitter applications Bill French shared at the 2009 EntConnect conference.

Bill gave a specific example of a twitterer complaining about her cable TV service. Shortly, a cable rep twittered her back asking how he could help. This is evidence that large organizations are regularly monitoring the conversation within twittersphere. And when a hot, new product is released, you can bet that tweets are taken most seriously.

Information is power, especially for a writer, who is taking the public pulse on any number of subjects. Yet, as twittering is exploding globally, this conversation creates responsibility, which will be the subject of my next blog.

Any thoughts on this brave new twitter world?


Related links:

EntConnect website: www.entconnect.org

Twitter and its applications:
Twitter: twitter.com
Twittearth: twittearth.com
Twittermap: twittermap.com/maps
Twittervision: twittervision.com/
Twitter StreamGraphs: neoformix.com/Projects/TwitterStreamGraphs/view.php
Cotweet: cotweet.com/

Bill French links:
myst-technology.com
blogsite.com