It’s official: Sue is now a do-gooder! (5 reasons to use Twitter)

Sue has been called many things in the past – but to our knowledge, this is the first time she’s been labelled a do-gooder!

This accolade appeared in Fenton.com’s list of Twitter non-profit do-gooders: http://www.fenton.com/blog/twitter-top-list-of-non-profit-influencers/ (interesting list or people to follow, well worth a look). Sue was in illustrious company and we are all very proud of her.

It set me thinking about Twitter: what we use it for & why it’s good to use. Here are the main things that I’ve noticed people doing with it:

• Getting speedy answers to questions – or help with practical things
• Keeping up with things you’re interested in (news, sports, politics etc)
• Telling the world what you’re doing (including family & friends)
  
• Getting people to join in with things/take action
• Venting your spleen (telling the world what you think/feel about things)
  

Why do you use Twitter? Let us know - particularly if you use it in other ways...

Read more

• 10 Great Uses for Twitter: http://webtrends.about.com/od/twitter/a/why_twitter_uses_for_twitter.htm
• Why use Twitter: http://crackberry.com/why-use-twitter

What we know about email and social media use in 2011

I love reviews of the year – lists of highlights from the year’s books, films, music... and now, in new technology.

Many thanks to Vertical Response’s marketing blog for drawing my attention to the interesting research carried out by the Radicati Group, a technology market research group.

Here’s what they tell us about 2011:

• 2.8 million emails were sent every second – email is definitely not dead!
• Facebook (Fb) now has more than 800 million active users, more than 350 million of whom log on via mobile devices.
• More than 50% of Fb’s active users use Fb on any given day.
• The average Fb user has 130 friends.
• The average Fb user is connected to 80 community pages, groups & events.
• In the middle of 2011, Alexa ranked the top sites worldwide as Google (1st), Facebook (2nd), YouTube (3rd) with Twitter coming in 9th (it’s currently down in 10th position – probably pushed out temporarily by Amazon (currently in 9th position) because of all the Christmas shopping!
• Twitter has 100 million active users, half of whom log in daily.
• 40% of Twitter’s active users log in only to follow what others are saying, not to tweet themselves.
• The highest rate of tweets per second (TPS) currently stands at 9,000 (the news of Beyonce’s pregnancy in August 2011).

Not only does the blog pander to my love of reviews, it also includes some predictions for 2012 – and I love predictions, too! Here are 3:

1. Cross-platform works: using as many different platforms as your supporters use to communicate your message consistently across the platforms – that’s the way to go.
2. Email will continue to grow: email newsletters are powerful drivers of traffic, so you should develop yours in 2012. If you don’t already use an email broadcast system, you should seriously consider it – and it doesn’t have to cost much (or anything) – see link to CharityeMail’s special offer below.
3. Email will have to display well on mobile screens: this is going to be essential. An increasing number of people picked up their emails from their mobile devices in 2011 and this trend is set to continue.

Read more

• Alexa on top sites: http://www.alexa.com/topsites
• CharityeMail’s special offer for organisations sending out fewer than 500 emails per month: http://www.charityemail.co.uk/special_offer

New ideas for a new year #1: Ever thought of publicising your blog via the Kindle?

A new year deserves some new ideas, so here’s the first in an occasional series of ideas – things you might not yet have tried which could be worth exploring.

At least 3 people I know (none of them major techies) were given Kindles for Christmas. Which in my book now makes the Kindle a mainstream possession.

Thousands of bloggers are blogging via Kindle, though not too many charities yet (looking through the current blog list, I notice that Friends of the Earth are already up there but very few other well known names).

Why bother?

"Having my blog on the Kindle opened many doors of opportunity for me when it became a surprise hit!" Lorie Marrero, The Clutter Diet

That’s the quote on the Kindle Publishing for Blogs homepage. Your blog may not become a runaway success but publicity is really the main reason for using the Kindle in this way. It’s true that you can make money – but to be honest the amounts are negligible. Amazon only gives you 30% of the revenue, as well as setting the price in the first place (and it’s likely to be low), so this really isn’t about the money.

How does it work?

Kindle Blogs are delivered (downloaded so you can read them even when you’re not connected) wirelessly and automatically to the Kindle and are updated throughout the day. And they contain full content and most images, unlike RSS readers which often provide only headlines.

How to do it

1. Create a Kindle Publishing account (at https://kindlepublishing.amazon.com/gp/vendor/setup-sign-in/create-account?ie=UTF8&successUrl=%2Fgp%2Fvendor%2Fregistration). This is the bit that will take the longest, as it involves setting up a vendor account, so they need some financial information about you and you then have to go through an approvals process.
2. Once your account is live, add & preview your blog using a simple, one-page form.
3. Publish your blog and it’ll become available on the Kindle Store.

Read more

• Early advice from mashable: http://mashable.com/2009/05/13/blogs-amazon-kindle/
• Get started as a Kindle publisher: https://kindlepublishing.amazon.com/gp/vendor/sign-in?signInError=4&temp=/186-3082288-4633803
• See what kinds of blogs are already available on Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=amb_link_157524647_5?ie=UTF8&node=341688031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=01ZNFD2ANXESRMAYBWRA&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=215183627&pf_rd_i=341688031