AJ Vaynerchuk

Introduction

Twitzu is a new twitter application for events. When a user creates an event, Twitzu automatically tweets out the event details from the creator’s twitter. Twitzu then encourages individuals to RSVP for the events, when that action occurs, Twitzu again automatically tweets out that the user is attending the event.

What I like

I think Twitzu can be an easier, simpler version of upcoming if done right. The ease of using twitter rather than another service adds to Twitzu’s appeal. The viral features of automatically tweeting RSVP’s help build the events exposure.

What I don’t like

Twitzu’s design is rather bland, a redesign is a must! Also, Twitzu is very buggy - when users RSVP Twitzu often duplicates the user’s avatar and RSVP.

Final words

For now Twitzu isn’t really worth using. With a redesign and some bugs worked out, Twitzu could instantly emerge as an extremely useful tool for quick events and parties.

What is TwitterCounter?

Twitter counter is another tracking device for keeping track of Twitter followers. Once you enter in your information (twitter handle) TwitterCounter will keep tabs on how many followers you have.

Smart branding decision

The first thing I thought of when I saw the embed for TwitterCounter was Feedburner. Sure the design decision shows little to no creativity, but associating yourself with a brand that doesn’t directly effect your product can definitely work to your advantage.

Final thoughts

TwitterCounter is a fun little application that serves a purpose. I think the best part about it is how unobtrusive the embed is. If they went with the big obnoxious widget, I would have probably ignored the product.

Over the past week or so I have seen / heard a lot of buzz around Plurk. Plenty of my friends have joined, and a lot of them even like the service - but for one reason or another I do not see the appeal. What could possibly make Plurk a replacement for Twitter?

My questions regarding Plurk

Is the time line really worth the switch?
Are all my friends on Plurk?
Doesn’t Plurk just waste more time?
How is Plurk on the iPhone?

Should I use Plurk?

I’m willing to listen, but I have yet to find a reason to start “plurking.” Anyone care to change my mind?

Mixing my two favorite things: Web 2.0 and Sneakers. Today is the Twitter Web 2.0 Sneakers:

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The following is a response to / highlighting of Stephen Baker’s article in Business Week entitled, “Why Twitter Matters.”

The key question today isn’t what’s dumb on Twitter, but instead how a service with bite-size messages topping out at 140 characters can be smart, useful, maybe even necessary.

This is a wonderful point! Anyone who criticizes twitter likes to point out the “sillyness” of some tweets. How about all of the silly applications on Facebook? How about reality television? Every service is going to have certain areas that are less than useful, that doesn’t mean the whole service / application is useless.

Late in April, following one of Twitter’s outages, TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington wrote: “I realized that in the last two months a subtle shift occurred: I now need Twitter more than Twitter needs me.”

Great quote from Michael Arrington of Techcrunch. I feel the exact same way! If Twitter is down I feel like I am out of the loop, I rely on Twitter to keep up.

Dell (DELL), a Visible customer, scouts out the tweets and dispatches its Twittering workers to jump into the conversations. At a conference last week, the company claimed to have boosted sales through these efforts by $500,000 in recent months.

Interesting stat. Even though we already know the usefulness of Twitter for business, it is nice to see a company such as Dell back Twitter in such a way.

Stone avoids details. The goal now, he says, is to raise money, nail down the technology, and grow Twitter until it’s enormous.

Biz and crew know what their doing. It should be very interesting to see how Twitter develops its business model over the next year or so. If I had to guess, the ad model their using for Japan won’t be the direction.

What did you think of the article? Did anything catch your eye?