Twitter clocks up 5 billion

Social media site Twitter has clocked up 5 billion tweets. Nevermind the fact that a reasonable percentage of those will be drivel...

We're finding that Twitter is increasingly important and we're using it to successfully drive traffic to the iSM (Information Services Monthly) site - http://www.ismonthly.com, as well as those of clients like MobileBroadbandSupermarket (MBS).

Increasingly, we're finding new applications too - along with MBS, we're planning to use twitter to generate regionalised feedback on the quality of service from Mobile Broadband network providers, so we can enhance the service on their site, but also use it as the basis for regional pieces of PR across the UK.

Read more about the 5 billionth tweet here - http://bit.ly/26b8rI

This week Connectivity will launch their "Mobile Directory Service" 118 800. The service is set to be a landmark in the evolution of information services since the derugulation of the old 192 service in the UK. The difference between this service and other 118 directory enquiries services is that it will be giving out personal mobile numbers, having acquired 18 million UK mobile numbers from data brokers etc. On one level it's a great idea and long overdue. However, the obvious question that will be raised is about the protection of people's privacy.

At BrandSpankin' (http://www.brandspankin.co.uk/), we have a close relationship with a US business called Wireless Directory Networks (WDN) - they developed a privacy proposition which squares the circle, in that it allows mobile users to be available whilst not actually giving out their numbers. Below is a link to an interview in Information Services Monthly that I did with Jeff Strunk, WDN's CEO.

http://www.ismonthly.com/features/squaringcircle.asp

http://www.wirelessdirectorynetwork.com/

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Every time we're about to get ahead of ourselves, we check out a bit of Bill Hicks - always a good thing for us Marketeers to be put in our place once in a while...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDW_Hj2K0wo