LB's Rambles

Virtual Success

So while most of us writing about social media have been focussing on the phenomenal growth of Twitter and Facebook, we have been ignoring another pretty amazing success story. Virtual worlds - places such as Second Life and World of Warcraft and Habbo - have also been growing very strongly.

Victor Keegan at the U.K.'s The Guardian has details, which may be summed up nicely in this phrase: "Twitter makes the noise, Second Life makes the money." Keegan points out that the number of users at Habbo alone rivals the size of some nations - 135 million people.

I'll admit to being a virtual world skeptic - but I'm in an older demographic, and the numbers Keegan cites point pretty clearly to an explosion of usage among teens, even pre-teens. As we look at the developing world - real and virtual - we would do well to keep these numbers in mind.

Hat tip: MediaPost

Are Fat People Lazy?

Yes, I know - the question sure caught my attention too, when I saw it. But the question is being asked from a marketing perspective - and I think it holds a valuable lesson or two. Pat LaPointe, Managing Partner at MarketingNPV, has a very thoughtful post on MediaPost's Metrics Insider blog using this question to show marketers why - before we can come up with meaningful metrics to measure success - we need to agree first on some basic definitions. What do you think?

Well OK, Then...

Remember last Friday, when just about everybody - self included - was talking about how the White House had banned Twitter from WH computers?

Not so fast.

Turns out that the White House spokesperson was misinterpreted or misquoted. Twitter is most definitely NOT banned, according to the White House press office. Rachel Sklar has the details at MediaIte.

Hat tip: Max Cacas, via Facebook

Barnes & Noble Debuts the eReader

This should be interesting. Bookdealer Barnes & Noble has introduced a new eReader with a price that competitors like Amazon's Kindle and Sony's eBook will find hard to beat: free.

According to the B&N ad, which appeared in my email box this afternoon, the new eReader software - note that it's NOT a standalone device - works on the iPhone and Blackberry, as well as on PC and Mac platforms.

Not only is the software free, but B&N is offering six free books - their choice, not yours, sorry - to people who download the software and log in to their B&N accounts or, presumably, set up new ones. The ad says they have 700,000 e-titles to choose from.

With Google, Amazon, Sony and Barnes & Noble now all in the act, the competition in this space is growing ever more intense. For those of us who'd like to see an expansion in the number and quality of available electronic titles, this has to be welcome news.

"The Frightened Lady"

The review this week on the "Classic Mysteries" podcast is of an excellent thriller by Edgar Wallace, who was the king of thriller writers in the 1920s and early 1930s. "The Frightened Lady" tells the story of the murders - and other strange and terrifying events - at Marks Priory, a stately home in the English town of Marks Thornton. Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Tanner has his work cut out for him to discover what has been happening at Marks Priory and who, or what, is so badly frightening "The Frightened Lady."

Published in 1933, this is one of Wallace's gems - it's an excellent thriller but it's also a classic mystery story, with a genuinely surprising and unorthodox conclusion. Wallace could certainly churn out potboilers, but this isn't one of them - it's a delightful summertime read. You can listen to the full review here. And, if you enjoy great mysteries, come on over and discuss them at www.classicmysteries.net.

How to Fail on Twitter

I still get into debates with friends and colleagues about the value of Twitter. To me, Twitter is a tool which - like any other tool - can be used well or used poorly. And while there are plenty of guides to help you use Twitter successfully, there may be more ways to fail. Lee Odden at the Online Marketing Blog has posted a thoughtful piece listing ten ways to Twitter failure - and, to demonstrate the value of Twitter as a social media tool, he's added 40 more ways to fail suggested by people responding to his initial tweet. That's fifty ways to fail - or, obviously, to avoid.

Hat tip: Ragan's PR Daily

Twitter Banned at White House

According to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, Twitter has been blocked from White House computers. While nothing that politicians or bureaucrats do can ever truly surprise me, this does seem somewhat more obtuse than usual. Marshall Kirkpatrict at ReadWriteWeb has all the details, and Andrew Malcolm at the LA Times has some suitable snark.

I don't know. With all the things that really irritate me, this seems to rank fairly low on the outrage scale - but it does seem incongruous at best for a White House that wants to be considered utterly cool when it comes to electronic communications (remember the question of the Presidential Blackberry?) and more than a little boneheaded.

And anybody who tells me it happened in the White House and not incongruous deserves whatever fate may happen to them...sigh...

Hat tip: @PeterHimler via Twitter

Putting a New Face on Twitter

I could get rich if I had a nickel for every time I start talking to someone about the advantages of Twitter, only to hear, "But why should anyone CARE if I'm going out now. Or coming back now. Or eating lunch." They don't see the value - and, to be fair, Twitter certainly hasn't gone out of its way to make that value apparent.

The people at Twitter are certainly aware that you don't get very far in social media by standing still. So they're launching a new home page to give Twitter a new, and hopefully more useful, face. Among other things, there will be better and more apparent integration of search. It's about time. Adam Ostrow at Mashable has all the details. Ostrow thinks it's a good move. So do I.

Looking for Twitter Followers - As a Job Qualification

There has been a fair amount of discussion in the various emails and newsletters over the past couple of days over companies that are looking for social media-savvy workers and using the number of Twitter followers as one determining qualification. MediaPost's Online Media Daily has a good writeup pointing to BestBuy's recent search for someone with at least 250 Twitter followers, not to mention Facebook friends and a year's experience at blogging.

Does that kind of thing make you a more savvy social media person? Maybe. This blog is a couple of years old (and to those few of you who read it regularly, my thanks!), and I have about 300 people following @LesBlatt - but am I better qualified for a job in social media than someone with different qualifications? Take a look at some of the comments on that MediaPost item. What do you think?

"Overture to Death"

I've chosen one of Ngaio Marsh's fine "Inspector Alleyn" mysteries to review on this week's "Classic Mysteries" podcast. It's "Overture To Death," the story of the murder of an elderly, gossiping spinster roundly disliked by most of the townspeople. The murder itself was pretty spectacular - and it quickly became evident that the crime itself was quite impossible for anyone to have set up. You can listen to the full review here.

Marsh began writing in the Golden Age of Detection - this book dates from 1939 - and continued on into the 1970s. Chief Detective-Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard is one of my favorite series detectives. Marsh was a theatrical producer/director, and there is a good deal of practical theatrical know-how in her books which will delight anyone who has ever had either a professional or amateur connection with a theater group.

If you enjoy mysteries, let me invite you again to join the discussion at www.classicmysteries.net where you will find well over 100 reviews of some fine mysteries. I'd love to hear your opinions.