WebProNews » PlaceShout

Twitter Is Great For Reporters

WebProNews Staff — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 21:22:49 +0000

Alright, I’ll jump on, even acquiesce. I have viewed Twitter as more of a social phenomenon kept neatly secret within the tech community – a bubble in which the brainiacs converse. I have watched and chuckled and dismissed. I may change my mind.

Being myopic is different from being wrong, you know. I write about ebusiness and the things online that could be beneficial, even branch out every now and then to quirky new developments, such as platforms that are blog/IM hybrids like Twitter.

But a business use? Nah, not really. PlaceShout, on the other hand, I thought was completely useful for the small business franchise. Twitter was for bloggers with a twitchy BlackBerry thumb.

Remember the births that have been Twittered? Good for when it’s difficult to get to your blog.

And good for pissing people off, too. Thoughts are silent for a reason.

Marshall Kirkpatrick has schooled me, though, in how I should have been using it. Rather than being the casual observer (which is my favorite role in life, honestly), I should have been using the thing in my job.

"I counted and at that time 5 of my last 11 stories were based on news I learned first from my friends on Twitter," he writes.

And zoinks! He’s absolutely right.

God, I hate getting schooled.

Will I use Twitter now? I’ll think about it once my pride heals – and that could take a while. Until then, good on ya, Marshall. Twitter does sound like a great place to get leads.

PlaceShout: Like Twitter, But Useful

WebProNews Staff — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:44:19 +0000

Before you start hating, I like Twitter. I think it’s a very interesting as a social experiment and I follow its development — even if I refuse to use it. When somebody lets me know why I should, I might. Until then we talk about PlaceShout, where economy of words contributes to the economy of local businesses.

It’s a great idea, and if it goes much further, it’s destined to be abused. But who knows? Maybe the wisdom of crowds will prevail as users can vote up reviews they agree with. PlaceShout combines a Twitter-esque interface with Google Maps to let users review local businesses in 100 characters or less.

Lisa Barone at Bruce Clay sums it up pretty well (and has an extensive review):

Now you don’t have to read through a 700 word thesis on how this guy went to that one breakfast restaurant and his eggs were runny and then the waitress spilled the coffee all over his lap and then they were slow to get the check and he wasted 90 minutes there when all he wanted was a quick breakfast.

Yep, PlaceShout pretty much makes you cut to the chase.

Once reviewed, places pop up on the Google Maps mashup, so if you need a quick word about what’s good and near you (or what to avoid for that matter), you can bring that right up.

I give it a year before it’s completely abused by self-promoting moles who’d rather you ignore the bit about the rats. But until then, it looks like a simply useful service.