Twitter: The Power of Listening
One of my favorite things about Twitter is how it enables me (and you) to listen to what our customers, prospects, and demographic are saying. What do they want? What do they hate? What do they love? What are their pain points? [In case you’ve not heard of Twitter, let’s just say you should take a few minutes to go find out more.]
A smart business can use this information to find opportunity. I do it every day. It’s helping me formulate strategies and tools that will shape the future of my business. Sure, there’s some noise, but it is surprising how much great insight can be found by listening.
In addition to listening to general ideas and discussion, some businesses are big enough to actually be talked about. And the really smart ones are listening!
Take KickApps (a social media community platform) for example. I’m not really a customer per se. More of a casual experimenter. I see the potential, but just haven’t found the right fit yet. I have an account, but only piddle around with it when I want to test a new feature, or experiment with a new idea. I highly doubt they’ve ever made a penny off me.
But that didn’t stop them from listening!
What did they hear? Well, today, I mused, oh so briefly — wondering why they weren’t on Twitter. (I mean, they’re a social media company… and I would guess a big percentage of their customer base, and an even bigger percentage of their demographic is on Twitter.)
Here’s my tweet:
I certainly never thought they would ‘hear’ me. They didn’t seem to be there to hear.
…
BUT. They were listening.
I’m not sure how, but probably through the power of Twitter’s search feature combined with the power of RSS feeds, they did hear me. And in less time than it takes to fly New York to Los Angeles, they responded (and signed up for an official Twitter account.)
Forget why they waited. The fact that they heard their base wondering ‘why not?’ was enough to move them to action. That’s smart.
So, are you listening? How? Has it paid off? If you’re not, how can you start listening?
No commentsCoworking space coming to Des Moines
Last Friday I attended a meeting about co-working here in Des Moines. I was encouraged that things seem to really be shaping up for a new, exciting space where creative, independent professionals can coexist and collaborate in an open office environment. Daniel Shipton and his wife Abbie hosted the event to formally introduce their forthcoming space, Impromptu Studio in Des Moines, and to gather feedback from interested individuals.
Overall, I enjoyed hearing about progress, looking at some photos and video of the top location choices, listening to feedback from the others in attendance and just getting a feel for the types of people interested in such a space. Apparently this sort of thing is really gaining in popularity in more metropolitan cities around the country, and it’s encouraging to see something like this taking shape in our area.
After downsizing and transforming my previous business (which had a couple of employees) I have been working solo in an office suite for the past year — as a result, I have felt very isolated and lacked the camaraderie and inspiration found in a typical office environment. So I am really hoping this turns out to be the kind of work space I have been looking for!
It’s all happening quickly too — it appears they will begin renting out space somewhere in the downtown Des Moines area beginning in July. I plan to be among the first tenants, and hope to see more people getting on board as well. Maybe you?
If you’re a creative professional (designers, developers, writers, etc.) and tired of working amongst the distractions and isolation at home, or looking for a more professional and collaborative space than a coffee shop can provide, I encourage you to check out their offerings at http://impromptustudio.com/index.html
Thanks to Dan and Abbie for taking the initiative to bring such a great opportunity to Des Moines!
P.S. The meeting was held at East Village Books. If you haven’t been to EVB yet, I encourage you to check them out! I was impressed! It’s a very nice book store with a very local flair. Plus, they can provide a venue for small meetings and events (and they even have free parking!)
4 commentsGetting back your passion
There seems to be a trend lately where people are trying to focus on (or find) their passions and to stop pursuing the things that either drive them crazy or make their lives difficult and unfulfilled.
Life has a funny way of dumping stuff on you all at once, and you begin to burden yourself with the removal of the ‘dumpage’ to the point of losing sight of your passions and your dreams. Slowly, these burdens begin to push us in a direction we never really wanted to go and don’t enjoy.
Seems I’ve fallen victim to the piles of ‘dumpage’ as well. Thankfully, I have a strong faith, a fantastic wife, a great community of friends, and enough positive people in my life to help me see why (… and what … and how) to change these circumstances.
That knowledge is helping me get back on track to doing the things I love to do, and not the things I don’t. It’s a process, and it won’t be as rosy as I would like it to be tomorrow or next week… but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. There’s hope that life can be what it ought to be (and it didn’t come from some blathering politician either.)
What about you? Is the ‘dumpage’ weighing you down, and steering you away from your passions? What can you do about it? Search your soul, pray, and ask those around you who care about you for help. Whatever it is you need to do… do it. And don’t wait. The ‘dumpage’ will continue to pile up until you make a change.
Here’s to getting back your passion.
1 commentOne hour of excitement and energy!
“Wow! Such excitement and energy!” That’s what I heard about this morning’s Central Iowa Bloggers meetup at Panera on University in Clive.
Well, it might not show so much from the video… Who knew this bunch of outgoing bloggers would be so shy around the camera? Why is that? Maybe next time we’ll figure out a way to bring the camera around to join the discussion… You can hear a lot of energy and conversation in the room though! Tune in REAL HARD and you’ll enjoy some really interesting conversation.
Thanks to those who tuned in live!
Also, thanks to Mike Sansone for supplying the camera, computer, and Sprint broadband card. (does seem that upload on the card is a bit slow for streaming video… I had the settings set pretty low, and it still came out quite choppy)
1 comment
