Twitter, The Game Changer

Crowdsourcing is incredible and with Twitter the impact of crowdsourced opinions, thoughts, ideas and even digressions are indeed becoming infinite.  Best of all, Twitter enables tsunami sized and teardrop sized human waves of material, manmade and organic, to transcend and cross the boundaries of time zones and news gatekeepers and even, in some rare instances, age old prejudices.  The incredible marvel of Twitter truly is that it enable all of us to share/tweak/obsess/learn (lessons learned from Balloon Boy) and shape our news, thoughts, ideas, interests and world at large.  Each person does indeed have the power to become the next pebble in the pond and the ripples can become a giant tsunami of information and one person can become the catalyst with a single Tweet of poignant or relevant interesting content.  Even if it is a status check of some random person enjoying a glass of water, someone out there has at least seen that Tweet and it was interesting enough either due to the person or even just the simplicity nay humanity of the act that holds at least enough of the mere seconds of attention to skim those 140 characters.  The phenomenon of the tremendous power that Twitter holds is undeniably evident in every trending topic.  Twitter has given Tweeps what people had not so long ago feared was long gone, a voice and the chance to be heard.  The power has indeed come back to the individual.  Let’s make no mistake about it, media as we knew it for centuries has been altered.  Twitter is a game changer in every sense of the word.

• Celebrities can now set rumors and tabloids wrong in a single Tweet response to a fascinated public and interact directly. 
• News of turmoil, injustices and tragedies are tweeted and known and updated immediately. 
• In fact, I very literally happened to be ending a long day at work and checked online to catch @alonis sharing @larfo ’s image of the Bay Bridge Accident as he passed on Twitter in what must have been minutes if not seconds of passing (yes that is over 72,900 views) and tweeted:
  “Guess I’m NOT headed to East Bay. Thnx @Alonis > @larfo http://bit.ly/bba09 Looks like part of Bay Bridge fell off & hit some cars. #fb  5:54 PM Oct 27th from web”
  Only to have it be confirmed by SF Gate a few minutes later and have friends tell me they actually happened to find out about it from my Tweet before the news. 

THAT was first hand experience of Twitter breaking news to the public faster than media.  And these days even big publications’ writers do happen to use Twitter (and blogs (ahem NY Times) to bring us the news that connects us all and reminds us that we are but mortal.  And don’t get me wrong, it’s nice and essential to have trusted sources to provide robust stories to the events that do occur to fill the gaps but the power of the Tweet is mighty and quickly becoming tremendous with its ability to shrink our world and allow for an infinite number of connections.  Viral truly has a new sphere in which it is recognized.

The world IS smaller. People have come to be a village and community rather than separate silos and cliques.  And it’s a nice change.  The human wave doesn’t just end at edge of town anymore – it can cross the globe and return again. Ad nauseum and change, influence and allow us to explore every opinion and way of life.

Simply and outrageously quenching by being the most notorious connector known to date.  The Game Changer.

Filed under: Blog, Business, Tech, World, twitter , connector, crowdsourcing, game changer, twitter

The Present

Perhaps the most stumbling thing about the present is acknowledging how we are in perpetual limbo between past and future.

In the current climate where so many people are facing incredible unknowns…how does anyone actually sleep soundly at night without worries of what tomorrow brings? How do we plan the next steps that will allow us to get to a point that is at least in the vicinity of where we were hoping to be once upon a time?

It’s no secret that unemployment is at an all time high and those that are employed are working crazily to ensure that they do execute and produce results all the while being asked to reach further. Meanwhile dozens of friends who had found themselves jobless are turning to innovate. The tech world as we know it is fertile with startups begging for attention. Applications, web blogs, web based businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors of all sizes and shapes are sprouting from every angle and corner of possibility as we all struggle to find some sturdy foothold in a tumultous present where everything hangs on chance.

When will that time come again when things were somewhat certain and minutia were often taken for granted? Are those days gone? Sadly the answer is beginning to lean towards an increasing yes.

- Global warming is proving to be something that COULD very well happen sometime in the future just as the EPA publishes secret global warming findings from the Bush administration: http://bit.ly/1tDJ4w

- Unemployment continues to rise even as the Dow hiccups itself to show some signs of health http://bit.ly/47OHMy.

- Even in the fruitful San Francisco market where a bubble culture exists where people live, work and play in a way that suggests a recession isn’t occuring, unemployment has risen to 17% http://bit.ly/3Jsfd1

The future is bleak, the past is lost…and the present is frustrating and fatigue inducing at best…so where pray tell, do we go from here? Does anyone know?  I think we’re all collectively searching for some direction and being mindful to be appreciative and being vividly present in the present.  And if we’re not doing so, we sincerely should.

Filed under: Business, Economy, Life, World

The Genius of Apple

No one brand has ever truly captured the magic of perfecting the Principles of Marketing like Apple.

Product.
Price.
Place.
Promotion.

User experience is a work of art within Apple’s creations.  In following the holy grail of common sense…make something that folks of all walks of life would use, love and be obsessed about and you’ve hit a jackpot that just can’t go wrong – most people would even overlook some not so minor issues…so long as you give us what we want and need. We all know this but in this age of beat the competition capitalism, more often than not, that one gem that makes or breaks is often overlooked for enter market first expediency and status.

We all know that the battery life and expiry of a mobile Apple device can leave one stranded with no alternative but to purchase a replacement of the very object that one has become so intrinsically attached. FRUSTRATING and if it were not functional every cell phone company exercising this mindless supply and demand goldmine knows that  Apple in its delivering of a product such as the iPhone has truly delivered nearly every whim and desire I, and a possible we (on behalf of all iPhone owners) as a plausible whole, could have ever necessitated or dreamt of. Crowdsourced open API innovation of iPhone apps makes the limitations we once knew would eventually arrive an obsolete memory. 

I can only vaguely recall once being an avid and stubborn Blackberry Verizon Wireless afficiondo.  It’s remarkable really and also incredibly frustrating and yet unavoidable to now be at the mercy of iPhone’s genius…because I DID end up shelling out an additional obscene amount of money to replace the iPhone I lost.  And not only did I simply replace, I upgraded to a 3GS fully aware that I WILL be back, since the battery will eventually die and leave me with no other choice than to purchase yet another upgrade of my current iPhone.  

Yes this is self (and brand loyalty) inflicted self indulgence at its pinnacle…at least I can use my HP employee discount on accessories and headphones I will also be replacing a number of times.  In fact, it’s simply incredible that I find myself excusing the actuality that phone functionality itself and the obscene amount of resulting dropped calls as a worthwhile side effect when the object in question has the word “phone” in it’s naming, all in the name of having most of my basic tech needs fulfilled gluttonously and with me at all times. LOL.

Filed under: Uncategorized

We Are All Connected

My dear friend Ahlam Hassan, Co-Founder & Editor in Chief of Broke Fashionista just shared this story with me on the story of Beth Ashley and Rowland Fellows that was published in the NY Times about a boy and girl who had a story which they were able to complete even with “70 years of empty space” between them after being bridged by a piece of journalism written by Ms. Ashley.  It reminded me of how vitally connected we all are in this world – and ever increasingly so as media continues to evolve and allows for even deeper connections to the people in our lives.

Media is constantly evolving.  In its many transformations it has touched the written word with print, reality through TV and the spoken word through radio. And as the internet matures, media has transformed yet again. It has gone from a broadcast and direct medium to one that is ever reaching in its grasp and mediums of reach in its evolvement into social media.  Media has come to mean new things with the advent of social media through blogs, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn and other platforms – communication has come to be multi-dimensional and to an infinite number connections.  With Facebook and Twitter enabling all of us to become journalists of our own lives, experiences, thoughts, activities and careers in the sharing of content; whether that be a quick micro blog headline of 140 characters, a sharing of a YouTube video one loves or the viral spread of news via video, status updates, polls, contests and internet news articles alike, the way in which we can all communicate our interests, activities and lives have multiplied a million fold.  And with all the capabilties and technological enablements comes one fundamental and vibrant truth.  We are all connected with limitless possibility.  Selectively or openly – we are even more connected now than ever before.  Distance and time hardly do little more than delay communication dependent on time zone and social media has made it possible for us all to find commonalities and make bridges through professional and personal nuances. 

I could easily find ways to connect with long lost childhood friends just as easily as I can connect with past, present and future friends, colleagues and peers with just a few strokes of the keyboard and a click of a mouse.  Each detail we share of our lives becomes a link in the chain, a code for which others of the same vein could connect of both acquainted and unacquainted relations.  And it is incredible to think of how each day’s experiences and meetings will only expose us to more people, places and things to connect with.  The web and social media has connected us all indefinitely and have made it easier to maintain that connection without a glitch.  Sitting here in a hotel room in Santa Barbara after a long day at CJU 2009, I can simultaneously order a pizza from down the street while chatting with friends and family in San Francisco, Paris and Hong Kong while sharing my applause of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” Performance at the 2009 VMA Awards, work, read up on Brian Solis’ notes on Facebook Reaching 300 Million Users Profitably, share RedBeacon’s win of the top prize at TechCrunch50 2009 on Twitter and enjoy The Fellows’ story on how they too connected through media which has in essence been connecting people, ideas and creations to one another for decades.

The blending of all media and the connecting of one or many people and minds across many distances, times and topics has become limitless in its reach, depth and scope.  I can only borrow Miss Hassan’s sentiments regarding The Fellows’ story in saying ”talk about longevity” and share the same regard for us all being undeniably and intricately connected through media’s ever evolving possibilities making it possible.

Filed under: Blog, Tech

About Blogging…

A while ago now, I had several lighthearted discussions and one with a suprising amount of traction regarding a fondness for blogging, how it is missed dearly and how it needs to come back.  Surprisingly, even in this liberating age of post from anywhere, at any time in 140 characters of Twitter, there was quite a bit of sincere agreement.  And hence, we the start of my first public actual blog post after a rather long hiatus of almost 3 years.

As with what I imagine to be most Gen Yers, the days of blogging as a explorer of the world with no real direction, aim, cause or even rhyme are long gone and I wouldn’t go back to the days of pouring my heart out into the void that is the web without all of the privacy settings that are now required to even be PC and androgynous enough to not offend or tarnish oneself or others.  

Quite honestly it has been a bit of an internal struggle to return.  As a university student you get a hall pass to be as emo and naive and ad hoc as you desire.  To some extent, journalists and entrepeneurs and artists seem to also be able to enjoy this special privelege; but as the internet ages and matures into the still maturing internet that we know now – the exception is definitely not holding to the majority.  While we all still hear the horror stories of bullying occuring in the extremely public domain of the web amongst high schoolers and of the emo ramblings of angst ridden youth; even they are beginning to subside as more and more articles and blogs are being published shouting the cautions and need for discretion and privacy measures to be enforced in the public sphere of social networking and media.  Barack Obama even gave a talk about it to teens.  Raw thoughts and emotion are being replaced by references, opinions, intellectual reasoning, debates, facts and discussions which are sure to take a little getting used to as the voices of yonder each take their turn at growing up and wobble a bit to find its professional personal voice in an internet that is proving to be more and more complex and increasingly layered with potential employers, family members and law suits that makes the days of bohemian (now that we’re looking back) free speech obsolete. 

Slowly but surely beyond the roars that are Twitter and Facebook, blogs will grow again and merge with the new technologies, and scribes with things to contribute might reign again.  Blogging and the written word with real thoughts and insights are bound to and need to return.  The comeback, which is outlined by Chris Saad, who I actually discussed this want of blogs returning right at the pinnacle of the publishing of his blog here:  http://blog.areyoupayingattention.com/ will ironically most likely be a result of all the shrinking of thoughts that Facebook pioneered with its 160 count status updates that Twitter has institutionalized with 140.

As much as Twitter has enabled the freedom of speech and real time reporting of troubles in Iran and expanded the real life occurences of celebrity gossip – making news and tabloid publications alike akin to Cliff Notes of real events and the lives of the rich and famous, it has also stifled us.  As a marketer and even more so as a personal fan and enjoyer of Twitter and it’s many pros, the biggest challenge in having news or thoughts that are even worth broadcasting to the X amount of followers one has, is that every thought and muse must be repackaged into a 140 character snippet.  Nuances, ticks, intentions, thoughts, ideals, discussions, insights and even enthusiasm and chagrin all have to be condensed to a headline…EXTRA EXTRA!!!  We’re all shouting “EXTRA! Read all about it!” with a link off to an abrupt dead end of an article with the extra effort opt-in option of adding a comment or enjoying the quick word bite snack at best – with just a taste that at times leaves us hungry and off for the next sample of something and the next…

As a lover of Twitter, I do appreciate that this is perhaps the beauty of the mechanism that drives the whales and birds forward and allows us all to know a little about a lot at all hours of the day.  But as the old adage goes….what happens to knowing a lot about a little?  The quick bites might be informative and useful and even entertaining and addictive but in the end they are but a broadcast of what is known by whoever is broadcasting with no additional thoughts or call to really engage and understand the topic.

It would be nice if anything, to just have blogging back so we get to really know the broadcasters and the noise makers on a deeper level than the quick RTs and @mentions and @says allow.  And it would be equally nice if we didn’t lose blogging, raw thoughts, real insights and, by that same token, journalism in its true written form.  So I suppose in a diggression from the purely technical and as a small contribution as an aside from the Twittering and Facebooking I will still be avidly supporting and enjoying; I am also standing up as a small occasional voice (as time allows) and joining the blog return revolution.  I do miss complete thoughts and insights dearly.  And even though I know that the departure from blogs as we once knew them entirely is quite possibly unavoidable – especially with the increase of transparency which in turn makes truly genuine and raw thoughts and opinions a danger (what with corporations, celebrities and even the little people taking accidental or somewhat unintentional instances of defamation to court).  I’d still like to  really get to the bottom of what makes the sharer of ideas and news and even random thoughts tick.  Afterall, if they were interesting enough to follow, and the content they do blast is amusing, they are sure to add some incredible depth to whatever it is they are sharing and catapulting into the universe publically.  This not so closet bookworm and lover of languages misses the poetry of the written word that is so often censored by our 140 character missives that link off to increasingly formulaic factoids without the vivid color and passion of human touch of the past. 

I’m sure the point has been gotten.  Dusting off the blog now and opening up a new chapter with a hopeful smile.  Hope some will find the insights useful or at the least interesting.

Filed under: Blog, Tech

Hello world!

This site is a work in progress, but I am working on it!
This will be a place of mostly mindless and often random ramblings, observations, thoughts and vents. 

In the meantime please follow me on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/tinahui or link me in on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=5657492&locale=en_US&trk=tab_pro!

It’ll be great to catch up!

Filed under: Uncategorized , about, linkedin, twitter