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During Saturday's opening session at the Newspaper Association of America's MediaXchange conference, Twitter's co-founder, Biz Stone, talked about his company's first five years and what's next for social media.
It was an interesting 30-minute chat and here are a few of the big takeaways:
Will Twitter ever change their 140-character rule? Stone says no way. Writing in two sentences makes you a better, tighter writer, he says. It's all about linking, he said as well. From me: A great exercise for a long-winded writer or those who have trouble getting to the point of a story is to try and write your lead and nut graph as a Tweet. It's been an interesting experiment in attempting to write tighter for me as I have adopted Twitter more in the last few months. It'll show your weaknesses and make you better.
What did Jet Blue do? They were one of the first businesses to adopt Twitter but couldn't get many followers. So they asked their few followers and others what they could do to be more engaging. Results poured in and Stone now says that they are one of the most active and innovative companies when it comes to Twitter adoption. "I got on a Jet Blue flight recently and I got a Tweet telling me I should try their peanuts. It was like the plane was talking to me" From me: Asking readers what kind of content they want to be Tweeted is great interaction. Consider creating a specific hashtag for the outreach and do it every few weeks.
What was your wow factor with Twitter? Stone said he was at a conference in Texas and someone Tweeted that there was a better session going on a room or two away. All of a sudden, tons of folks left the room that Stone was in. He knew Twitter had arrived.
You ran see more from Stone's interview here.
Follow me on Twitter: david_arkin
David Arkin is the Vice President of Content & Audience for GateHouse Media. He oversees all matters related to print and online content, strategy, and online development and support related to the company’s content management system. From 2007-2011 he served as the executive director of the News & Interactive Division for GateHouse Media. Prior to that, he served as the executive editor of Greater Niagara Newspapers (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) and served as the top editor for the Cullman Times (Ala.), the Porterville Recorder (Calif.) and the Huntsville Item (Texas).
