You’ve had dozens (or possibly hundreds) of articles about how to use Twitter for your businesses hurled at you over the last year or so. There are a lot of good ideas, a lot of bad ones, and a lot of contradictions. What do you expect though? The marketing world is still trying to figure this whole social media thing out. Some are having great success, and some are just wasting a lot of time.
Google Now Identifying Businesses in Street View
Google has now made it easier to view businesses in Street View on Google Maps. When a user conducts a local search, the bubble that pops up on business results will show a Street View link.
Users can click on that link and see the business marked with a 3D marker in Street View, just like the one you’d find on the map. When you click the marker, details about the business are shown right within Street View.
More to Retweeting Than Meets the Eye for Businesses?
Retweeting is a phenomenon that has taken the Twitter world by storm. The concept began when somebody added the letters "RT" to somebody else’s tweet and posted it as their own. The idea caught on on a massive scale, and now there are services that utilize retweeting as the backdrop of their entire purposes. "Some of Twitter’s best features are emergent—people inventing simple but creative ways to share, discover, and communicate.
Google Lets Businesses Speed Up Videos
Google has introduced a feature for Google Video for Business that allows viewers to adjust the playback speed. There is a speed control button/slider on the video player that can be used to speed up or slow down a clip.
If you’re unfamiliar with Google Video for Business, it’s part of Google Apps Premiere and Education editions, and lets users share rich video information, keep videos secure and private, and collaborate on videos.
Businesses Can Submit Their Property to Google Street View
Google introduced its Street View Partner Program today. This lets organizations and businesses apply to have their property featured in Street View on Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Maps for Mobile.
Businesses Increasingly Looking to iPhone Apps
iPhoneAppQuotes, which puts businesses together with iPhone developers, has released some interesting findings. The company has noticed a shift in app development trends.
"Business apps are proving to be the most popular category of apps as entrepreneurs and small businesses realize the marketing and additional revenue stream potential the iPhone creates," says Founder Gregg Weiss.
Some of iPhoneAppsQuotes’ findings include:
Twitter Gives Businesses a New Resource
The other day, Twitter Co-founder Biz Stone hinted that the company was working on a document that would provide uses cases and best practices for Twitter use by businesses. Now, Twitter has already put that document up for viewing, and called it Twitter 101 for Business.
Facebook Gives Businesses a Way to Increase Fans
Facebook recently announced the Live Stream Box, which lets webmasters integrate a real-time social viewing experience on their site. A spokesperson for Facebook tells Murdok, "Yesterday, CNN.com, MTV.com and other major networks implemented the technology for Michael Jackson’s Memorial, where about 1 million users posted approximately 800,000 status updates in just a few hours."
Are Local Businesses Trying Hard Enough with Paid Search?
On Friday, the Interactive Advertising Bureau announced that the US had reached $5.5 billion in online ad revenue for the first quarter. This was down a bit from last year, but that’s not too bad considering the state of the economy. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find other ways to advertise your business that are as cost-effective.
iPhone 3G S Coming: Businesses Pay Attention
AT&T announced today that it will begin offering the Apple iPhone 3G S on June 19th. People will be able to preorder them starting today at 5pm ET.
"iPhone 3G S is the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet, and we’re extremely proud to offer it to our customers on the nation’s fastest 3G network," said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "We’re also pleased to offer these innovative phones and plans at incredible values, including free Wi-Fi access at nearly 20,000 hot spots." Pricing is as follows: