A blog plug for something I’m not involved in…

I realise I’ve been blogging a fair bit about my day job recently – it’s hard to avoid when I work with really cool people who insist on launching interesting stuff all the time. But to redress the balance somewhat, here’s a plug for something really interesting for someone’s elses work.

It’s the awesome Slingers , created and written by the equally awesome Mike Sizemore. And aside from being cool, it’s also fascinating to see how the process has been blogged about, tweeted (@sizemore is always entertaining, and @sleepydog is always interesting).

It’s genuinely the most promising TV show created by someone who I’ve occasionally sat nearby at a social media conference, and who shares my appreciation of comics and Swedish cinema.

And it’s already receiving a shedload of tweets, blog posts, Facebook pages and more, so could make an interesting case study…

Making millions on Twitter

If you’re looking for an example of a significant financial return on Twitter, then Dell has long been used as an example – and you can expect it to be quoted even more often after revealing revenues have now risen to $6.5 million globally via Twitter.

Of course that requires almost 1.5 million followers for their main @DellOutlet account, Dell Canada, the $800,000 from @DellnoBrasil and over $150,000 from @DellHomeSalesCA , but it’s still a mightily impressive amount.

Key points for the future from Dell Chief Blogger Lionel Menchaca?

  • Streamline our presence in social media networks, create meaningful content for customers and continue to increase our connections with them in those places
  • Focus on building a tighter integration between Dell.com, Support.Dell.com, our Dell Community sites with our presence in social networks
  • Continue our focus on scaling support of social media initiatives into the Dell business units

There’s a few more bits on the Dell post worth reading.

Updated: Eric Schmidt creates confusion on Twitter and mainstream media

Plenty of sites and blogs picked up on the fact it looked as if Google CEO Eric Schmidt has joined Twitter – two tweets were inconclusive, but the fact the account had been followed, and was following, plenty of notable people, including a lot of Google staff, seemed to seal the deal.

And then a short while ago this happened:

The fake Eric Schmidt account?

The fake Eric Schmidt account?

Thousands of follows and followers reset, and the account name has appeared as Felipe Barreto.

Bit of an Oooopsie by a lot of big name sites and mainstream media if this really was a spoof account. Goes to show that a lot of implied trust can be built if you can just get a few of the right people following a fake account.

Update:

Aha – it turns out that the real Eric Schmidt is tweeting – at @ericschmidt which has been taken by someone else but was laying dormant. Top marks to the enterprising fellow who appears to have jumped straight onto @ericschmidt0 as soon as it became available.

Luckily the new account is verified!

The real and verifiable Eric Schmidt

The real and verifiable Eric Schmidt

Middle marketing is a painful waste…

My parents are big believers in keeping windows open to let fresh air in, even when there’s frost on the ground outside. I’m not sure if I was any healthier, particularly when using the bathroom early in the morning/late at night, but it’s meant that given the choice, I’ll always prefer somewhere to be on the cooler side.

Meanwhile my partner grew up in Sweden, where the freezing temperature outside appears to mean that any indoor space should be kept at shorts and T-shirt temperature no matter what. When we lived apart, I’d actually feel a wall of heat escape when someone opened the door of her student house.

My point, besides explaining why I conform to the dad stereotype of constantly turning down the central heating, is that neither of us particularly enjoy the bit between our two preferred temperatures. What’s right for me isn’t right for her, and vice versa.

Which is why the new Clover advert is a bit painful to watch.

I know margarine isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, and I get that it’s a lot like butter but with half the saturated fat. But I can’t imagine any time in my life I’d wander down the dairy aisle and stop to pick up a tub of comprimise. Or want to create a sandwich for lunch that’s completely and utterly average.

And although people have wildly different tastes, and one man’s delicious curry could be someone’s spicy hell, I bet even those with a plain cheese and tomato sandwich don’t aspire to be average – in fact, the butter could be the most exciting part of their lunch!