ICM - Leeds Design Agency

Ah look, another blog post about Twitter! Well it has completely changed my life, and that’s not an exaggeration. In the past few months I have fully embraced Twitter and the power of the social media. The catalyst for it completely taking over my life was definitely getting an iPhone. Online all the time I found I could Tweet from anywhere at anytime. When one day I wanted to look at purchasing a URL I asked my fellow Twitterers and within five minutes three people came back to me with different websites and tips. When I was in London I accidentally Tweeted after a glass too many and Richard checked I was ok.

What a lot of people are asking is what is the value of Twitter for businesses? There are many theories and mine is that no one quite knows yet. Very few people outside of geekville are on Twitter so how can messages be carried to the masses? Certain products have been given bad press on the site which has led to the larger press speaking negatively. The best example of this was Stephen Fry, who compared his iPhone to his Blackberry Storm and was very dismissive of the latter. But did this actually have any impact on the average consumer?

On Gordon’s Republic his latest post directs readers to the first chapter of a new book on Twittering, Twitter Means Business. Hopefully this will begin to answer some of our questions, but I think that only time will tell whether the wider community of consumers sees any value in the world of Twitter.

Oh and you can follow me @tashaharrison...

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Whilst waiting for my train to whisk me back to the frozen wastelands of North Yorkshire last night, I thumbed through the magazines in WH Smiths at the station.

I literally rubbed my eyes in comedic disbelief when I saw this…

The new bi-monthly Jamie Magazine, hitting the shelves this Thursday and funded to the tune of £250,000 by none other than Mr. Oliver himself.

With an initial print run of 140,000, the magazine will be exclusive to WH Smith for the first three issues, and make readers feel as if they are “being invited round to Jamie’s house”, according to the magazine’s editor, former Gourmet Traveller editorial director Andy Harris.

So will it survive further than three issues?

Do we need more of the mockney sparrow in our daily lives?

I don’t doubt it is successful to create a brand from your own image, as proved by the likes of Branson, Jordan and the Beckhams. But there surely must be a lim…

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…and my ads aren’t very good.

It’s a pretty cheap-shot these days to attack your competitor in your advertising; something the supermarkets do well, and that’s where it should end.

Microsoft’s I’m a PC commercials would like you to think it’s a counter-attack to Apple’s excellent adverts highlighting the differences of Operating System through human characters.

Unfortunately this counter-attack doesn’t hold up. With some humour (and with an Apple-shaped glint in my eye) it actually reinforces Apples message. Little clips of a plethora of cultures from around the globe all stating they’re a PC merely emphasises ‘PC’ as a generic and not as a brand. Which in-turn ultimately says ‘we’re not a brand’, unlike er, Apple.

I’m proud to say ‘I’m not a PC!’

Come on Microsoft, you can do bett…

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