The subject of the debate is  Twitter followers.  Are numbers important? Is more always better? Should you try one of the many automated services that promise to get you thousands of followers in the matter of days or even hours? The answer really lies in your purpose.  Well, first, do you have a purpose?  Just kidding, in a way.  It’s OK to jump on Twitter to figure out what it is.  You will likely fall into one of two camps:  love it and immediately become engaged and even addicted, once you meet the many intriguing and intelligent folks who are using Twitter then visualize where it can take you, your career, your business and/or your personal contacts (now you have your purpose!).  Or, you’ll hate it and see it as a waste of time.  If so, this debate isn’t for you.

I’m approaching Twitter rather methodically and looking for like-minded people who post comments and news stories that help my daily life and career. Thus, I do not refollow everyone who follows me.  I’m not being snobby, just selective. And I will not use an automated follow system.  However; let’s consider a franchise QSR such as El Pollo Loco or Dominos Pizza.  Wouldn’t they want as many followers as possible?  After all, everyone eats, right?

On the surface, that’s my answer but I’d love to hear other opinions and options I may not have thought about.

The campaign is produced by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco and they stand by the statistics being real.  Which of course makes me appreciate it even more.

What’s even more fun is the new Sprint Web site with more in the “now” facts.  ADWEEK points out that you can actually download a widget offering a selection of data and that we can soon see this campaign in print.

So you know I love it, but looking online it seems as though consumers don’t find it as thrilling as I do.  What do you think?

However, on a more serious note, one of the newest social network craves is Twitter. Businesses are using the unique network to share and grow ideas, which is proving to be very valuable. Twitter’s audience is increasing so much its found its way into the operating room. I read an article on CNN.com about a surgeon tweeting in the middle of a kidney operation. This is fascinating, as the surgeon found out a tumor was larger than he thought when he went to remove it; naturally, the doctor was taken by surprise and needed to make a game-time call. Remove the entire kidney, or was there another way?
 
Today people put more about themselves on social network sites than you can imagine. This particular surgeon was able to tweet with another doctor who experienced the same game-time call and in the end the patient was able to keep their kidney – tumor less.

So you are telling me the next time you go to the emergency room and explain your injury, the doctor may, a) attend to you right away or b) sign into twitter and see how other doctors are handling your injury.

Do patients need to agree for doctors to discuss their medical terms over the Internet?

I really do think this is great, but I think they need to make sure all angels are covered; I can smell a law suit right around the corner.

Now thinking about it, I am sort of a victim of this. When I had my ACL repaired in April of 2006 the doctor discovered that my meniscus was also torn and that I had other tears in my cartilage surrounding my knee ligaments. The doctor had never come a crossed the rare cartilage tears, but knew of a doctor in a nearby town that just got a tool patented to fix cartilage tears – in the olden days doctors used dissolving staples that did not always work in the long run. So, knocked out, knee wide open, my parents told me the doctor was on the phone with another local doctor instructing my doctor on how to use the tool – crazy.

Result –
Perfectly repaired ACL, meniscus, cartilage, in surgery for six hours – quadrillion dollars (parents money, sorry mom and pop, I’ve hung up the shoes don’t you worry), phoning a friend – priceless.

“In recent years, marketers have set aside a portion of their ad budgets to experiment with digital technologies such as Web video, mobile phones, gaming and virtual worlds. But with broader economic turmoil reaching Madison Avenue, these “experimental” budgets are among the first to hit the cutting-room floor.”

It goes on to say that most companies are going to go back to traditional and tried and true advertising.

This is the start of a new trend that won’t change for a couple of years.  As companies cut their spending on advertising in this area, they will look for ways to maintain visibility.

We already know social media works through PR to build awareness, credibility, and communities.  We already have experience using this strategy to reach audiences at a grassroots level.  We can capitalize on this trend and keep companies in the space without their having to advertise…and we can do it a lot more cost-efficiently for them.

Our apologies to our advertising counterparts, but it’s time for PR to take the lion share of the communication budgets.