Update: The Images in this post went all wonky after a wordpress update. I’m fixing it!

The slow but steady adoption of Twitter into the mainstream continues to fascinate me.  As the microblogging site continues to get  news coverage and more corporate accounts pop up, it’s pretty safe to say that Twitter has enabled companies to engage in  deeper and more personal conversations without being overly imposing. For the companies that do it right, it has become a powerful tool to connect to consumers and promote brands, one tweet at a time.

The problem with Twitter…

I was intrigued to see and Ad for Twitter Moms on one of my recent internet jaunts. As I curiously poked around the site, I quickly realized that this community, (I’m sure the first of many) has popped up in direct response to one of Twitter’s biggest flaws: figuring out who to follow.

Currently Twitter lets you search for contacts you already know who are either on one of your other social networks, or who you can invite via email. Which is fine, but what about the great people out there who you don’t know, the friends you just haven’t met yet?  The majority of people on my list are people that I’ve never met in person but who I’ve discovered to be funny, intelligent and generally all around wonderful. Since the technology industry has some well-established names, I found it easy to build up a base list. For non-tech enthusiasts who just want to meet new friends with similar interests, I can see the current system as being a huge barrier to adoption.

An end-user solution

Twitter Moms fills this void by allowing users to search for other moms based on interests ranging from motherhood to fashion, technology and business. Hosted on Ning, the community already has grown to over 2,300 members. Members gain access to groups, discussions and events. They even have a growing collection of videos that cover everything from humerous youtube videos, to technical tutorials for members who want learn more about web based tools.

I think it astutely addresses the intimidation factor of randomly following someone you don’t know by giving users the opportunity to ease into a new digital relationship, for example by contributing to a group discussion or commenting on  site content. That way, by the time you follow each other on twitter you’ve already established a burgeoning online friendship that lays the foundation for future dialogue.

I think this is a fantastic idea, and I can definitely see similar communities emerging as more and more people start microblogging. I hope Twitter improves their search data base. Write now you can search via terms in people’s bios, but I still don’t think that’s enough. I mean if i search for “technology” I get hundreds of users, but how do I know which ones would be a good choice to follow?

Corporate Application?

I think organizations will see tremendous value by participating in these types of communities. I mean if you market to moms, you should definitely be watching twittermoms.com.  There will be great opportunities to build relationships through sponsorships and marketing. I mean if I marketed stuff to moms, I would probably give away tons of free products to this group: they’re tech savvy, on twitter and like to engage with other moms online. A good product experience can go a long way, and it would provide plenty of opportunities for feedback and improvements.

The Final Word…

I like how social media empowers people by giving them the tools they need to fill in the gaps in their favorite services. Kudos to the founders of Twittermom who recognized a need and then went ahead and addressed it themselves.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Mitch Joel at SES Toronto 2008 Conference about social media success and engaging consumers in a meaningful way. Mitch had plenty to say and gave me some great tips that I thought I would share. Here’s the first IDEA NINJA!

For companies who are getting started:

If you’re a company that wants to get started with a blog, the first thing you want to do is make sure that there is an audience who is interested in engaging with you before you make any big investments. So start on a site like blogger.com or wordpress. Park your domain name so that you can use it later if you decide to go forward. Then just see how it goes.

This method can prove to your board or executives that that people were generally interested. You can also start a social community on Ning.com. It’s free. It might not have all the functionality but you’ll be able to validate your need for an investment.

Then, when you’re ready, you can move. And if people are engaged, they will follow you wherever you go.

For Bloggers Wanting to Increase Audience

You can use Google Reader to share interesting pages and links. If you do this, then Google reader will set up a little page just for you entitled “So and So’s shared pages” that will have it’s own RSS feed. You can then add the url of that page to your blogroll and people can subscribe to your shared items. It’s a great way to let people know about the things that are capturing your interest. You will also be able to grow community in an organic way.

On having or building a following:

Having a set of x number of friends is not the same as having conversations. Friendships are built by authenticity. There seems to be two sides, it’s like a nun/whore relationship in Social Media where one set of people are using these tools to get inspiration and collaborate to bring the industry forward, and the other is a vacuum that sucks value by focusing on link-baiting and inauthenticity in an effort to improve rankings.

On what should drive strategy:

What’s happening is that people are looking at the “what.” (What are we doing on Facebook? What are we doing on Myspace?) There is a rush and people forget the why. Why is more important. The Why is strategy and the What is tactic.

I always use the Bic Pen analogy. Who cares about a pen? None one cares and no one wants to be in scenario where they are being sold stuff. Bic built a community around the power of the written word, and writers loved that stuff. It’s about sharing your passions with people.

On Building Relationships:

Yeah, I have 2,000 Facebook friends. The value of those relationships go both ways. You will never stay my friend if you break that trust. The fact that I get links from this is secondary, my role is to provide and give back good content. I mean I can’t have a strong business without a strong community. And if people try to call bullshit on it then I tell them to prove me wrong. When have I ever not given something back when I good? I blog almost every day, I do a weekly podcast on my own time, I am always available is someone needs help with something.

But at the end of the day, you can’t be friends with someone if you don’t like what they are saying. Mass media is changing into a very personal and direct model. I look at those networks as being a cookie to a great conversation. The great conversation is dinner. Dinner is only amazing if the food is great.

On the balance of the online community:

These social channels are about individuals. Social media marketing is about real interaction between real human beings. If either of components of that equation aren’t there the entire thing quickly falls apart. It also takes time to build. So if anyone tells you that something can be a quick fix it’s a lie. There are no quick fixes in the space. That’s why it works so magically, it’s because you have to take the time to build and trust. You might get results in the short term, but it’s only the short term.

At the end of the day, if that’s your goal then it’s still spam.

To Get More Mitch:

Mitch’s Site

Mitch’s Twitter

Mitch’s Facebook

Mitch’s Podcast