Querying the Global Zeitgeist in 2010

Sometimes you have to live with something for a while to discover all that it can tell you. 

When Twitter first came on the scene back in about 2006 the first use of it was to broadcast short messages among a handful of people.  Now with 190 million global users of Twitter, the ability to tweet from almost any mobile device, and the fact that people do tweet important events – or just what is on their mind – Twitter has become much more than simple message passing at a point in time.  The more of it is that by collecting, aggregating, inspecting, slicing, dicing, and categorizing these tweets one can get an idea of the “global mind”. 

That is, Twitter messages taken together over some period of time and analyzed can provide insight as to what is important and what matters to the citizens on this planet at that particular time in history.  It’s the Zeitgeist of the thing – “the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual, and/or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambience, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.”

The same is true of Goggle searches. What people search for is indicative of what is important to them.  To the extent that Google is global just like Twitter, it too can provide a keyhole view into the Global Zeitgeist.

So, what did people search for in 2010 and what does it reveal about what was important to the global citizens of planet earth?  Check out this Google video

Find out more –

Get the details from Google – http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist2010/

See the Tweets from the Congress of the United States – http://tweetcongress.org/
Twitter Spy – A mashup of real-time tweets from the public timeline – http://twitspy.com/
Real-time Twitter pictures mapped globally – http://twitpic.com/
Twitter-ing in real-time around the world – http://twittervision.com/
Twitter search – http://tweetscan.com/

Still don’t know what Twitter is good for.  Then check out this Google Talks video on Twitter for Business 101
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRgS-Kmtr20

Or maybe you don’t know what Twitter is.  Then let Marina Orlova “splain” it to you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_PbFDsyKQU

Twit Pic

Just when you thought it was safe – Twittter Pictures in real time from all over the world.  You never know what you are going to see.

Real-time Twitter pictures mapped globally – http://twitpic.com/

Twitter

Find the perfect twitter application (800+ and counting)  – http://twitdom.com/
Twitter Spy – A mashup of real-time tweets from the public timeline – http://twitspy.com/

Twitter me this – Will Twitter Tweet No More?

No business plan; un-monetizable; operating at a loss in perpetuity. Have these attributes ever stopped any internet business start-up?  No way – these are minor inconveniences.  See what the faculty at Wharton School of Business have to say about Twitter.
Full article –
All That Twitters Isn’t Gold: A Popular Web Application in Search of a Business Plan

Excerpt –

Meanwhile, Twitter doubters aren’t hard to find. “I find the Twitter phenomenon to be a charming little surprise of the Web 2.0 world,” says Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader, “but I’m skeptical about its long-run sustainability and impact.” Wharton management professor David Hsu agrees that Twitter does one thing well — messaging in 140 characters or less — but argues that the service will have to evolve or it will be replicated by rivals. Indeed, Facebook recently redesigned its user pages to mimic Twitter’s rapid-fire updates. “How protectable is Twitter’s service as it stands today?” asks Hsu.

And Bernstein Research analyst Jeffrey Lindsay, also a fan of Twitter, says that the startup is a fine “pre-business” that can round up users, but ultimately fails to make much money. “The problem is that Twitter falls into the broad category of new Internet businesses that are almost un-monetizable,” writes Lindsay in a research note. “Whoever buys it will likely have to operate it at a loss in perpetuity, or until the next cool Web 2.0 social networking concept comes along and Twitter tweets no more.”

What is Twitter sensing and signaling about events in the world?

With 14 million people on Twitter from mobile devices, what is Twitter sensing and signaling about events in the world? What is the Twitter Ecosystem?   An earthquake in Southern California was sensed on Twitter in 30 seconds.  Is Twitter disruptive to e-mail, facebook, and traditional forms of electronic communication? What the heck is going on with this technology for which there are now about 2500 interfacing applications, 14 million mobile users, and phenomenal growth?

Although we love watching the Lisa Nova and HotForWordsexplain Twitter through their videos on YouTube we finally found an in-depth, professional, and comprehensive video presentation on Twitter in business, for non-profits, and the whole social networking phenomenon of Twitter.

Twitter for Business 101 was  taught at Harvard Business School.   The video below is by the person who taught the class.

A very excellent professional presentation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRgS-Kmtr20&feature=channel

Tweets from Congress

Does the Congressuse APRS?  No, but they do use Twitter
See the Tweets from the Congress of the United States – http://tweetcongress.org/
What is twitter – http://tweeternet.com/
Don’t forget the see who is Twitter-ing in real-time around the world – http://twittervision.com/
and the Twitter search – http://tweetscan.com/

Video Battle: Twitter vs APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System)

On this side we have APRS ( Automatic Packet Reporting System )

APRS is not a vehicle tracking system. It is a two-way tactical real-time digital communications system between all assets in a network sharing information about everything going on in the local area. On ham radio, this means if something is happening now, or there is information that could be valuable to you, then it should show up on your APRS radio in your mobile. APRS also supports global callsign-to-callsign messaging, bulletins, objects email and Voice because every local area is seen by the Internet System (APRS-IS)! APRS should enable local and global amateur radio operator contact at anytime-anywhere and using any device. — http://www.aprs.org/

APRS – You guys go first

And on this side we have Twitter

Now the Twitter people

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

Where did the idea for Twitter come from? Jack Dorsey had grown interested in the simple idea of being able to know what his friends were doing. Specifically, Jack wondered if there might be an opportunity to build something compelling around this simple status concept. When he brought the idea up to his colleagues, it was decided that a prototype should be built.

Twitter was funded initially by Obvious, a creative environment in San Francisco, CA. The first prototype was built in two weeks in March 2006 and launched publicly in August of 2006. The service grew popular very quickly and it soon made sense for Twitter to move outside of Obvious. In May 2007, Twitter Incorporated was founded.  –Twitter.com

We have asked an academic to better explain Twitter to us.  She has a degree in Philology

Lets establish her credentials

Her name is Marina Orlova, she’s 27 and she’s a philologist! Now you might be asking what the heck is a philologist? Well, it’s someone who studies linguistics and etymology.. and in Marina’s case.. she has applied her Philology degrees to specializing in word origins.

Marina has two degrees – Teaching of Russian Language and World Literature Specializing in Philology and the Teaching of English Language Specializing in Philology from State University of Nizhni Novgorod Region in Russian Federation, graduated 2002 and taught English to high school students for 2 years.

We have asked an expert, Lisa Nova, to provide commentary on excess Twitter usage