Friday, September 4, 2009

The Friday Tweet - A Round-Up of What's Happening in the Tweetosphere


The US Open Says No To Twitter!
The Guardian carried the story on Wednesday that the US Open has official banned all Tweeting by it's competitors. According to the article, signs have been placed in the player's lounge and locker rooms, reading:

"Important. Player Notice. Twitter Warning. Many of you will have Twitter accounts in order for your fans to follow you and to become more engaged in you and the sport – and this is great ... However popular it is, it is important to warn you of some of the dangers posed by Twittering as it relates to the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program Rules."

Many of tennis's top stars are understandably annoyed at the development but it looks unlikely that the Open's Authorities will back down.


Yahoo! Meme Set For Launch
Yahoo!'s Twitter rival, Yahoo! Meme, is reportedly ready for launch. Yahoo!'s micro-blogging Twitter-rival has already rolled-out in Spain and Portugal and news has surfaced that an English-language version is nearly complete. At the moment the service is by invite-only but it seems likely that Yahoo! will launch a fully functional version as part of the company's main social media strategy for Q4.

Meme allows users to post 100 character updates, photos, mp3s or videos (by a links). Just like Twitter the service features "reposts", that allow users to pass on the updates of their friends. Yahoo! have been very secretive about all launch details and there is no no official statement confirming its arrivals.

You can request an invite for Yahoo! Meme from here.


More Tweeters Then MySpacers in the UK
According to Hitwise Twitter now has more UK internet visits than MySpace. For the week ending 29th August, Twitter caught 1 in every 400 UK internet visits and climbed up to the 27th most visited site in the UK, a position ahead of MySpace. In relation to Social Networking, Twitter still falls short of Facebook, YouTube and Bebo.

It is important to note that Hitwise doesn't include data on users who access Twitter with their mobile phone or a third party application. This would imply that the actual numbers Tweeting are even further ahead of MySpace then expected and rapidly closing in on Bebo.


How Can Twitter Avoid #FAILure
The always brilliant eConsultancy posted a great article on Wednesday about the 5 things Twitter needs to do to prevent it #FAILing. To be honest, I could summarise this one for you but you really should head over and check it out yourself. While there, check out the rest of the blog - I highly recommend it!

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