Richard Barley

If you use TweetDeck then you may have heard of or met Richard Barley (@richardbarley), TweetDeck’s Community Manager. I first “met” Richard last year when he provided some thoughtful comments to a pair of posts I wrote about TweetDeck, 10 Features I Want to See in TweetDeck and 9 More Features I Want to See in TweetDeck.

I had planned to ask Richard for an interview, but it got put on hold on my end. Finally, after long delay, that interview is here (you can also listen to an extended version of this interview on my podcast, Addicted to Social Media).

Tell us about yourself. What did you do prior to working with TweetDeck?

Prior to joining TweetDeck I had been involved in IT support for my local council, then Help Desk manager for a local telecoms company, before eventually becoming a consultant for Cap Gemini working on CRM projects. From there I moved on to a similar position with BT, before ending up at RightNow Technologies.

Being on the road gave me lots of time in the evenings to get addicted to Twitter and start using TweetDeck. I eventually started supporting TweetDeck users in my spare time and wrote several blog articles about it, including a hugely popular series of FAQs, something that, at that time, Iain (Dodsworth, TweetDeck founder) was unable to produce as he was working entirely on his own. It wasn’t long before Iain noticed my work and offered me a job as Community Manager. This coincided very nicely with me leaving my previous position, so I joined the “team.” The rest, as they say, is history…

In your own works, why is TweetDeck so special?

I could go on for hours about the great features that make TweetDeck “special”, but that’s not really important. What IS important is *how* TweetDeck has become special. We are a small team working in a shared office in East London, working our socks off for this project that we are all hugely passionate about. We don’t have an office in Silicon Valley. We don’t hold big press conferences or feel the need to show our faces at every hipster event that goes on. We just quietly get on with building a great suite of products that people love to use. This attitude was the case when I first joined in July 2009 and remains the case now. This is what makes TweetDeck so special – fantastic products from a dedicated team who enjoy building amazing things with no fuss.

How many users are now using TweetDeck in its various versions?

We have several million active users and our desktop app has been downloaded over 15 Million times. Around 6 million tweets are sent from our apps each day, which we think is really rather cool.

What’s it like working with Iain Dodsworth?

TweetDeck Founder Iain Dodsworth

Working with Iain has often not been like working at all. Certainly, in the early days it was more like just getting together with a friend to hang out and chat to people online. Basically, he’s just a down-to-earth guy who has priorities very firmly set on his family, employees and his company rather than trying to be a celebrity in the tech “scene”. This is why he has so much respect from those that know him.

What was the genesis of the idea for Deck.ly?

Deck.ly came about for several reasons, the main one being that ever since I can remember, TweetDeck users have been clamoring for TwitLonger support in the app. It was our biggest, longest-running feature request and I was fielding tweets literally every day asking for it. Now, we were not keen at first, mainly, I guess, due to the fact that none of the team used TwitLonger and thus didn’t really think it a priority. Ultimately, I brought to the team the undeniable evidence of the huge support for the feature, so we looked into it.

We could, of course, have just implemented TwitLonger, but really, that’s not what we’re about now. We haven’t integrated new third party services for a long time because we’re now in a position to be able to build our own. By offering a “long update” service, we realized that we could grow and expand into other areas, lifting us away from some of the shackles of individual networks and offering more of a TweetDeck layer on top, thus adding value and bringing integrated services that would have previously been impossible.

Deck.ly is pretty controversial. Why the controversy?

There was some controversy when we launched “Deck.ly” long updates. It certainly divided the user base with some offering their hand in marriage in thanks for finally bringing long updates and others cursing us to eternal damnation for destroying everything that is good about Twitter. We admitted that our very first release had some flaws. With no way to disable the long update feature, accidental long posts were far too easy to send. But we moved quickly and issued several updates to the app based on feedback from the users and we now think that we have a good flow in place with the option to disable long updates if you wish.

So, as for the controversy… well I’m not going to fan the flames, but it is interesting to note that both UberTwitter and Twitter for iPhone had TwitLonger support over a year ago. Lots of other very popular apps have the same or similar functionality. We are, in some ways, flattered that so much has been said about our implementation of what is, on the face of it, pretty much the same thing.

Is Deck.ly going to compete with Twitter?

No, Deck.ly is not a competitor to Twitter any more than TwitLonger is, or Tumblr, or Posterous or any of the multitudes of other apps out there that post tweets with a link to see more detail.

Any plans to buy out Loic Le Meur and Seesmic?

We won’t comment on acquisition rumors. Sorry.

I recently set up a search to follow tweets about the Space Shuttle Discovery’s launch on STS-133 and noticed that there was a promoted tweet at the top of the column that remained in a fixed position even when I scrolled through the column. Is this a deal directly with TweetDeck or did it get pulled in via Twitter? Is it part of TweetDeck’s monetization strategy?

We introduced support for Twitter’s promoted tweets several months ago and this is a good example. They only appear in search columns where the search terms match a keyword that has been purchased. Twitter has a page about promoted tweets here

What do you think of Klout scores being introduced to Twitter (via chrome plug-in)?

To be honest, having tried many “influence ranking” systems, I have yet to find any one that is more than vaguely helpful to me. I’m sure such services are great and a lot of people put a lot of importance on such “scores”, but for me I find the whole idea rather “meh”…

What’s next for TD?

First priority for us now is to launch our brand new iPhone app. We’ve been building a totally new iOS app from scratch for the last few months and we’re just about ready to unleash that on the world. It’s such a great app, taking the best bits from our hugely successful Android app, blending in some of the great features from our Chrome app, along with some seriously cool new magic specifically for iOS. So that’s coming up in the next few weeks. We’re also looking to take our Chrome app and build versions that will run on the other major browsers out there. So soon, you’ll be running TweetDeck in the likes of Firefox & Safari. We also have a bunch of new services to launch, including cross-platform column sync amongst other things. There’s so much going on!

If I ask nicely, can I get a feature built into TD?

Ha-ha! Well that depends how nicely you ask and if you send donuts  Seriously, though, it’s my job to listen to the users and make sure that their requirements are being met by TweetDeck as much as possible. We can’t always promise to do everything people ask for, but if it’s important enough for our users to be demanding it, I will always fight in their corner to have it considered.

~

I like to add a personal thanks to Richard for both his time and for being such a great interview subject. Remember, you can listen to an extended version of this interview on my podcast, Addicted to Social Media.

Do you have a question for Richard? Add your question to the comments and we’ll see if we can him to answer a few.

Neal Wiser is Vice President of Digital Strategy and Operations at The ODM Group where he leads teams in the creation and execution of digital marketing campaigns. You can follow Neal on Twitter (his handle is @NealWiser). Neal is also the Cofounder and Co-host of the Addicted to Social Media podcast.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



An Interview with TweetDeck’s Richard Barley

Or,”It’s impossible to track conversations on Twitter.”

Both can be valid points, however, it all depends on how you use the service. For those just starting out on Twitter, having conversations is essential for your business and to develop your personal brand. The conversation aspect that Twitter brings allows you to show others what you are about. Are you real and not a bot? Are you transparent? Are you just trying to sell me a product?

Since other users on Twitter are most likely not familiar with who you are, these are the types of questions that are going to be running through their heads. They want to feel you out, but social media is all about “wanting” to trust people. The conversation aspect of Twitter allows you to build that trust and relationship with another person. However, the best part of a Twitter conversation is bringing that conversation offline. Now, you may be wondering if this is actually possible. You might worry that someone who doesn’t know you in real life would never want to talk to you offline.  You would be surprised, it happens very often.

I’ve had the pleasure of having conversations with many people that started on Twitter, but we took the conversation offline. Well, alright, when I say offline, I mean off of Twitter. Since I do podcast interviews on Social Tech Zone with many well known internet personalities, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know these people not just from conversations on Twitter, but also on platforms like Skype. Talking on Twitter is a great starting point, but when you continue the conversation off Twitter, that’s where Twitter provides its ultimate value.

Wondering how it’s all possible?

Well it’s simple. When someone agrees to talk to you off of Twitter, they want to know more about you and what you represent. Twitter defines relationships and starts new friendships. Since Twitter restricts how many characters you can type, taking the conversation to a platform such as Skype is where you can pick the brain of the other person. You now have more of an opportunity to talk about your business, learn what they’re doing, and build a community around Twitter and not just a “follower” which isn’t very credible. Just because someone is following you, doesn’t mean they take the time out to actually pay attention to what you tweet.

The moment the conversation is brought off Twitter means they have taken interest in the things you have posted and want to learn more about you. They’ve gone from a follower to apart of your community as well as you becoming apart of their community. The more relationships you have with people off Twitter instead of ONLY on Twitter shows how strong of a community you have. That in itself defines the true value of a Twitter conversation. Its fine if you only have one brief exchange with someone on Twitter, but when you have frequent conversations with a person…they will be more likely to pay closer attention to your tweets the next time around.

People always wonder how some users get so many clicks on their links. It all comes down to conversations. The amount of people, they’ve reached out to and talked to in a “one on one” capacity are going to be interested in seeking out what that individual is sharing. Believe me, this technique works. I’ve been able to interview some well known people like Robert Scoble, Cali Lewis, and Chris Pirillo to name a few… and its all from interacting.

If you don’t believe me, try it out for yourself. Interact with people, especially those that you appreciate. Sooner or later they will realize that you are interacting with them often. They will reach out to you. Yes, there are some people who just ignore, but you will get that. However, there are more genuine people out there who want to talk especially if you share a common interest.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



The Power Of Having Twitter Conversations Off Of Twitter

NASA gets “Twitter Fever” and invites the public to a TweetUp at NASA Headquarters to honor the crew of STS-127.

I want to be an astronaut. Not “wanted,” as in it was my childhood dream. I want to be one. Ever since I was a kid I knew the difference between “LOX” and “lox” (LOX is liquid oxygen, a key ingredient of space shuttle fuel and is carried in the orange external fuel tank during a shuttle launch. Lox is smoked salmon and tastes great on a bagel with cream cheese).

I was not a normal kid.

But as badly as I want to be an astronaut, as much as I studied science and technical manuals of the shuttle’s flight controls, I chose another path, one that would ultimately bring me full circle to NASA Headquarters in Washington DC on September 24, 2009. On that date, NASA held a TweetUp.

A Tweet What?

While there’s no official definition, “TweetUp” is a Twitterism for “Meet Up” and is simply a gathering of Twitter users and is usually organized exclusively through Twitter. To be sure, there are different types of TweetUps. Some people prefer them to be somewhat spontaneous and informal. Others like to schedule their TweetUps and give presentations or do other activities. The great thing about TweetUps is that there is no right way to do them; whatever works is the prevailing rule of thumb.

In early September, I noticed a tweet from @NASA offering invitations to their next TweetUp in honor of the crew of STS-127. Although NASA has been on Twitter for less than a year, there are now nearly 50 Twitter accounts for NASA centers, programs and projects (you can find them here under the Twitter logo). There are also nine astronauts on Twitter and the first astronaut to tweet from space, Mike Massimo (@Astro_Mike), now has over 1 million followers (you can follow them via @NASA_Astronauts).

Of course, it helps to have an agency like NASA which tries to be progressive in how it communicates with the public. According to the NASA Public Affairs Office, “NASA is always looking for new ways to engage the public and spread the word about what we’re doing, so it was natural that we would look into using Twitter.” And TweetUps were a natural extension of that public outreach.

So, what’s a TweetUp at NASA like, and do they serve Tang?

As soon as you enter the lobby at NASA HQ, you know you’re entering a different world (no pun intended). Many organizations decorate their lobbies with items demonstrating their success and history, but how many places would you find a Nobel Prize for Physics, a model of the new Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle or the space suite that Frank Borman wore as he hurtled around the Moon on Apollo 8? And before you ask, NASA HQ does have a gift shop where you can buy official NASA clothing, mugs, pins and other cool trinkets, but I did not see any Tang (the price-conscious should skip the Air & Space Museum, the prices here are better).

As if that wasn’t enough…

I arrived very early to the TweetUp hoping to sit and start drafting this post. However, I never imagined I’d be invited to sit in on the historic press conference where NASA announced discovery of water on the moon. Nor did I expect to be interviewed on NASA TV about TweetUps (I’m on at the 6:40 mark, mercifully short); all very exciting for me, but just a typical day at NASA.

During the news conference, the other TweetUp guests gathered in the lobby. It was a great mix of people from near and far. Some, including Jan DuRaine (@rockteacherjan) from California and Argelia Perozo (@argelialibertad) from Caracas, Venezuela, actually flew in specifically for the event.

The TweetUp

The registration process was simple. As this was an invitation only event, each of us had an official NASA TweetUp badge with our twitter names and handles waiting for us. We also received a NASA gift bag filled with everything from educational information for kids, stickers and pins with mission insignia, pamphlets and flyers on NASA missions and projects, a cool little 3-D viewer, a huge poster commemorating the X-15 program, etc. NASA was also kind enough to provide free Wi-Fi for the attendees.

After registration and mingling, we were let into the auditorium and took our seats. The crew entered and was introduced by Michael Curie, a NASA Public Affairs Specialist (approx 23:10 minutes into this video. His is the voice you hear narrating shuttle launches. Mission Commander Mark Polansky kicked things off by introducing his crew (starts at 24 minutes), then narrating a video presentation about the mission (starts at 26:40). The astronauts all joined in, commenting on various aspects of the video; all very cool.

After the presentation, the floor was opened to a Q&A session (starts at 44:40) where the TweetUp guests got to ask their questions (I asked two, starting at 1:02:20). The Q&A lasted about forty five minutes after which the formal part of the TweetUp concluded and we were allowed to approach the stage and mingle with the crew.

Meet & Greet

For me, this was the best part; not just because you get to hob-nob with astronauts, who are always cool, but because you get to see that they are real people who are just as curious (and sometimes as confused) about social media as some of us. And while I can’t guarantee that they put their pants on one leg at a time (they are astronauts after all) all the astronauts I’ve had the pleasure of meeting over the years have been friendly, cordial and even funny.

Afterwords and Thanks

NASA is planning more TweetUps at various centers across the country and even hopes to hold one at the Kennedy Space Center during an actual launch. So, if you want to be invited, follow @NASAtweetup and keep an eye out for notifications. As Commander Polansky told me, “this is your space program,” and tweeting about what NASA does is a great way to support the program and get involved.

I’d also like to offer my personal thanks to Stephanie Schierholz, Michael Curie and the rest of the crew at NASA’s Public Affairs Office (follow them @NASA) for being so helpful during the preparation of this post, and especially the crew of STS-127 (not to mention all of our astronauts) who risk their lives so that we can not only learn more about the Universe, but our home as well.

BTW; The folks at NASA are really interested to get your feedback and seeing how far this post spreads, so be sure to leave a comment, and please Retweet.

Tomorrow: Read 25 Things You Must Know About How NASA Uses Twitter

For more about NASA’s TweetUps, try these links:

• How NASA is Reaching the Public
• NASA Tweetup
• NASA Shuttle Crew Host DC Tweetup
• NASA Connects With Community via #NASATweetup
• Grassroots Outreach: STS-125 NASA Tweetup
• Astronauts Mission 127 Tweet-Up in DC

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



What’s a TweetUp, and Should I Wear My Spacesuit?

2 days ago, I met my friend Sam Mutimer (@sammutimer) for lunch. We talked about blogging, conferences and social media over lunch. I left with the opportunity to work with her team at Thinktank Media (@thinktankmedia) when they roll out strategies for new clients.

I was quite surprised – especially as I use twitter to hang out and connecting with awesome people when I have the time.

How I Got The Job

I don’t remember how I met Sam, but she soon encouraged me to go the the tweetup she founded called Tweetupmellers(@tweetupmellers) . She was great at getting me to talk to new people and was really encouraging.

I kept in touch with Sam, helping her out and just talking about her projects. I also focused on connecting with more people from the tweetupmellers community. Fast forward to two meetups later, and she was talking about a new project and how she might be needing additional help for it. In the past month, she has hired 3 of the twums attendees and has discovered many others through twitter.
My job is only 8 hours a month – but I will have the opportunity to earn an income while setting up my blog. I’ll be able to accept more work when she gets new clients and I’ll get some training in the business side of the industry.
This wouldn’t have been possible without twitter. Here are my five tips:

1. Go To Tweetups
I can’t stress the importance of this. I went to the tweetups with the view to hang out with fun people that I’d been talking to for months. It has since turned into one of the best ways to get people interested in your work.
I’ve observed:

• Neil creek(@neilcreek) get several clients – and a lot of buzz – due to his Meetheads concept at the tweetup.
• People talking about possible joint ventures on new projects.
• People hiring those that they’ve met at a tweetup.

2. Provide Advice For Free
I would often send DM’s to Sam with ideas for her projects. These were little things and didn’t take that much time. She would always send a DM back thanking me and would occasionally seek me out for advice.

She told me how she had done a similar thing when starting out. She worked for free and soon developed a strong reputation. I have seen this work very well for people building a portfolio. My tip would be to make sure you get testimonials. I do this by favouriting the tweets that compliment my work and by seeking LinkedIn recommendations.
I’ve done this a lot off twitter – guest posts, emails with advice and even meeting people to help with blogging projects.

3. Connect With Connectors
There are some people who love connecting people. They thrive on helping people. Sam is one of them. She has hired a number of my twitter friends including @mr_billiam and @ttam.

This also worked for a local web designer, @richardhuf. I was asked by a friend, @frankinoz, if I knew anyone who could do wordpress PSD’s. I didn’t know anyone so just pumped out a tweet asking for recommendations. Richard responded and has helped Frank for reveral projects. Based on this, I referred him to Sam. I’m still waiting to hear if anything came out of the referral.

You can accomplish so much by just focusing on people who love connecting and helping them out. Sam has since hooked me up with several leading business authors to interview and review their products.

4. Make It Known That You Are Looking For Work
I didn’t actively seek employment but I often talked about how I wanted to get a job at the end of the year. This was a major goal of me and many of my twitter friends had been helping me out and encouraging me to develop new skills.
As a result, I’ve had several offers to exchange skills and the eventual job offer from Sam. All of this before I was even prepared to re-enter the workforce.

5. Offer To Help
I do this often and its led to a lot of opportunities. Most people will reciprocate when they can.
I offered to review @sarahprout’s Twitter Success Blueprint (published on Twitip). As a result, I found a new friend and mentor. @Braqueen offered to exchange blogging advice for a mini makeover. I sent feedback to @howtomakemyblog and now have a guest posting opportunity.

This can help people see your skills and ascertain whether they want to work for you. You don’t even have to do it for free – you can do it at a reduced price.

Have you had success on twitter?
I have been hearing many more stories of people finding work on twitter. I’d love to hear about your success in the comments.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



5 Methods I Used To Get A Job Through Twitter

In this interview I ask Steve about his journey with Twitter, how he uses it, about growing follower numbers, for his suggestions on monetizing Twitter and for his views on the future of Twitter (and more).

Note: I asked my followers on Twitter to submit their questions for Steve and have acknowledged those followers to inspired some of the questions below. To be included in this type of thing in future follow @problogger and keep your eyes open for future calls for questions.

Steve thanks for joining us on TwiTip – Can you tell us your Twitter story. When did you start? Why? What attracted you to it?

In December 2006 I was invited to meet Bill Gates as part of a special blogger meeting on the Microsoft campus (Microsoft is a client of my employer but I was invited as a blogger). Evan Williams was at the meeting and we shared a cab to Sea-Tac Airport where he told me about Twitter. I was truly skeptical at first but I signed up when I got back to NY. I wasn’t convinced the site was going places. It wasn’t until about February or March of 2007 that I began to use Twitter in earnest and began to really enjoy it.

What are your goals in using Twitter? – question from @tylerpoling

To share my passion with the community and solicit ideas all with the intent of moving me toward my long-term goal of revolutionizing marketing communications through technology.

Can you tell us about your Twitter workflow? What tools and aps do you use? Do you Tweet all day or just in bursts? – question from @willhiggins and @zaibatsu

As a minimalist, I prefer not to run any more apps than I really need to. So I Tweet using Firefox – the web interface, Twitterbar for Firefox and increasingly Gmail/Google Talk via the Friendfeed connector. Also, I now have Friendfeed set up to syndicate my blog post links into Twitter.

I Tweet when I have time and in bursts but do not read anyone else’s missives other than replies back to me, which I also receive via Google Talk. I would love to read everyone’s Tweets but unfortunately I need to manage where my time and attention go. So this is the system that works for me. I occassionally see more Tweets when I log into Friendfeed.

How did you grow your follower numbers to over 10,000? Any tips that you could share with others wanting to grow their Twitter network? – question from @arrowheadaddict, @benjamteal and @leximo

Really, just organically. I am flattered that people want to follow what I am writing and sharing.

How do you manage the large number of your followers? Does it ever get too much to manage?

The only time it gets difficult to manage is when a lot of people respond to my Tweets at once. But that isn’t very often.

What advice would you give a company using Twitter for the first time? – question from @greenmom

I advise companies to add value to Twitter. They have to identify an unmet need that the Twitter community will respond to and then to be there with one or more human beings to meet it every day.

If you were on the management of Twitter how would you monetize Twitter? (or would you) – question from @sachendra

It seems to me that Twitter is sitting on cash. It just needs to unlock the value. One way is through insights. I bet marketers would pay for advanced insights on what people are saying/doing. The other is through contextual search. Twitter should do a deal with Google or Yahoo to put pay-per-click ads on all the permalink tweet pages and then share the revs with users. The other idea is to monetize search.twitter.com, also with contextual ads. I think the only reason they’re delaying this is to make sure they don’t alienate their community. That’s the biggest risk they face.

Is Twitter just a passing fad or will it still exist in 5 years? How do you see Twitter evolving? – question from @AnitaBruzzese and @justcreative

I have been a participant and observer of online communities since 1988 – that’s 20 years. There’s no community where I am spending time today that was not born in the last five years. If I think back to what I used over the years it spans from Compuserve to AOL to GeoCities to Facebook, Twitter and Friendfeed today. No community has ever had staying power. TIme will tell if Twitter can break the trend. I don’t see a moat there yet.

Further, they’re at risk at becoming just infrastructure as people interface with the site through all of the other ports, most notably, apps, Facebook and Friendfeed. I hope I am wrong. Five years may not be a timeframe long enoughf for change.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Twitter Interview with Steve Rubel