Twitterrific (Blog 10)

When compared to my Grandparents, or even my Mother, I am the most technologically savvy person ever. However, when compared to the average student my age, I'm probably not even up to par. I have owned an iPhone for over a year now, and as of four or five days ago I finally started utilizing it to its full potential. Class last Monday over Twitter, combined with the guest lecturer we had a few weeks before, made me realize that it's time to spread my wings. I started looking into what the iPhone calls "applications". These (often free) downloadable programs come in all different forms, from games - to news feeds - to applications for Facebook and Myspace. Coincidentally, there is also an application for Twitter called "Twitterrific".

This program places an icon on the desktop of my iPhone, with one touch easy access it pulls up a mobile version of the Twitter program with all of the same functions that you would find on a desktop pc or laptop. I have been "tweeting" from it for days, and like the guest lecturer said - it's addicting. In fact, according to Apple's online website "Twitterrific" won the Apple Design Award in 2008 for "Best iPhone Social Networking Application". A link to other awards for iPhone applications, information for those other iPhone users who want to know more about this application, and information on iPhone applications in general can be found here: http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/ada/index.html

Throughout the semester we have all become aware of the YouTube videos "in Plain English". The following link ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o ) is to "Twitter in Plain English" for those of you who are wanting a very quick and informative crash course to the world of tweeting. If nothing else, the video will brush you up on your knowledge of Twitter and I find the videos are always entertaining to watch.

Instead of speaking broadly about PR implications for Twitter, I have decided to briefly discuss how the iPhone application "Twitterrific" can be utilized by different organizations for effective PR. I know that personally, I am on the computer surfing the Internet quite a bit. However, I can tell you for a fact that I spend a lot more time on my iPhone because I carry it around with me wherever I go - and it simply might look wierd, creepy, and uncomfortable carrying a desktop pc to and from the store while I'm shopping for groceries... and I know that I'm not the only one with an iPhone, or even with the iPhone application "Twitterrific". In fact, as of July, 2007, Apple has sold over 1 million iphones. More information can be found in this interesting article: http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/05/iphone-sells-out-faster-than-an-80s-rock-star/ That was almost six months ago. You also have to figure that since this article was posted that the new iPhone 3G has been released, so you can bet that number has and is growing at an exponential rate.

What does this mean for PR professionals? It's simple. You now have the ability to reach your target public(s) on the move, anywhere they are, as long as they have cell phone reception. In fact, currently AT&T has exclusive rights to the iPhone and are also the single largest cellular network in the country; so the chance of cell phone reception is extremely high. Take advantage of mobile technology to perform more efficient and effective PR!!! Understand the different applications that iPhone offers and use them to your organizations advantage. "Twitterrific" is a great place to start. Add me as your friend, I'll tweet with you. There's your start.