I love reading SEOBook and from the SEO perspective, I think Aaron Wall is quite the guru. I also think he’s got very cool marketing and business development insight to share. But it seems Twitter is where our opinions start to differ. According to his post on Twitter, this microblogging platform is a big page rank waster, mostly because of the no follow links. True. He also seem to think there’s little to gain from using Twitter. Aaron also quotes Seth Godin on the fact that, just like the phone, Twitter is only a connecting medium, not a marketing medium.

My question to you is: if you could (legally ) listen to people’s conversations on the phone, hear them when they mention your product or service, if you could start your own conversation with them, wouldn’t you be all over the phone? I know I would!

Twitter might be nothing more than a connection between many dots, but it’s an extremely transparent one. You can literally watch thoughts spread through word of mouth. Tweets and retweets and the circle keeps growing.

And don’t forget the ROI you get from investing in relationships! I’ve seen this idea in the post’s comments, but I feel it needs to be stressed out. Twitter is a great place to meet interesting people. You might have hobbies, passions, causes or business in common, no matter which, this limited characters outlet is a great place to build a meaningful relationship.

Does it generate value for your business? Let’s see, you learn new things, you meet key people, others spread news, reviews and quick notes on your products or services, you interact with business partners and potential clients. Isn’t all this valuable?

I’ll use myself as an example: I’ve found inspiration for my business blog on Twitter, I’ve found resources I would have otherwise missed, I’ve been exposed to innovative ideas and picked up some new tricks on the way, I’ve met some potential clients, but most of all, I’ve built relationships with truly amazing people.

Yes, Google ranks might suffer because of Twitter. But is rank the only thing that matter? I think I’d take a few people talking about the services I provide and driving new customers my way over half a point of Google PR any day! Especially if those doing the tweeting are key influencers for my potential customers.

I won’t deny it, it’s easy to get lost on Twitter at times, it’s hard to keep it strictly business. It’s better defined as chit chatting with friends, plus some other benefits.

What do you think? Can Twitter create enough value for you business, to be worth integrating Twitter strategy in your overall business and marketing plan? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!

It’s today! And while not all languages have a dedicated pirate vocabulary, we’re all fascinated by these seamen. It’s a fun day and everyone seems to be talking about it. I first found out of it from John Cass of PR Communications. Through his post, I found out everything about this day.

What then caught my eye was Barbara Rozgonyi’s article on how the buzz around this day evolved in the last two years. I wonder how it will all evolve now that Google is joining in and Facebook is teaching us how to talk “pirate”. I’m sure Barbara’s search results will double in a few days!

Now, if you’re like me and can’t talk like a pirate with your friends, here are some other ideas to celebrate: invite your friends over and have a pirate themed party (this will require great event planning efforts ), watch some pirate themed movies or read something pirate related. Have fun!