I have been investigating inside the web to find other sites like Twitter but which links are "do-follow" (it gives more relevance to the linked pages on search engines like Google).
I found two: Identi.ca and Tuppy.com. Both work in the same way than Twitter and Facebook: create a profile, for free, and start posting public messages which can contain links, files, and so on.
My main concern was to obtain good backlinks for my blogs. With Identi.ca and Tuppy.com I have been able to do that.
Fact: As of Sept. 3, 2009 - we have the Largest Follower group in the Dallas - Fort Worth Area.
Come be a part of this and follow us http://twitter.com/robertjrussell
I wanted to share just a little Trivia for you.
FACTS on FACEBOOK:
Facts on Twitter:
So - why not start your own Social Media ? Crazy ? I don't think so....
Here is what mine looks like - Sign up and see what you can do!
http://robertjrussellsocialnetwork.ning.com
So your thinking of logging into Twitter huh ?
Now you can get the latest TWITTER UPDATES from Robert J Russell, REALTOR, International Real Estate Specialist, Insurance Broker and Well Known Public Speaker.
Simply visit http://twitter.com/robertjrussell - You'll be glad you did!
All of us are being bombarded with advice, seminars, etc. about the importance of having a presence on the important social media platforms. Great advice.... not very helpful, though, without also giving some advice about developing a strategy for using your presence on all of these sites! 
When I first started posting our team's profile and information on sites like: ACTIVE RAIN, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND MYSPACE... I wasn't quite certain how I was going to use these profiles to market our business and to generate buzz, interest and leads. In hind site... I now realize that developing the STRATEGY is the first step that you should take in this effort... not the last! You must use the strategy that you develop to generate the keywords, titles & the content that you write for your profiles on all of these social media sites. It is much harder to do this in reverse, because you waste a lot of time rewriting and optimizing after the fact if you don't do it right the first time! Here are a 6 questions to ask yourself BEFORE you create profiles or content for any social media site:
Once you've answered these questions... YOU HAVE YOUR STRATEGY! Now... have fun, be creative, & (since this way of communicating with the masses is relatively new) enjoy the rush that you used to get as a child... learning, exploring, experimenting... with fresh & new experiences! Gotta love that!
There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday about Twitter, the darling of the social media world, and the future of the site. Here's a link to the full article, "Twitter Trips on Its Rapid Growth" - I recommend you read it.
No, the article was not a doomsayer, predicting a failing. But it did raise the question of what lies ahead in Twitter's future in terms of their ability to mange growth and their business model.
Twitter is a business. And like any company it has a business model...well, sort of. Like so many start-ups it may be more concept and visionary that a real model The problem for Twitter, and one which the owners/founders must wrestle with in the near term, is financial. Like many start-ups, especially on-line, Twitter has had amazing growth in its first years of existence. I don't know how it compares to some of the other on-line businesses that has sprouted up, but with about 32 million unique users now (per the article), and only 3 years old, the growth rate has been phenomenal. Perhaps that exceeds the growth rate of the Googles of the world.
The problem for Twitter is revenue stream. There is none. Hmmm, reminds me of AR in its earlier days. As we all know that has changed, in ways that I think many feel are positive.
Oh, Twitter has money, having found financing from venture capitalists, a common strategy with start-ups. And the article goes on to say how they are exploring alliances with other companies. But Twitter is not generating income from the site as it currently exists since they don't sell advertising. The investors will, certainly, be looking for some return on their investment
The other growth-related issue is infrastructure. Twitter has employees, but not many considering how rapidly it is growing, and the growing pains - server issues, product development - will likely continue without bringing on more employees to deal with the running of the business itself. And further development, I suspect, will be hindered. According to the article plans are in the works to bring on more staff. The challenge, as I know well from being in an Internet start-up, is finding the folks with the business acumen but who also fit the corporate culture and the vision. That can be a significant challenge for some founders.
Will Twitter continue to exist in its current form?
Unlikely. A revenue stream must happen at some point for Twitter to remain viable, as has happened with other Internet companies, unless they can secure more VC funding. And certainly the question of being sold has arisen - no doubt of interest to the VCs. Time will tell on that issue.
Will Twitter continue to attract users?
Undoubtedly. But how many of its users are, and will continue to be, active? (We know from recent reports that about 8% of AR members are active). And won't new product offerings be necessary to meet the changing needs of devotees? And provide income, in addition to the potential of advertising becoming a part of the Twitter landscape.
The popularity does not seem to be waning, but 2009 should be an interesting year. Would you pay to belong to Twitter? Would you advertise? And are there other product offerings that could provide Twitter with a revenue stream. We'll see.
