The Web Ecology Project has released 140Kit, a research tool for tracing tweet paths. From the site: “It’s the final product of the various provisional tools we’ve used to produce our previous reports on the social phenomena of Twitter, and of lead researcher Devin Gaffney’s own work on high throughput humanities.”

• It enables complete data pulls for a set of users or terms on Twitter, with searches running continuously.

• The ability to download those data pulls in raw form to use for whatever you please.

• The ability to stand on the shoulders of giants by mixing and matching existing data pulls to generate entirely new combinations of data and analysis.

• And the ability to instantaneously generate basic visualizations around the data (term use, inequality of participation, etc).

It’s free to use and open source. So, Devin Gaffney, Ian Pearce, Max Darham, and Max Nanis:
Thanks!

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Matthew Ingram at Gigagom blogs about an upcoming Twitter feature called Twitter Annotations. Well, it’s not actually a feature. It’s the ability to attach metadata to a tweet. This is potentially great news, since it will give us a way to add context to tweets and to enable machine-processing of tweets, not to mention that URLs could be sent as metadata rather than as subtractions from the 140-character limit. This is yet another example of information scaling to the point where we have to introduce more information to manage it. How about one of those bogus “laws” people seem to like (well, I know I do): Information sufficiently scaled creates a need for more information.

Twitter is specifying the way in which Annotations will be encoded, but not what the metadata types will be. You can declare a “type” with its own set of “attributes.” What types? Whatever you (or, more exactly, developers and hackers) find useful. Matthew cites a number of folks who are basically positive but who express a variety of worries, including Google open advocate Chris Messina who warns that there could be a mare’s nest of standards, that is, values for types and attributes. Dave Winer takes Google to task for slagging off on Twitter for this. I agree with his sentiment that Goliath Google ought to be careful about their casual criticisms. Nevertheless, I think Chris is right: Specifying the syntax but not the actual types and attributes will inevitably give rise to confusion: What one person tags as “topic,” someone else will tag as “subject,” and some people might have the nerve to actually use words for types in, say, Spanish or Arabic. The nerve! [THE NEXT DAY: Here's Chris' original post on the topic, which is more balanced than the bit Matthew excerpts, and which basically agrees with the next paragraph:]

But, so what? I’d put my money on Ev Williams and Biz Stone any time (important note: If I had money). You couldn’t have seriously proposed an idea as ridiculous as Twitter in the first place if you didn’t deeply understand the Web. So, yes, Chris is right that there’ll be some confusion, but he’s wrong in his fear. After the confusion there will be a natural folksonomic (and capitalist) pull toward whatever terms we need the most. Twitter can always step in and suggest particular terms, or surface the relative popularity of the various types, so that if you want to make money by selling via tweets, you’ll learn to use the type “price” instead of “cost_to_user,” or whatever. Or you’ll figure out that most of the Twitter clients are looking for a type called “rating” rather than “stars” or “popularity.” There’ll be some mess. There’ll be some angry angry hash tags. But better open confusion than expecting anyone — even the Twitter Lads — to do a better job of guessing what its users need and what clever developers will invent than those users and developers themselves.

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On the Media features Ethan Zuckerman explaining the worldwide movement to save the beautiful Brazilian galvão bird. “Cala Boca Galvão!” indeed, my fellow bird-huggers!

Seriously, youll enjoy the 5 minute interview.

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Jos Schuurmans usefully coins “Amplification is the new circulation.” And then he usefully worries about how to handle the fact that with each amplification, the link to the source becomes more tenuous.

The problem is that the amplification metaphor only captures part of the phenomenon. Yes, a post from a low-traffic site that gets re-broadcast by a big honking site has had its signal amplified. But the amplification happens by being passed through more hands, with each transfer potentially introducing noise, as in the archetypical game of “telephone” or “gossip.” On the other hand, because this is not mere signal-passing, each transfer can also introduce more meaning; the signal/noise framing doesn’t actually work very well here.

Retweeting is a good example and a possibly better metaphor: Noise gets introduced as people drop words and paraphrase the original, and as the context loses meaning because the original tweeter is now a dozen links away. But, as people pare down the original tweet, the signal may get stronger, and as they add their own take and introduce it into their own context, the original tweet can gain meaning.

But, Jos is particularly worried about the loss of source. As the original idea gets handed around, the link to its source may well break or be dropped. “TMZ says Brittany Murphy dead http://bit.ly/6biEQg” becomes “TMZ says Brittany Murphy is dead” becomes “Brittany Murphy dead!!!!!!!!!” and then maybe even “Brittany dead!!!,” and “Britney Spears is dead!!!” Sources almost inevitably will be dropped as messages are passed because we are passing the message for what it says, not because of the metadata about its authenticity.

So, what do we do? I have a three part plan.

Part one: Continue to innovate. For example, there’s probably already some service that is following the tracks of retweets, so that if you want to see where a RT began, you can. Of course, any such service will be imperfect. But the all of the Internet’s strengths come from its imperfection.

Part Two: Try to be responsible. When it matters, include the source. This will also be a highly imperfect solution.

Part Three: Cheer up. Yes, it sucks that amplification results in source loss. But, it’s way better than it was before the Internet when all sorts of bullcrap was passed around without any practical way of checking it out. The Net amplifies bullcrap but also makes it incredibly easy to check it out, whether it’s a computer virus warning passed along by your sweet elderly aunt or a rumor about the spread of a real virus. Also, see Part Two: Try to be responsible. Check out rumors before committing to them. When amplifying, reintroduce lost sources.

As Jos says, amplification is the new circulation. And the new circulation tends towards source loss. It also increases both noise and meaning. And it occurs in a system with astounding tools — e.g., your favorite search engine — for the reinsertion of source.

Is it better or worse? Yes, definitely.

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I gave a keynote at theCanadian Marketing Association‘s Marketing Week conference in Toronto a couple of days ago. It was a new talk, and I tried to structure it carefully. I’ve gone through my slides, and here’s an extended summary of what I said (or meant) in this 35-minute (?) talk.

Title: After Conversation: Markets as Networks.

Part I: Networked Markets

As Doc Searls said, markets are conversations. But, Doc said something else that I think is just as brilliant: “There’s no market for messages.” That’s harder for marketers to hear, since it points to the essential fact of traditional marketing: The people marketers are talking to generally don’t want to hear from them. And I want to add one more thought to this mix: Markets are also networks.

Traditional markets consist of demographic slices, i.e., “social groups” of people who have never met one another. We choose particular demographics because we think they are susceptible to the same message. Thus, traditional markets are not real things to which we send messages. Rather, messages make markets.

Now, markets are networks…networks of people who converse and interact, spread out across the Internet. For example, at any one moment there are some number of parents with sick children who are on the Net talking and posting, on blogs, discussion boards, social networking sites, Twitter, etc. etc. etc. But that networked market is substantially different in 12 hours because their kids are getting better. And of course 12 hours is an extremely long periodicity for these networked markets. They change constantly. Think of how ideas ripple through Twitter. Furthermore, not everyone in the market of parents with sick kids are in it the same way. The illnesses vary, the seriousness of the illnesses vary, the relationships vary. Think about the gay network in this regard: I’m sometimes in this network because I blog about gay marriage. But if you, as marketer, fail to recognize the complexity of the interests in this group, then you’ll be sending gay dating solicitations to people who don’t want them, including some who are in this network because they’re posting homophobic comments. Networked markets are rippling, ever-changing, hugely complex, inherently unstable, and thus thoroughly unlike traditional markets.

In short: You can’t step into the same market twice.

In fact, these webs of connected people are characterized by their differences as well as by their agreements, by their individuality as well as their connection. (Q: What is the opposite of message discipline? A: The Internet.) This is very different from traditional markets which are defined by demographic similarities. Networked markets are equally defined by their differences.

Part II: The network properties of networked markets

Networked markets take on some of the properties of networks. Let’s look at a few of those properties.

1. Markets at every scale. The Internet works at every scale, unlike any other medium. [I should have said: ...perhaps except for paper.] E.g., Twitter works for Ashton Kutcher with 3M followers and for a tween with her 10 friends. But it is a different thing at each scale. The same is true for networked markets. It’s crucial to understand the social differences at each scale; thinking of Twitter as a single phenomenon is a mistake (for example).

2. Markets are held together by the same “glue” as networks. What holds the network together (not at the level of bits ‘n’ routers, of course) are the interests people express through their links. Likewise for networked markets. Shared interests, not messages, make networked markets.

3. Markets are transparent like networks. Because the connective tissue of the network consists of links, and those links tend to be public, the network tends towards transparency. (Note: tends towards.) I want to mention three types of marketing transparency that I think are crucial.

a. Transparent sources: We need to be able to follow links to the sources (the facts and conversations) that lead you to what you say.

b. Transparent self: We need to know you are who you say you are (no astroturfing or phony reviews!), but we also need to know that you know that you’re a fallible human like the rest of us. The posturing and perfectionism of traditional marketing increasingly will decrease the company’s credibility.

c. Transparent interests. The customer’s interest in a product often are not aligned with the company’s interest in selling it to her. The customer’s interests are complex (buying a bike to save gas money and to get some exercise and to save the earth and to feel like a kid), while, at worst, the company has a single interest. Because of this potential mismatch of interests, we need transparency about the company’s interests.

Summary: Transparency of (a) sources to trust your facts, of (b) self to trust you, of (c) interests to trust what you’re up to on our Internet.

Part III. Four challenges (plus one)

1. How does a marketer deal with the non-alignment of interests? At the very same time, the market may range from wanting to sing kumbayah to being near-violently politically opposed. Tough problem. Part of the answer is to be willing to embrace a straightforward advocacy (with facts and reasons and full transparency) about positions much of the market may disagree with. In a network based on difference, honest disagreement is better than a phony agreeableness.

2. Cluetrain advocated authenticity. Over the years, I find myself agreeing more with Chris Locke‘s skepticism about the concept. What does it mean for an organization to be authentic? It’s hard even to make sense of the term. E.g., does it mean that everyone has to agree with the founder’s opinions? Does it mean that people who are working there simply because it’s a job have to pretend to be enthusiastic?

3. Companies are hierarchical because hierarchies scale up to the size of an army (= the number of Ashton Kutcher’s Twitter followers). But hierarchies don’t interact with networks very comfortably. E.g., who speaks for the company?

4. Respect the conversation. Although markets are conversations, conversations are not markets. The conversations are more important than your marketing. And if you participate, then truly participate; don’t participate with the secret aim of subverting the discussion.

5. The hardest thing for marketers: Resist opportunities.

The End.

(By the way, here’s Marketing Magazine‘s brief write-up of the talk.)

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Tim Beyers at FastCompany has put together an article about Cluetrain‘s reaction to Twitter. After all, we’re the “markets are conversations” people, so how do we feel about Twitter and its conversations getting valued at a billion bucks?

It turns out that the four of us think different things about Twitter, as Tim indicates in this brief article. My own view is overall quite positive, but compound. I don’t think Twitter is “closer than anything we’ve seen before” to an ideal conversational medium. Twitter conversations are pretty weird because of the brevity of tweets, but mainly because of the asymmetry of the conversation: If the people you’re talking to respond, their responses go to people who may not be following you, and you may not see their responses.

That’s not a criticism. It’s simply to say that Twitter conversations are weird, and not the closest to some Platonic ideal of conversation. It all depends on what you’re trying to do. Twitter is fantastic at some things, but not at everything. And it’s fascinating in all sorts of ways: as a social system, as a news propagation system, as a recommendation engine, as a reputational ecology…

In fact, one of the aspects of Twitter I most admire is its ability to work at multiple scales. As Chris Locke points out in the article, at Oprah-scale Twitter functions just like another broadcast, star-based system. But Twitter also works 1:1, 1:2, 1:100, and so on, functioning differently at each scale. That’s true of the Internet over all, but is not true of any (?) other medium.

So, I find myself both more positive about Twitter than a casual reader of the FastCompany article might think, but also less enthusiastic than one might take it as saying.

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CNN’s breaking news service on Twitter (cnnbrk) has 2.7M followers. Here are all of its posts since August 24, a month’s worth:

Legally insane killer who escaped in Washington state has been captured, authorities say http://bit.ly/tEJTU7:03 PM Sep 20th
Man in terror probe charged with making false statements http://bit.ly/q1Cc01:03 AM Sep 20th

FBI agents raid the home of Najibullah Zazi, a Colorado resident, questioned in an alleged terrorist plot in the U.S. http://bit.ly/GYX4310:37 PM Sep 19th

Source: Man at center of terror probe admits al Qaeda ties http://bit.ly/BmGqB #terror6:11 PM Sep 18th

Lab tech arrested in killing of Yale graduate student, police say http://bit.ly/65bPt7:31 AM Sep 17th

Arrest imminent in Yale student killing, authorities say http://bit.ly/PKZTI5:54 AM Sep 17th

More resources being brought to New York in connection with terror probe that triggered raids this week – http://bit.ly/Kh47I1:13 PM Sep 16th

Election board: Karzai has more than 50 percent of Afghan presidential vote; irregularities still being examined – http://bit.ly/SdjnP9:33 AM Sep 16th

Iraqi man who threw his shoes at then-President Bush released from jail on good behavior http://bit.ly/10AmVr #Iraq3:51 AM Sep 15th

Police: Missing Yale student case is a homicide http://bit.ly/38zdz38:27 PM Sep 13th

Mayor: Blagojevich fundraiser told police he overdosed before death http://bit.ly/MED8U3:34 PM Sep 13th

FBI source: Serial bank robbery suspect arrested http://bit.ly/Nbght9:20 AM Sep 13th

Key Blagojevich player is dead, ex-governor says http://bit.ly/ntZnr5:11 PM Sep 12th

Shuttle lands in California http://bit.ly/DbsDg #shuttle #nasa #discovery7:56 PM Sep 11th

Anti-abortion activist shot dead, Michigan officials say – http://bit.ly/td8lF10:44 AM Sep 11th

Sources: Coast Guard incident a ‘training exercise’ http://bit.ly/1NvjKr9:39 AM Sep 11th

Coast Guard confronts boat as Obama visits Pentagon, police scanner reports say shots fired http://bit.ly/Qh9AO9:13 AM Sep 11th

Former Taiwan president convicted on corruption charges http://bit.ly/FAAhn #Taiwan3:17 AM Sep 11th

Mexican hijacking has ended peacefully; all passengers, crew safe, Mexican authorities say. http://bit.ly/2Stkq3 #mexicocity3:19 PM Sep 9th

At least 5 suspects taken into custody after hijacked plane lands at Mexico City airport – http://bit.ly/2Stkq3 #mexicocity3:09 PM Sep 9th

Crew held in hijacked commercial jet at Mexico City airport; passengers freed – http://bit.ly/LZWxM #mexicocity3:02 PM Sep 9th

Source: Key Senate Democrat proposes dropping public option from heath-care reform http://bit.ly/JJ0eo10:10 AM Sep 7th

3 found guility of plotting to blow up planes on flights between Britain, U.S. and Canada. http://bit.ly/JgZmt9:32 AM Sep 7th

Sudanese woman who wore pants escapes lashes, but faces fine http://bit.ly/gVysu6:55 AM Sep 7th

Suspect arrested in Georgia killings http://bit.ly/2Qgdn6:52 PM Sep 4th

Indonesia quake death toll at 25, could rise, agency says http://bit.ly/1bPSiF9:00 AM Sep 2nd

6 dead in #Indonesia after 7.0 magnitude #earthquake http://bit.ly/dyTYB5:03 AM Sep 2nd

Pres. Obama remembers Ted Kennedy as “champion for those who had none; soul of Democratic Party; lion of U.S. Senate.” http://bit.ly/3FmLyq11:42 AM Aug 29th

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s body arrives at Boston church for his funeral, with President Obama set to deliver the eulogy. http://bit.ly/2zWSWv9:52 AM Aug 29th

The Los Angeles County coroner rules Michael Jackson’s death a homicide – http://bit.ly/1xVyAH #michaeljackson1:45 PM Aug 28th

August deadliest month for U.S. military in Afghanistan since 2001 invasion — 46 dead http://bit.ly/3Cvzor8:50 AM Aug 28th

Author Dominick Dunne dies http://bit.ly/9BmES #dominickdunne4:00 PM Aug 26th

Kennedy to be buried at Arlington Cemetery, Defense Dept. official says – http://bit.ly/XCurP #kennedy11:10 AM Aug 26th

Sen. Edward Kennedy died Tuesday night after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He was 77. http://bit.ly/WiZXA12:25 AM Aug 26th

Chris Brown sentenced to 5 years probation in Rihanna assault #rihanna http://bit.ly/jpJ8w4:21 PM Aug 25th

33 die in Afghan car bomb incident http://bit.ly/snREp11:38 AM Aug 25th

Justice Department asks prosecutor to examine legality of CIA interrogations http://bit.ly/N3Eql #cia #torture2:07 PM Aug 24th

Breakdown:

Total: 38
terrorism: 9
death: 20
Countries mentioned: US, Afghanistan (3), Taiwan, Mexico, Britain, Indonesia, Canada
Plain old crime (non-terrorist): 11
Percentage of tweets that contain actual news: 28.95%

I grant that there’s some subjectivity (=total subjectivity) in deciding what’s actual news. Nevertheless, Google News Timeline will show you at least some of the other events that happened during this month. And this query at Google News will list the 6,600 articles CNN.com posted during the past month, of which these 38 are not the most important, except by some radical redefinition of importance, of news, and of CNN’s dignity.

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He’s tweeted twice so far, once that his nuts are on fire, and then promising a phone call to a friend when he hits 100K followers, indicating that perhaps he hasn’t looked past the “number of followers” portion of the site, but I have to say that I love his photo…

[Tags: twitter ]

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I received this today:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TWITTER ATTEMPTS TO SHUT DOWN USOCIAL

Twitter has recently moved to shut down web promotions company uSocial.net, by claiming the advertising agency is “spamming”.

According to uSocial CEO Leon Hill, Twitter recently sent accusations via a brand-management organisation that uSocial are using Twitter for spam purposes. Despite this, uSocial say the claims are false.

“The definition of spam is using electronic messaging to send unsolicited communication and as we don’t use Twitter for this, the claims are false.” Said Hill.

uSocial believe the claims are due to a service the company sells which allows clients to purchase packages of followers to increase their viewership on the site.

“The people at Twitter who are sending these claims are just flailing around trying to look for any excuse they can, though it’s going to take much more than this if they want us to pack up shop.” Said Hill. “We’re not going away that easily.”

The service in question can be viewed on uSocial’s site by going to http://usocial.net/twitter_marketing.

Based upon this press release, uSocial is correct: It is not a spammer. Rather, it enables spammers. And then they spammed me to tell me about it.

uSocial also helps companies game sites such as Digg.com by purchasing votes. uSocial is thus explicitly a force out to corrupt human trust. So, screw ‘em.

(The uSocial site is down at the moment. Check this post by Eric Lander to read about the site.)

[Tags: spammers twitter marketing conversational_marketing ethics cluetrain ]

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With it’s new Fresh view, Delicious builds on the TweetNews idea of using links in Tweets (and other measures) as a way to find what’s newest and most interesting. As the blog post about it says:

Underneath the hood, Fresh factors several features into the ranking like related bookmark and tweet counts, “eats our own dogfood”  by leveraging BOSS to filter for high quality results, as well as stitches tweets to related articles even if the tweets do not provide matching URLs (as ~81% of tweets do not contain URLs). Try clicking the ‘x Related Tweets’ link for any given story to see the Twitter conversation appear instantly inline.

It’s a welcome reslicing, not a whole new beast, but it seems useful.

[Tags: delivious everything_is_miscellaneous twitter news ]

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