Tweets, subjects and people who are trended on Twitter are at the centre of attention of over 190 million newsfeeds. It is not surprising then that, Twitter is sometimes the place where most people find out news, events or tragedies. You could say Twitter has evolved from a micro-blogging site used to share thoughts, to become a service collectively bringing together news and reactions to some of the world’s biggest stories.

Not only do you get the news filtering through as searches are refreshed and updated, but also the initial reactions of twitter users. News can be received instantly due to the ease of access to Twitter from portable computers, mobile phones and anything connected to the internet. A trend is a popular topic with a large number of tweets relating to it, and an interesting story or breaking news article could in reality go round the world in minutes. The advantage of trending has also seen promoted tweets featured in the trend section, allowing brands to advertise through Twitter.

There are some disadvantages with the speed in which Twitter releases their information, in that there are bound to be mistakes and incorrect details. The news stories can even appear on Twitter before journalists have even had the opportunity to write articles. However with only 140 characters, surely Twitter should be used as a base to find out the full in-depth story when more facts have been found. Some false stories and rumours have been known to circulate the online world quickly and spiral out of control. There is no barrier against posting falsities or rumours which could lead to major confusion.

Twitter has grown beyond a simple social media site, for friends to see what others are doing, follow their favourite celebrities and sports stars and has in essence become a go-to place for the latest news and in essence online ‘gossip’. With all this attention on Twitter and increasing volume of users, what is next for the brand, and what direction could it go?

Twitter could expand their brand even further, similar to Facebook with games and the ‘online chat’ function and Myspace with their integrated music player. Twitter could incorporate associated websites ‘twit-pic’ and ‘twit-vid’ into its website as having the ability to post pictures and videos without going to external websites gives users a well-rounded online experience. If Twitter keeps growing, it could include different sections to the site, news and sport, music or even a ‘gossip column’ section; however this could take away the simplicity to the website which is instituted in the 140 character limit. Twitter has grown rapidly with the boom of interest in social media, which has proven that ‘microblogging’ is not a craze and that is here to stay.

Internet retailing is now growing at a rapid scale at roughly 3.5 times the rate of the whole sector month to month, and according to the National Office of Statistics the internet now accounts for 10.5% of all retail sales. The internet accounts for £660m of sales a week in this country, and can only continue getting bigger and stronger. These are astonishing statistics; therefore it is important for companies to be easily reachable on the internet. If your company’s website isn’t featuring high in search engines and your e-commerce sales are dwindling, a new internet and digital marketing strategy is essential.

With the continuing increase of online sales, companies should have a carefully planned internet marketing campaign. Some of the figures can be related to the recent poor weather, with more shoppers choosing the comfort of their own home to braving the high street. However regardless of the weather, the popularity of online shopping and the need for an effective internet marketing campaign cannot be questioned. Being well positioned on the internet is imperative to getting a share of the booming internet retail market.

The internet will continue to expand further and increase every year so it is important to know the tools needed for a successful internet marketing campaign. The internet has managed to develop and grow at a time when the recession is still affecting the economy and any business decisions which are made. Annual internet sales are now growing 10 times more quickly than the retail sector and with more and more people preferring the ease of online retail shopping, ensuring you can be found on the internet is critical.

If you are looking to optimise the online performance of your business, call us on 0191 232 8088 or email info@green-media.com

The story of Apple’s almost mythical white iPhone 4 took another twist this week when the company reluctantly admitted that the release date had slipped again, this time to a hesitantly vague ‘Spring 2011’. The announcement was the latest in what has been something of a PR rollercoaster for Apple. The timeline of the product can be pinpointed with highs and lows – the now-infamous stolen prototype, the fever-pitch first weeks of the release, record opening sales, ‘Antennagate’ snowballing, the ‘Antennagate’ explanation press conference and free case program, ‘Antennagate’ losing momentum, more record sales, and now, the news that the white iPhone will be delayed yet again.

The latest white iPhone 4 announcement throws up five questions that go to the heart of Apple’s product philosophy, PR and ultimately brand identity.

1) Why has it been delayed so long?

Apple isn’t saying anything officially further than unspecified “manufacturing difficulties beyond its initial expectations”, but the rumour mill has generated one or two reasonable suggestions.

An early but enduring rumour spoke of rapid discolouration of the white plastic used in the phone. While the iPhone 4 body has a glass front and back which would protect against grubby fingers, surfaces and pockets prematurely aging it from the outside, the rumour spoke of components heating the unit to the point where discolouration occurred from the inside out.

A more recent, and perhaps more feasible suggestion online talks about the white plastic compromising photography performance by allowing excessive light exposure on the lens. Either way, the “difficulties” have obviously proven to be especially difficult, hence the stretched-out delay.

2) Will anyone want one now?

A white iPhone 4 has an immediate visual appeal, with a clear reminiscence of the earliest, most beautiful iPods, so there was a definite market of buyers ready and waiting with open arms.

However, the established product cycle of the iPhone is a clear twelve months, with an early summer release taking place since the very first version. So, with Apple now saying it’s on for a spring launch, the white iPhone 4 will have at the very most three months as a top-of-the-line product. Being unavailable for nine of the twelve months in which it is most desirable is catastrophic. Assuming the pricing stays premium there will be a vastly reduced number of buyers willing to part with the cash to buy one, with a new model just around the corner.

3) Why has Apple got the PR so wrong on this?

Apple’s PR machine, equally respected and derided, is without a doubt one of the most successful media operations going, in any commercial industry. A press event earlier this month, which revealed the relatively modest new MacBook Air models and an incredibly limited preview of next year’s OS update, sent the tech press into speculation meltdown in the seven days between the initial announcement and the event itself. The reason for this is because Apple is a past master of creating buzz, hype and even mystique around the products it creates. Apple events are just that – ‘events’, no matter what they ultimately result in.

So, with such mastery over the art of essentially controlling both press and public opinion, why has Apple’s handling of the white iPhone 4 degenerated in such a way? Well, it’s worth remembering that Apple hasn’t lied. A release date slipping, even to this extent, isn’t exactly unheard of in the consumer electronics industry. The official reason for the delay, despite being infuriatingly hazy, is an indisputable fact – manufacturing difficulties are clearly the cause. The problem, in essence, is that there is seemingly such a high demand for a product that is unavailable to buy. This would still be the case if the company explained the hold-up in more detail, it wouldn’t change the fact that you can’t buy the thing.

Effectively, Apple has fallen victim to its own hype machine.

4) How will it play out?

At this point in time there seems to be two possible outcomes to the white iPhone 4 tale, neither of which will be remotely palatable to Apple. Scenario one; the phone is released next Spring with the hobbled sales potential of a product that appears a few months before its successor. Scenario two; Apple admits defeat and publicly cancels the device. The latter is the more intriguing of the two.

With the ‘Antennagate’ press conference in July, Apple (or more specifically, Steve Jobs) demonstrated how an out of control backlash could be turned into something of a PR win. A public culling of the white iPhone 4 couldn’t possibly have the same potential, so a similar staged ‘performance’ wouldn’t be expected. A more likely outcome in this scenario would be a carefully-phrased press release, perhaps even distributed around the same time as some positive news to dampen any backlash.

5) Will there be a lasting effect on Apple?

Put in perspective, the white iPhone 4 delay is a minor affair. It of course wasn’t the sole model of the iPhone 4. It wasn’t even expected to be the most popular of the two models. Anyone who wants an iPhone 4 can buy one, just not in white – hardly a deal-breaker. Sales figures of over 14m to date tell their own story.

However, the delay may have damaged the brand in some subtle ways.

For a company that prides itself on technological innovation, the fact that simply making a product in white has proven to be such a headache should be highly embarrassing, whatever the reason turns out to be. It’s mildly ironic that the colour white has created a stumbling block for Apple. The modern generation of the company was effectively reborn with the iPod – originally a white device – and white casing has become a signature appearance on the flagship MacBook and iMac computers. White really shouldn’t be such a mystery to Apple at this stage.

The incident may also dent the aura surrounding Apple’s live events and the unquestioning way in which Steve Jobs’ proclamations are received by the public at large. When Apple products are showcased in such a desirable fashion, it naturally leads to urgent demand. Demand that needs supply. If there’s a chance that any future super-devices announced at these events could be delayed in such a way, then the allure of the whole process begins to fade a little. Losing the ‘magic’ of the live events would be the first step to subduing the hype, which Apple can’t really afford to happen.

There was a substantial amount of media buzz, this week regarding ‘leaked photos’ of a Sony PlayStation phone using the Android system. Sony were rumoured to have applied for a patent four or five years ago for a portable gaming device with the capacity to be a mobile phone, and many online believe the time has come for the long awaited PlayStation phone. The topic spread round the internet like wildfire with YouTube videos, Facebook statuses and Twitter updates all trending the ‘release’ heavily, showing the level of interest there would be if the rumours were true.

What would the release of a Sony smartphone do to an already crowded market? Would it revolutionise? Or would it blend in with the vast array of smartphones in store windows? If the phone is real, with the sheer wealth of knowledge Sony has of the mobile communications market, a PlayStation phone would pack a heavy punch before the gaming aspect were to even become involved. PlayStation also has such a massive fan base combined with the draw of the Google Android operating system; the phone would have the potential to compete with the latest handsets using the newest operating systems. The Android system is becoming increasingly popular, along with the updated Symbian and most recently the Windows Phone 7 system.

As operating systems are becoming increasingly advanced to cope with complex programmes and functions, more and more people are turning towards a Smartphone for the apps available and satisfaction gained from it. Figures published by Gartner Newsroom show that the Symbian operating system is used in 41% of handsets, an incredible figure considering the popular Android system is used by 17% and Apple’s iOS in 14%. Are we moving into a time when consumers care more about the System the phone uses, then the handset itself?

This is when the authenticity of the so-called rumours comes into question. Why would Sony wait so long to launch a smart phone containing the PSP console? The Sony Ericsson branch has such huge power and resource, combined with the technological advancement of PlayStation, the specifications for a Sony PlayStation phone would look very promising for a gaming enthusiast or an admirer of the latest technologies. However, the controversy arose due to the poor quality of the photographs, showing a dirty screen and un-focused close ups, bringing authority of the photographs into question. Yet the idea of the phone was greeted with enthusiasm and excitement, leading to comments discussing all the directions in which the phone could go.

Whether it is real or not, Sony have created a stir throughout the technological and gaming world, which shows it would have the potential to do extremely well in the lucrative smartphone market. Sony, if they were to launch a PlayStation phone, would certainly not look out of place amongst the leaders of the market, Nokia, Apple, Samsung and HTC and the contest would also be an interesting one to watch. With each company trying to better the next with faster, sleeker and more technological models, how would they each respond? Sadly however, Sony rejected claims the ‘leak’ had made that a PlayStation phone would be released by the middle of next year leaving those so wildly caught up in media storm, scratching their heads and wondering if the time would ever come?

American clothing giant Gap has decided to abandon its new logo after a matter of days, amid almost universal criticism. The new logo was revealed last week, instantly sparking a wave of disapproval on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere online, resulting in the change of heart.

Company President Marka Hansen’s opening explanation of the new logo – published after it was released on the website – was riddled with corporate-waffle, including the dubious belief that the graded blue square “honours our heritage”, which got the whole process off to a bad start. The situation worsened as the week progressed, with the initial dismay evolving into something closer to ridicule as more commentators latched onto the story.

Perhaps the tipping point came with tech-blogger John Gruber’s devastatingly succinct advice; “Sell your Gap stock.”

So, Gap has gone back to the old logo and essentially apologised for the whole affair.

The incident highlights a few interesting points;

The power of social media

The platform for the vast majority of the opinions expressed on the new logo was of course the major social networks, primarily Facebook and Twitter. Gap openly invited such participation, with its own official Facebook page asking customers for feedback, and (slightly oddly considering the new logo was already chosen and live) a crowd-sourced design process. Had the protestations come mainly from paper-based outlets I doubt that we would have seen such a quick reaction from the company. A drip-feed of criticism through traditional channels would have been far easier to shake off than the 24/7 deluge that social media enables.

The power of a familiar brand identity

A brand identity is more than simply a logo. It represents everything about a company, from the top to the bottom, from the CEO to the staff on the front-line. It is the ‘voice’ of a company, and it is how it choses to present itself to the world. Perhaps most importantly in a commercial setting a brand identity absolutely needs to represent something that the customer can relate to and wants to ‘buy into’. The new Gap logo, while definitely insipid and uninspired, did seem to succeed in bringing the company into the 21st century. It used a form of the Nimbus Sans font, which has a clear and current appeal. The old logo – now reinstated as the existing logo once again – is incredibly dated, with a serif-heavy Pall Mall font. Launched over two decades ago, it now seems wilfully, almost proudly, outdated. Although a great deal of the furore over the switch centred around the perceived poor design of the new logo, the powerful familiarity of the old brand also played a part. Without reaching the heights of, for instance, Levi Strauss’ red tab, with which a brand becomes defined and beloved, the Gap logo does have something of an immediately recognisable appeal. The company may have underestimated what it already had in this regard.

The willingness of a major company to backtrack

Maybe the most surprising part of this story is the fact that Gap performed a u-turn. It shows that for all the bluster about ‘heritage’ and changing the face of the company, it still considers customers and their opinions as valuable enough to feature in such high-level decisions. It is this point that is likely to ‘save’ Gap from the incident triggering some sort of terminal tailspin that some have predicted.

When a company is so determinedly customer-focused and is willing to adapt so reactively to what the paying public wants, it certainly doesn’t have any problems with its priorities.