I am wondering how this will play out but I just had an opportunity to read through a TechCrunch article by Robin Wauters where it was uncovered that Twitter, Inc. may begin reaching out to people that are using Tweet in their applications or in their businesses and asking that they refrain from the practice. This seems to me to be a day late and a billion dollars short. I can’t understand how they are just now thinking of trademarking in as little time as May of 2009 the word Tweet. What other words have they asked be trademarked? What law firm sold them on this idea? Surely if you began to get some steam as you did back in as early as 2007 you would have thought that some of these names associated with your brand would have been at that more valuable? To begin this process now seems like an oops to me. I actually like the email sent as it seems to give the impression that they have no weight behind the statement:
Hi,
Twitter, Inc is uncomfortable with the use of the word Tweet (our trademark) and the similarity in your UI and our own. How can we go about having you change your UI to better differentiate your offering from our own?
They feel "uncomfortable?" Perhaps if they really thought this was a battle worth winning they would actually be more than just "uncomfortable." I fully expect after the update to the blog post added after the fact wherein Twitter provides a response, that we will get yet another update that says something to the effect that, "We realize this seems crazy but we forgot to actually think of this before." The next thing you know they will be printing up business cards and hiring a receptionist.
This all seems to be the way this company is operating behind the scenes. They fell into a great thing without realizing its potential or what it would turn into. They then found that it was cool and might be worth some money to someone, then they found out that they should have some idea as to how to make money with it, and now they are realizing that they should be protecting it from everyone. I just shake my head at the way this company is shaping up. It must just be one comedy show after another behind he scenes there. The great thing is, it is still loved by millions.
Tags: Twitter, Trademark, Technology, Legal Issues, Business, Social Media Tools
I have been traveling quite a bit lately and that has caused me to get seriously behind on a large amount of work that I need to accomplish. I have finally caught up with my email inbox which usually hovers around 60 unread messages at any given time, which usually equates to the amount of Twitter bios I need to read to approve or discard. I began digging into the RSS feed readers (yes plural) that I have disregarded that have been so overwhelmed that many of the search feeds I have for the likes of “business blogging” and “social media consulting” are defaulting to the most it will store. In other words, I have much work and little time to get it done. I know I play this off with the idea that I am also the stay at home dad of 4 kids at the ages of 9, 8, 4, and 3, and that has some merit but for the most part I have times when they are sleeping or are not in the picture that I spend catching up but I still think I can be more efficient. I know I need to explain the title of this post. One of the things I need to catch up on that I have not been doing much of lately is finding what my mentors and friends and colleagues are talking about. One of the people I admire and one that I think has his finger on the pulse of my industry is 
For a long time I have been touting that we all live in a Google world. We cannot seem to leave our house without first checking directions on Google, or order Chinese food without getting the local menu and number from Google, etc. Many companies have come to us and asked, "How do we get on page one of Google’s search results?" That has been the mainstay of my presentations about why companies need to get into blogging and other forms of social media. I have yet to figure into the mix, 
Reading the article today that Wired put out about the 
I also think there is another small player that might be making things interesting and that of course is the social media darling of the bunch, Twitter. They can help perform the function of both search and of the social network. All of it actually has to do with data. As we begin to see the emergence of what I call 2009 The Year of Listening, more and more companies are concentrating on brand monitoring and reputation monitoring and how they can get into community and infiltrate them with their brand, their message and their mission. Yes, it is all about the business after all and that is the company that will win. Which one will provide the best of all worlds? Right now we are still living in the Google world, but there are some other players in the Internet solar system. 
He took us out across the channel to our destination which was called "The Aquarium". Once I jumped into the crystal clear water I knew exactly why it was called that. I could see everything, and the coral structure and the brilliant fish colors were awesome. We swam and looked at puffer fish and many other varieties and then as I got out of the boat and said "WOW", I was handed a cool passion orange juice and was also given some breakfast. This is the life of the Captain, seeing the look on the face of those as I they exit the water after seeing Hawaii from underwater, and handing them some fresh fruit and breakfast. I would say that is a good salary there, but it doesn’t pay all the bills. I reflected that in my tip as I headed off and away from this Captain for what will probably be forever. Thanks Captain Tim and enjoy your job as only you can!
One of the things that most of the local people here discuss is its diversity. Many of the differernt cultures all come together be it tahitian, polynesian, portugese, japanese, chinese or other ethnic backgrounds, they all have their own language, philosophy and look. The same goes for resorts, hotels and other places we have been staying at here in the Hawaiian Islands. 
As bloggers we have a different approach to our experience. We are not just here to relax and have a good time but weare also here to create and produce some qaulity content. I for one have been trying to live stream my experience and have my viewers go along for the ride, but that has proven nearly impossible since I have not been able to stay connected to the Internet for more than about 10 minutes at a time. I actually received a nasty note from the
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