No, contrary to popular belief I am not about to share my thoughts on the supposed Twitterati. Instead I’m going to share something highly amusing with you.
First of all if you are not on Twitter, you are missing out. It’s a “microblogging” platform, which means you can post as much as you wish but only 140 characters at a time. As Mike Mendenhall from HP said a few weeks ago at the ANA Conference, “If you don’t know what Twitter is yet you need to go home and get your kids or your friends kids to show you. Tonight. It’s that important.” From a brand relations point of view it certainly is. Which brings us to the original purpose of this post: ColonelTribune.
Now I, like many of you, find that when I try explaining to clients that social media is about creating a human and conversational relationship I often get a glassy eyed stare in response. ColonelTribune is one of the best examples I have seen so far of a large company using the medium properly. The icon (as seen at the top) communicates personality truly giving a face to the efforts. The fact that they actually had fun with it, giving him a paper hat to counterpoint the classic older gentleman’s face is a masterstroke. With one tiny icon they instantly communicate the paper’s traditional stance as well as the more easygoing, fun and fluid feel of the social internet.
The Colonel tweets in a conversational fashion, pimping the paper’s own works but also sharing links and retweeting the works of others. In short, the Colonel has become a part of the community. It is to the Tribune’s credit that they have embraced social media the correct way, very few in mainstream media are yet that savvy on the subject.
A sure sign of this success is one that amuses me greatly while also showing the viral power of microblogging when used properly- The ColonelTribune Halloween Mask. Think about it. A mainstream media publication’s online handle has become an integral character in the Twitterscape, and people dressed as that fictitious entity for Halloween. That is simply terrific!
I don’t think even need to add anything else here, other than a Happy Turkey Day!
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Have a Happy Turkey Day yourself, sir. Thank you for the (digital) ink.
I love @ColonelTribune. I think “he” does an excellent job of tweeting the paper’s headlines in a conversational tone. I also love that he tweets links to other sites (including the Chicago Sun-Times). You’re right, it shows that the Tribune is attempting to do the social media thing in a thoughtful way. If I were in Chicago, I would love to go to one of the colonel’s tweet-ups!
Anytime! Thank you for being one of the ones who “gets it.” In our line of work we all need good and successful examples of the proper way to make the Age of Conversation work. Your pioneering with the Tribune has given the rest of us a high profile, mainstream example we can show to clients who don’t quite grasp the way social media works.
Here is another “shout out” to @ColonelTribune – love his tweets. It is a new day and the media has to figure out how to use technology. I would follow the Colonel anywhere!