Twitter, bitches !!

Operation Smile at TwtrCon. click 4 pixSF has it all. Beauty, history, culture, art, ocean, hills, parks, sports, sex, drugs, rock and roll, cuisine, urban grittiness etc etc. It's probably the most wired city in the world.  AspenSpin is on assignment in SF. We're grabbing it all,  in the 7x7mile playground known as THE CITY. Get Some!!

This week we went back2back for two extremely interesting and influential tech conferences; TWTRCON 09 and Ypulse. Here's the quick and dirty.

TWTRCON: a one day (Sunday) event focusing on Twitter for Business. Twitter = "micro-blogging". Its the fastest growing form of communication amongst the tech-noids and early adopters. Tweeting, however is quickly becoming more and more mainstream. Yes, Twitter seems weird (and useless at first), but the platform allows you to communicate (using 140 characters or less) with whomever you want, about whatever you want, whenever you want. Its all done instantly. You can follow anyone, or block anyone. The rules have not been written---so you can discover new ways to use the service--and its absolutely free. The best way to experience Twitter is to try it for yourself. Here's a key hint, be authentic, keep it real!! Follow us on Twitter, we'll give you the cliff notes: click @ASPENSPIN.

Guy Kawasaki face2face with Virgin America. click 4 pix.Twitter forces you to keep your message short & sweet (140 letters). Succinctness is a blessing.  The best explanation of the Twitter phenomenon is this; Twitter is an instant measure of sentiment, it's what's happening right now.  The conference touched on subjects such as personal branding, brand awareness, corporate marketing, customer service, tweeting for dollars and the future of Twitter. Its a proven concept that Word of Mouthis the most effective form of marketing. Twitter-- and u can quote me --"it's WOM on Steroids" 

MC Hammer tweets up the Phoenix Suns. click 4 pixThe networking via old fashioned face2face was off the hizzzzay. Some of the most influential "Twitteratti" in the USA attended,  tweeting it like mo fo's. @MCHammer @Comcastcares @BrianSolis @GuyKawasaki @AdventureGirl @Pistachio @SunsWebmaster and @AspenSpin. See the pix at TWITTER / Ypulse.

Ypulse:It's a platform for youth media and marketing professionals. Ypulse threw their 2-day industry mashup in SF. Some of the most beloved youth brands in the world were represented on the agenda and in the audience. The focus of this event - how to market to today's youth. Per key note speaker Josh Shipp from HeyJOSH.com... "kids don't care about your brand, they care about your story" and "don't under estimate the power of girls and free cookies".

Action sports in the house @ Ypulse. Click 4 pix.We received insight from major brands including Levi's, Disney (great swag), MTV, Nokia and others. We learned that today's teens aren't really twittering yet (but they will). Right now, its all about SMS and Facebook. My Space is "dead to me". In fact with younger people, e-mail is dead too.  It's all about the mobile device. Oh yeah, gaming is HUGE. Television is not dead yet,  kids still watch, but its on in the background now, with the computer blasting full steam simultaneously. Bill Carter of Fuse,shared some academic research from UMass: only 10% of teens approve of in-game or text ads. Teens are losing interest in celebs and pro-athletes as endorsers, but personality is a key, even if its a fictional one. Over 70% of teens analyse a product on the web before purchasing.Girlz and Cupcakes: Click 4 pix.

It was good to see some of our "action sports" friends in the house. The North Face, Red Bull, Nike (Nemo), Group Y and a couple of siiiiiick action indie filmakers represented nicely. So via the power of osmosis, A-Spin is taking it to the next level. Thaz right, "funemployment" is over.

Hit the deluxe pix.@ TWITTER / Ypulse