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Software types are all 'a Twitter in 2009

16th Dec 2009
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Technology editor John Stokdyk ponders the technology phenomenon of 2009.

If you’re looking to pin down the technology trend of 2009, there’s little point in casting your eyes much further than Twitter. We’ve already had someone over on Business Zone nominate four our Gadget of the Year prize.

At the beginning of the year, web estimates put the number of Twitter accounts somewhere between 4 and 7 million. According to some sources, the overall figure passed 50m in September. Internet monitoring specialist Experian Hitwise estimated in September that Twitter use had increased by 1,170% compared to the same period year and the Global Language Monitor named "Twitter" as the top word of 2009.

Of course, my perspective is coloured by my relatively late arrival on the Twitter scene back in February. While the first flush of enthusiasm has waned, Twitter has become an integral part of my working and personal life.

The most intriguing element of Twitter is how you can rig it up to different accounts (eg Delicious, MySpace, FaceBook) to create your own customised RSS feeds - some of which you can follow on AccountingWEB…

By summer time, business application companies were getting in on the act, with Salesforce.com’s Marc Benioff unveiling the company’s Sales Cloud and Service Cloud systems that incorporate Twitter feeds and web posts into sales enquiry and customer service databases. Within just a few months, Salesforce was bagging headlines for expanding these prototypes into what is now known as Chatter.

NetSuite jumped on bandwagon at this month’s Business Cloud Summit when CEO Zach Nelson let slip that his company was going to release a TwitterSuite that embedded Twitter feeds into NetSuite user dashboards. “The merger of business and consumer technologies is what the Cloud is all about,” he said.

In my tours around the HR and training technology scenes, everyone is obsessed by incorporating social networking into their business activities - but has does it really have a place in the tunnel vision world of finance? According to FinancialForce.com CEO Jeremy Roche, it does, even if he prefers to call the concept “collaborative accounting”.

Blocking off sites such as Twitter can limit the flow of information around the organisation, he explains. Supporting Twitter-like features within the business application means that conversations can stay secure, but valuable information won’t be locked up in personal emails and information silos. “A classic example would be an accountant who's got a random invoice that's turned up and the PO hasn't been raised. How much time do people waste on that at the moment, trying to chase down the information needed?” he said.

While it may be the phenomenon of 2009, I wouldn’t bet against Twitter repeating the feat next year. But instead of teenagers and wild eyed web designers telling you about it, the hype is going to be coming from your friendly neighbourhood software salesperson. Or will accountants jump on the bandwagon and start telling their clients about the possibilities too?

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By User deleted
18th Dec 2009 12:16

Accountants On Twitter

 Thanks John,

Twitter is still evolving for sure, I have been using it a while now, and the way I use it has changed, recently I unfollowed everyone and started again, it cleared up all the noise that I saw come through.

With the arrival of twitter lists, Follow Me Follow You does not really work, for me, and I find it easier to follow those who I want to read what they say. thats only 23 people, but I just added you too :-)

As for accountants on twitter, I think there are quite a few, BFCA for instance who is a client of mine, Mark Lee also keeps a list at Twibes and there is some great information on there that people are sharing.

 

Phil

 

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