Here are Qubes favourite tweets from the last week. Sorry my name isn’t here, I have just been busy working and not playing on Twitter I promise I will do less work and more tweeting next week

@MrTomasz’s favourite tweets

@rossbreadmore Triple awesome Pulp Fiction take on Google Wave – more fun than watching the hour long video http://bit.ly/4hJL7j

@aegirthor Apparently the Queen likes the simpler things in life. Jolly good. Maybe she can send me her spare cash as I’m partial to the finer things.

@itsDarkDaze why you so chipper buddy? ah Chelsea smile. raggo.

@Nijay’s favourite tweets

@maxwellinever: Cassetteboy FTW! Nick Griffin – let’s look at what he should have said: http://bit.ly/18w406

@raxlakhani: Cute picture alert: Orangutan mum holds baby http://bit.ly/4E3vSw

@stevepurkiss http://isitfriday.org/

@charltonbrooker: If you haven’t seen this yet, it’s well worth a look: http://bit.ly/460qi8

@Seelpod’s favourite tweets

@GordonMacMillan Great piece – Maximize Twitter’s potential around agency’s new business objectives http://tinyurl.com/yjpj8ks

@andrewgerrard “The basics of Social Media ROI” pres. (long version) from @thebrandbuilder is on Slideshare: http://bit.ly/x8YYc #smib09

Our 5 favourite Social Media stories from the past week and  5 other random things that may or may not be interesting.

5 of the best

Twitter search deal: five things you need to know

Get the low down on why Twitter appearing on Google and Bing is a big deal.

Social media: the best and worst of 2009

The end of the year is approaching so it seems about time for some year reviews. What are the best and worst uses of social media this year?

Google social search

Google is adding in search results from your friends and online connections. Will be interesting to see how this feature develops over time. Are you prepared to share your friendship groups with Google? Do you think they already have enough information on you?

Social Seek

A handy desktop tool for finding mentions across social networks. It also gives you location specific mentions, lovely

Media140: How Twitter has affected brands

Twitter has been in the news a lot recently (again!) but how is all of this affecting our brands and businesses?

5 of the rest

The World of Tomorrow (If The Internet Disappeared Today)

What would our world look like if the Internet went away?

Google Chrome Themes

Not that exciting a video at face value, but let the video finish playing and it has a very nice surprise . Really interesting use of Youtube to show a new feature but also to see it in action before you install it!

Google Power Meter comes to the UK

Now you can track your energy usage and work out where you can save money thanks Google. I would also recommend checking out Wattson for a similar service.

Satellite tracking the postal strike

What happens when there is a postal strike? The Guardian attempts to find out.

Flutebox and Beardyman

This might be quite old to some of you but for those that haven’t seen it go now! So awesome…I wish I had mad skills

Here are some of the Qubites favourite tweets from the past week.

@Seelpod’s favourite tweets

@krishgm: Big discussion on tonight’s prog on Jan Moir, BNP & freedom of speech with Peter Hain, John Kampfner & a senior BBC mgr

@MarkJones: Chancellor will take questions from social media Wednesday lunchtime: http://link.reuters.com/saz74f #askdarling

@Nijay’s favourite tweets

@Pure360: We are proud to announce that our new Pure360 website is now live! Check it out www.pure360.com (like it

@LeifKendall: Freelancers! Lacking motivation? Think about dying! Yay: http://icanhaz.com/die

@MariSmith: Yay! #beatcancer tag reached a world record at #bwe09 for largest social media push in in a 24 hour period!!

@Kerb: The world if the internet disappeared tomorrow http://bit.ly/PBVLr

@Glennw’s favourite tweets

@media_molecule LittleBigPlanet Mini Fan Meet ‘09 – Meet some of us, some of Sony, plus the PSP devs, at the EG Expo http://bit.ly/1kZPE0

@MrTomasz’s favourite tweets

@StigOfTheDumpUK If u want it bad enuf anythings possible right? WRONG, Kanye still aint been shot & im yet 2 wake up in a bed made of meat

@laura_milkteeth EastEnders:E20,described as “a naughty little brother or sister to the main show” sounds revolting.If lesbians aren’t skydiving i don’t care

Our 5 favourite Social Media stories from the past week and  5 other random things that may or may not be interesting.

5 of the best

LikeMinds Conference: Social Media is Not Free

A recent event on social media that addresses the common myth that “Social Media is free”

Q&A: First direct’s Lisa Wood on their social media campaign

I have always felt that bank have kept the Internet at arms length, they have slowly moved towards web based platforms and interactions. First Direct have taken a brave step into the world of online conversations. Showing positive and negative comments about their services and brand is something most businesses would be far to afraid to do, so kudos to First Direct.

Roll your own shortlinks server

I am not that technically gifted but this looks pretty straightforward. Once installed you can have your own url shortener like tiny url shame qu.be doesn’t seem to be available

Editors street view mashup

The music group Editors have launched an online campaign for their new album. Internet mash ups can be really interesting and it is cool to see how they have added their own secret routes to street maps while also streaming the music to you.

App combines maps & reviews to find meeting points

An iPhone app to help you and your friends arrive at the same meeting point. It can even help picking a meeting point that is suitable between you and the other person.

5 of the rest

Surfing the Net May Improve Brain Function

I knew all these years in front of my screen hadn’t been wasted! It’s making me smarterer!

10 Most Extraordinary Twitter Updates

Some of the most extraordinary twitter updates, it is amazing to see what the Internet has allowed us to do from saving lives to finding love.

Tampon Crafts for Christmas

The Internet has something for everyone I guess..

Mystery t-shirts are handpicked for customers

I am terrible at picking out clothes. Fortunately for me my girlfriend is my personal stylist..but for those of you less fortunate perhaps this will yield you a t-shirt that is “so you”.

World Of Goo Sale Offers Fascinating Results

I mentioned this game being on sale last week (it still it is you are interested). The results from their “pay what you like” sale are really interesting, yes some people got the game for essentially free but others paid way over the odds. It also boosted sales of the game on sites that didn’t even have the sale! Even more interesting is some of the responses from the survey 2D boy conducted on the sale. Fascinating stuff with some interesting lessons to learn.

Our 5 favourite Social Media stories from the past week and  5 other random things that may or may not be interesting.

5 of the best

Facebook cracks down on ads, developers left out in the cold

Facebook has been cracking down on adverts that are against its policy, this has unfortunately led to some developers having their Facebook apps shut down. There will always be a conflict between having an open platform and keeping everyone happy, where does the balance lie?

Uk Tribes

Youth culture is big, always has been and always will be. As an outsider understanding the different tribes is really important especially if you want to engage with them. This is a really interesting site to help you understand exactly what the kids are into.

The History and Evolution of Social Media

It is really amazing to see how far we have come in such a short space of time! Just over five years ago there wasn’t even a Facebook.

Advertising moving online – but where?

@brightonargusjo gives her two pence on online advertising, there are some interesting comments worth reading as well!

New Look on youtube

Stumbled across New Look’s Youtube channel the other day. It is great to see big name brands creating branded communities that aren’t just about pushing their own agenda. Users are invited to be a part of the channel and will be rewarded with vouchers for there involvement. Well done New Look!

5 of the rest

Faces in Places

I love playing this game when I’m out and about. Might find some of my own to submit (I don’t think the colon right bracket counts)

Dead Flies Art

I’m not sure if this is cool….or just plain creepy

Farmers using vending machines to sell produce

Possibly the coolest vending machines in the world, that said I wouldn’t want my eggs dropped from the top shelf for me to collect!

Toy Story 3 Trailer

If you have a heart you should be VERY excited to see the trailer for Toy Story 3 is up! I can’t wait!!

World of Goo pay what you like

If you even vaguely like games…go buy world of goo for your PC/Mac/Linux! It is a pay what you like promotion so you can spend as little as a penny, I happily spent into the pounds on this Full of charm and hours of fun! The offer is only available until the 19th of October, so go buy it! What have you got to lose?

Here are some of the Qubites favourite tweets from the past week.

@Glennw’s favourite tweets

@patlike: Guardian gagged from reporting Commons questions. Read this now – http://bit.ly/M0yfb

@ruskin147: http://bit.ly/9hTKF Nick Higham’s piece on how Twitter made #trafigura more famous than it wanted to be….

@halbpro: Things that confuse me slightly: chavs in glasses.

@Mrtomasz’s favourite tweets

@econsultancy Q&A: First direct’s Lisa Wood on its social media campaign http://bit.ly/1tWQ2W

@thedailymash SCHOOL LEAVERS NOT EVEN CLEVER ENOUGH TO WORK AT TESCO, SAYS TESCO BOSS http://bit.ly/ioI9G

@monawalsh’s favourite tweets

@OGILVY Mega flip: vimeo video link You’ve seen flip books but I bet you’ve never seen anything like this! .. http://bit.ly/wPS5D

@BrightonHoveCC We’ll be out patrolling the city ‘s cycle routes 19 – 31 Oct urging cyclists to light bikes http://bit.ly/16CF84

@Nijay’s favourite tweets

@Econsultancy: Unhappy customers turn to social media: survey http://bit.ly/xwnEI

@NewHumanist: Dawkins v Bill O’Reilly http://bit.ly/755t1 No prizes for guessing who wins…

@smmguide: Starbucks, Microsoft mighty in social-media marketing http://tinyurl.com/yklqbj6 (via tracitoguchi)

@mashable: Twitter to Add Video Tweeting? – http://bit.ly/Kpdrv

@Seelpod’s favourite tweets

@SiConroy Why Design Thinking Won’t Save You: Whenever I see a business magazine glow about design thinking, as Bu.. http://bit.ly/3liFwe

I was reading a blog by Sandrine Plasseraud from we are social last week about Clients needing to be able to prove ROI in order to buy in to a Social Media idea. It was a really interesting blog post that centred on the fact that not all things need return on investment to be worthwhile, quoting the Scott Monty line “What’s the ROI of putting your pants on in the morning?”

I think a big point the article didn’t touch on, and one that a lot of people are failing to recognise right now is that not all returns need to be preceded by a £ sign. I understand that clients have accountability to their superiors and shareholders, and that they need to prove they are not throwing their money down the drain, but it is not the be all and end all.

Without customer feedback we never would have moved on from a sales led economy, where production was dictated by a higher force and the consumer just had to deal with what they got. We now, thank god, have customer support and feedback centres. They cost money to set up and to maintain, but can every piece of budget put into them be directly attributed to a sale?

I doubt it, but we now realise that it costs much more money to win a new customer than to keep an old one, so we know that by investing in a customer complaints procedure and process to deal with their problems, we are actually saving money in the long run.

The same goes for Social Media. You get so much out of it and even though not all of it counts towards sales, this doesn’t mean it isn’t having a positive effect on the success of your business. It is important to stop thinking in terms of cost, and instead start thinking about investment.

Buzz, sentiment, consumer engagement, awareness, and feedback can all be measured using Social Media. Do you not think that any of these count as returns on your investment?

The point I’m trying to make is that not everything can always have a monetary value placed on it that reflects what it is truly worth.  So before worrying about what Social Media can’t give you, have a little think about what it can.

Here are some of the Qubites favourite tweets from the past week. Also wish us luck for tonights BAHBA’s, we are up for ‘most awesome use of digital media‘

@Glennw’s favourite tweets

@empika: honey badger: http://is.gd/40ha1

@tomkiss RT @aegirthor And the link for ‘yobs get beaten up by cross dressers who turn out to be cage fighters’ is: http://tr.im/AXqs

@MrTomasz’s favourite tweets

@sophiehenson: nothing like a bit of shameless self-promotion! New website up and running: http://www.sophiehenson.com/ WOOP.

@divydovy: High Quality African Journalism http://post.ly/7UCV

@wearesocial: Social media: you need to pay to play http://bit.ly/3OkGEJ

@WishfulBlinking: Back and having lunch. Thai sweet chilli sensations crisps! D: Its like there are ninjas having a party on my tongue!

@Nijay’s favourite tweets

@nickkuh: The myth of the page fold: evidence from user testing – http://bit.ly/D6Kum (via @swingpants)

@brightonargus: Voodoo painting “killed my husband” Brighton widow claims http://bit.ly/uO9dM

@willsh Tories; “Vote for us” People; “Why, what will you do?” Tories; “We can’t tell you that, you haven’t voted for us yet…” (hehe)

@katiehoughton http://twitpic.com/jxy4j – Qube intern doubles as notice board at sussex intern training. <- we taught him that

@Seelpod’s Favourite tweet

@mrtomasz Does anybody have children in East Sussex between 13 – 19 who are interested in art/design/illustration? Get in touch

Our 5 favourite Social Media stories from the past week and  5 other random things that may or may not be interesting.

5 of the best

Don’t blame social media for bad behaviour

I think too many times blame is shifted from people to something else be it films, games and now Social Media. It is clear that these things have changed society but that does not mean they are making us bad people. While people are quick to point out bad behaviour on Social Media sometimes not enough mention is made of good behaviours, helping someone with a question on Twitter or catching up with old friends on Facebook.

A Wiki of Social Media Monitoring Solutions

Here is a nice long list of tools you can use to monitor Social Media activity. Brandwatch and Google are my personal favourites.

Calling Open Data Developers: We need your help

Last week I mentioned that the American government was moving forward with its transition online and that we needed to catch up. Only a few hours later this blog post popped up from the cabinet office. Would it be sycophantic to say maybe someone was reading my blog? Probably! Still good on them, lets hope it leads to the UK having a government 2.0.

87 Cool Things

Google have put together a list of cool things from the internet. It is great to see how the social web allows us to mashup our content to create something new. One of my favourite discoveries from this list will be appearing shortly in 5 of the rest .

WikiLeaks

I came across this after the story that a government document about stopping leaks onto the internet, was leaked onto the internet! You can’t make this stuff up. This is a fascinating repository of information and who knows what could turn up in it next.

5 of the rest

What is Google Wave?

There has been a lot of fuss made about this Google Wave thing, but what is it? This slightly tongue in cheek video might help you understand it a little more.

Daytum

I hinted at this earlier from Googles “87 Cool things”. It fascinates me. I have always wondered about my life statistics, how many chips I have eaten, how many times I have been to the doctor. This is obviously a very manual way of doing it but a nice looking tool. I intend to start using it and I think you should too Lets see what we can track over the coming months and what we find. Check out one of the creators reports for insperation.

Letters of Note

Weird and wonderful letters from all sorts of people. Such as Lindsay Lohan getting a telling off!

Kashiwa Mystery Cafe

The Cafe where you get what the person before you wanted.

Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc.

A slightly creepy but very entertaining video

Qube’s very first client project – over 6 years ago – was a ground-breaking social media campaign for Connexions Sussex to help engage young people online and encourage their participation. We have continued to work with young people online ever since with other clients including West Sussex County Council, East Sussex County Council, Sony BMG, Electronic Arts and Greenwich University.

This experience has helped us hone down why social media should be at the heart of any council’s strategy for engaging with young people.

1. Efficiency: Connect with young people in the most cost effective way
Social media allows you to create and engage with communities of young people online – something which is easier, much cheaper and possible on a much greater scale than in real life. It removes the difficulty of creating real-life communities across wide geographic areas, of hiring infrastructure or equipment. Using social media to communicate means huge savings in design, printing and media costs. It means faster reaction to young people’s needs and enquiries.

2. Reach: Engage with young people where they actually are
Today’s young people – often known as Digital Natives – have grown up using the internet and social media to connect with each other. The numbers of young people using social media are vast and increasing. It is completely natural to them and increasingly their media of choice, while TV and printed media are all in decline. Trust in advertising is also declining – they see it as a broadcast, one way activity with no opportunity for response or interaction. They increasingly build their opinions and make their choices based on their friends’ and others people’s views online – even when they are strangers.

3. Improvement: Converse with young people and create better services
Having a two way conversation with young people enables the Council to listen to the views of young people on a regular basis and understand how they feel about the services they are offered. It allows their participation in the creation of better services and ensure money isn’t wasted on services which they don’t like or want.

4. Reputation: Proactively manage the council’s reputation where young people are talking about related issues
Social networking sites, Facebook, forums, blogs, Twitter are all places where young people talk about issues that matter to them. These often will include issues such as jobs, education, what’s happening in the local area. Where these conversations become negative about the Council it can effect the Council’s reputation, particularly if left without response. There is the opportunity with social media to ensure that not only do you know about these opinions but that you can change them into positive actions.