While you may not be able to claim that Iran’s protests can be called a Twitter Revolution, the way news is being spread from Tehran does offer an insight into the online marketing powers of Twitter.

The New York Times wrote that critics disagree with naming these protests a Twitter Revolution because protests throughout Tehran were actually organized in more conventional ways – through word-of-mouth, websites, and text messaging – and not with tweets.  But even though Twitter and its tweets may not have been the instigator, this micro blogging site has managed to draw a great deal of global attention to the protests in Iran and keep this attention trained there.

All tweets related to Iran’s protests are tagged with the keyword “#IranRevolution.”  When I checked the Twitter feed for this keyword, I read a dozen posts that had been posted within the last 20 seconds.  One of them read: “clashes in 7 Tir Sq and Valli Asr Ave:street fires & tear gas;shooting heard-many militia #evileader #iranelection #Mousavi.”  By the time I had finished reading this tweet, 137 more tweets had also been published.

This is one of Twitter’s main marketing tools. While it may seem that one tweet will not garner much attention, multiple tweets can start to take on a whole new meaning.  A compilation of tweets has built a strong personality and sent a strong message from Iran’s protesters to their Twitter followers and, through the powers of Retweeting, has virally spread this message to the rest of the online community.

Twitter’s second main marketing tool is that there are so many different avenues to post Tweets.  You can post a Tweet from a phone, Web browser, or any number of third party web-based and desktop applications.  This functionality makes it much harder for Iran’s government to monitor and shut down Twitter than it would for a more conventional social-networking site like Facebook.  This portability also gives Tweeters the ability to post on the go.  While some mainstream news organizations have found it difficult to get out into the streets of Tehran and verify stories, Tweeters have helped to send out raw first-hand reports from the streets of Tehran, although some did later prove to be false.

Despite these posts, the news streaming from Tehran through Twitter’s applications gives a strong insight into how this site has been used to build a global online marketing campaign for Iran’s protesters.

– Stephanie

I had the opportunity to attend the Connect Sport Innovators Capital Forum on June 16th to meet with some of the industry leaders and up-and-comers in the traditional and action sports industries. Connect SI is “an accelerator for emerging action sports, sporting goods, and traditional sports companies focused solely on developing and sharing strategies for growth and success. ” They provide mentoring, networking opportunities, and access to venture capital sources to entrepreneurial endeavors in these huge, high-growth industries.

This particular event was a capital forum which involved eight startups pitching to a room full of angels, VCs, and sports industry executives. Some attendees of note included Andrew Kline, the Founder & Managing Director of Park Lane Investment Banking Services, and Tony Finn, the Founder of Liquid Force, a wakeboarding and kiteboarding brand based in Encinitas.

Two presentations of interest were the Loop’d Network and SportsForce. San Diego based Loop’d Network, a portal and social network for action sports athletes and enthusiasts, spent some time explaining their plans to expand the merchandising and eCommerce functionality of their network. Now that they have built a network of some 500,000 registered athletes and 400 sports related brands, they have decided to focus on targeted advertising and sales. It seems they are attempting to round out the $800,000 they have already raised this year through the newly involved Tech Coast Angels and other existing private investors. These new eCommerce features will go a long way in really rounding out the network to make it a complete experience for their users.

SportsForce (full disclosure: they are a web development client of my company) is a startup with offices in Solana Beach that will be offering a sports platform for high school athletes to build their athletic profile and connect with college coaches and recruiters in hopes to play at the collegiate level and possibly secure a scholarship. Born out of SportsTV, a company that produces recruiting videos and sponsors a variety of sports combines and events, this platform will host a suite of tools to add value for any athlete hoping to play at the collegiate level. Think LinkedIn for athletes. Heavy on premium and user-generated video content, look for SportsForce to make some aggressive moves in the next 12-16 months.

All eight presentations were interesting in their own right, and Connect continues to do a great job promoting the entrepreneurial spirit in San Diego.

– Hunter

The Barefoot Solution’s team has been listening to the buzz about Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing, and so we decided to conduct our own informal investigation to review how Bing’s search capablities and new user interface applications affect searchability for e-commerce sites. We selected thirty different products, from web design to yoga mats, and searched for them on both Bing and Google to answer the proverbial search-engine showdown: Who gives better results?

Bing has touted itself as the new and improved search engine for all things related to shopping online, making travel arrangements, finding local businesses, and researching health conditions.  While it does have some new UI applications that can help the searchability of your e-commerce site’s products, it certainly has some pitfalls.

When we searched for yoga mats to purchase online at Bing, no products were listed on the main search page.  We had to click on the Shopping tab to get product results.  Google’s results page for yoga mats listed products available for purchase at the top of the first page.  Point one: goes to Google.  The fewer pages your potential client has to click on, the less likely you’re going to lose him or her along the hyperlink road to a sale.

When you do click on Bing’s Shopping results page, it is very easy for a potential buyer to comparison shop.  Bing displays thumbnail images of each yoga mat and prices but does not list the name of the e-commerce site.  If you have invested time into branding your e-commerce site, the effort is lost with Bing’s results. But Bing does allow a potential buyer to filter shopping results based on the category, brand, and price.  The category filter wasn’t very helpful in narrowing results, but the brand and price filters were. Google doesn’t have these same filters or applications. Point two: goes to Bing, with some misgivings. It feels very user friendly to have Bing’s filters and applications at a potential customer’s fingertips, but the searchability and information displayed needs to be refined.

Bing also offers a cashback program to all customers who buy products through Bing.  The cashback program is like a credit card rewards program.  Google doesn’t offer an incentives program like this. Point three: goes to Bing.  An incentive program encourages more shopping and buying online.

When you click on one of the yoga mats listed on Bing, the search engine takes you to another page on Bing with additional information about the mat instead of taking you directly to the website’s own products page. On Bing’s page, you can’t enlarge the image or, since the site is relatively new, read many customer reviews. But you can see the company that’s selling the product and then click onto the website directly for purchasing from this page.  Point four: goes to Google.  Bing’s added information page does not seem to add a lot of value and requires another click to get to your e-commerce site.

Our conclusion: Google still has the advantage when it comes to selling your e-commerce site’s products.  It may not have the images, filters, or capabilities for comparative shopping that Bing’s search engine has, but based on our own review, it gives your customers results quickly and efficiently sends them directly to your e-commerce site, which means more sales for you.

– Stephanie

File this one in your web marketing plan and set an alarm for this Friday. Facebook announced on its blog today that it will allow all of its members to select Vanity URLs for their profiles and fan pages starting this Friday, June 12, at 9:01 pm PDT.

Vanity URLs are customized web addresses that have long been an integral part of most social media websites like MySpace and Twitter.  I’ve had http://www.linkedin.com/in/hunterjensen for years, but Facebook fan pages have always had a long string of random numbers instead of a URL based on your company’s name, products, or services.  The opportunity to customize your company’s Facebook fan page will be a great marketing opportunity for businesses because it will make it easier for current fans and potential customers to find your fan page and remember your web address.

“When your friends, family members or co-workers visit your profile or Pages on Facebook, they will be able to enter your username as part of the URL in their browser. This way people will have an easy-to-remember way to find you,” writes Blaise DiPersia in the Facebook blog. “We expect to offer even more ways to use your Facebook username in the future.”

This will also have SEO implications as it will be possible to select keyword-rich URLs, which will help the pages rank higher. These fan pages are available to the public (you do not need to be logged in to view them), and indexable by search engines, so expect a mad dash for popular keywords like http://www.facebook.com/pages/sex or http://www.facebook.com/laser-eye-surgery.

Customizing your company’s Facebook web address will not only increase your searchability but will also give you another opportunity to highlight your company’s online brand and image, so be careful in your selection.  Facebook’s fine print for this selection recommends, “Think carefully about the user name you choose. Once it’s been selected, you won’t be able to change or transfer (your vanity url.)”

Your company will be able to choose a username on a first-come, first-serve basis at www.facebook.com/username/. The turnout for this vanity URL is expected to be high.  If you’re happy with your trademarked brand name, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem. But if you’re looking for something a little more strategic, be prepared to wait in the digital version of the line outside of a Star Wars premiere.