Mobile Web: Ikea and Twitter

A tale of retail, a band of brand brothers… ok enough already?

OzDJ tweeted to me this story. I followed it up by looking at his blog. – check it out.

I thought I would lay it out, in pictures. Well actually it’s told in text less than 140 characters, but I put it up as pictures. *confuzzled*

And the final resolution:

If you get lost, check out the full story at OzDJ’s phlog. Follow him (Derek Jenkins) on Twitter @ozdj and follow Matthew Hall @aDB.

Two things: I don’t know how well those two know each other, in real life. and I’m not sure it matters. When you see the same people’s tweets go by, day in and day out, you get an idea of them and their reputation. I don’t really know either of them well but i would totally let them do my shopping. Well, Ikea, not shoes. 😛

The second thing I guess is the Invisible Audience. It’s the unexpected that I enjoy. Ten or twenty people that I know well, and who’s blogs I read tend to bring me an echo chamber of information. It’s the data points, the FOAF (friend of a friend) that brings the unexpected. Watch the stream go by, dive and find a nugget, ignore the rest. Fascinating.

The third thing – oh, I said two? never mind 😛 – is the mobile web. How much discussion can there be when everyone is tied to a desk and monitor? Or at least, how does the conversation change when it is live, outside and dynamic, integrating virtual and real? Think about this: could this conversation have happened if Twitter was not mobile?

I have a small chance of having a friend at Ikea on a day when I need them to be there, and only a slightly bigger chance of knowing that they will be there on that day. But with a reasonably large Sydney Twitter audience, I could have them working at all sorts of things. Picking up my drycleaning, buying me books, checking out prices. *rubs hands with glee* The sign of success is the ability to delegate. Maybe I’ll find someone to write my blog? o.O