Happy Holiday’s
Most of the team at SocialByte is signing off for the holiday’s so we wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice and a Happy New Year.
Be Careful What You Wish for, Verizon
It’s no secret that AT&T has become the wireless industry’s whipping boy lately. Dropped calls, slow wireless Internet connections and spotty network coverage complaints have aggravated many AT&T customers, and many iPhone users have been begging Apple to open the phone to other networks, most notably Verizon. The iPhone is handicapped by being tied exclusively to AT&T’s inferior network, according to these critics.
But yesterday, a wireless industry researcher announced that poorly designed iPhone hardware likely is the primary cause of AT&T customers’ connection problems. The researcher says the iPhone’s chipsets have trouble connecting to cell towers, resulting in poor performance for both voice and Internet connections. Analysts say that AT&T actually is better than Verizon on metrics ranging from network coverage to download speeds to rollover minutes. The problem with AT&T’s network is that it is overwhelmed by iPhone data traffic, which is estimated to be twice that of a typical smart phone.
So like millions of other iPhone users, I hope Apple offers the iPhone through Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint when its exclusive deal with AT&T expires this summer. But unlike most of them, I’ll probably stay with AT&T. I just want Apple to spread the massive amount of bandwidth demand across multiple providers’ networks rather than just AT&T’s. That move alone should instantly fix AT&T’s network issues. And while Verizon’s marketing executives may salivate at the thought of offering the iPhone, I can guarantee you its network operations executives are scared to death. AT&T has seen the iPhone wreak havoc on its once-strong brand reputation, and I doubt Verizon has any silver bullet that will protect it if it experiences a mass migration of iPhone users.
Tweetup Etiquette, Vol. 1
I go to a lot of tweetups. (Find a definition here, as I’m too lazy to bother.) The ecosystem that rapidly takes shape at the average tweetup could sustain years of sociological study. For me, it gives me about 15 minutes of amusement before I duck out to charge my iPhone again.
What I’ve discovered is that most people act a fool at tweetups. And that’s not acceptable, though it is hysterical. This is part of a series of tweetup etiquette nuggets, so I encourage you to print them out and add them to your scrapbook.
No one cares that you’re a Twitter veteran
When you’re at a tweetup, you might end up chatting with someone who is quick to point out how long they have been on Twitter. While it’s true that Twitter sends its longtime users trophies, medallions and rare trinkets, it’s poor form to go boasting about it in public.
This is something I’m guilty of myself. I ninja’d my way onto the Twitter freighter in June 2007. Does my 2.5 years of Twitter “experience” mean much in social situations? No, it doesn’t. And I should be slapped across my smarmy face for thinking such nonsense.
Most people boast about that kind of thing because it’s a seemingly easy way to feel superior. That’s dumb. If I bring it up at all, it’s to illustrate how much the site has changed since then, which I find fascinating.
So, the next time you’re at a tweetup and someone asserts themselves haughtily because of their Twitter tenure, please slap them across the face. And if it’s me, slap me twice. I go for that.


















































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