In a very clever move, Google have published a list of Twitter accounts that they frequently use to keep users updated about their products and services.
Why is this move clever?
One of the main uses of Twitter for many people is the real time search that it offers. With the recent problems in Iran, Twitter showed just how useful it could be in getting news out to people quickly. Google, I think, have realised the benefit of this and whilst they have been "twittering" for a while they haven't really publicised it that much. Now, with the post that shows all of the Google twitter accounts, they've essentially tapped into the market share that Twitter have been gradually taking away from them (in the past, Google seemed to be pretty much the first and only stop when you wanted to find out something urgently). Not only can people now find information via a traditional web search in Google, they can now use Twitter which will actually return results that Google have posted up to Twitter! I think that's a great marketing strategy as they really get the best of both worlds...
What do Google "Twitter" about?
There's a wide range of different Twitter accounts that Google use, but some of the main ones that interest us are:
twitter.com/Google - our central account
twitter.com/Blogger - for Blogger fans
twitter.com/GoogleNews - latest headlines via Google News
There's even a Twitter account for jobs at Google if you feel like a new challenge!
Mark Smith
MDS Solutions