One of the (many) things I find genuinely useful about Twitter is the ability to get an instant answer or opinion on just about anything. Like this:

Wondering: in the medium term, which is worth more to a tourism business: 1. Nice mention in a guidebook. 2. Nice mention in a paper. Ideas? [@hackneye]

I  didn’t really have a motive for asking this, other than genuine, theoretical curiosity. It strikes me that many PR companies put a lot of effort into courting periodical, weekly and daily media, and a whole lot less time on guidebook writers. Maybe PRs know something that isn’t immediately apparent to me. [Read more →]

First there was Flashdance, then there were flash mobs, now there are flash sales, where goods are offered at massive discounts for a limited period. The concept began in the high-street stores in an effort to galvanise consumer spending, but it lends itself perfectly to travel, too, and companies are starting to offer their own flash sales, with special deals available for anything from 15 minutes to a fortnight. Some of this summer’s deals promise huge savings – but blink, or at least, go and make a cup of tea, and you could miss out.

Read the rest at Telegraph.co.uk

It’s more immediate than blogging, less frivolous than Facebook, more social than SMS or instant messaging – and suddenly it’s everywhere. Sometimes known as micro-blogging, Twitter is simple: write what you like in up to 140-character chunks, then send it to everyone in your network.

But it is far more than simply an outlet for those with a dubious compulsion to share. Twitter has already broken major news stories, for example. Indians caught up in November’s Mumbai attacks tweeted (that’s the verb) well ahead of news media.

Now it’s being taken up by business, and travel is in the vanguard.

Read the rest at Telegraph.co.uk.

Then ‘How to set up your Twitter account‘.

And if you’re interested in travel, try my recommended ‘50 great travel tweeters‘.

(Also ran in print in the Sunday Telegraph, 22 February.)