You may need a box of tissues to hold back the tears on this one. Visual artist David Hoang draws a picture of Veronica De La Cruz and her brother Eric De La Cruz as the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt” plays.

Veronica has been helping Eric fight for proper medical care to get a heart transplant. Currently, Eric is fighting for his life in a California hospital.

For more information on Eric, visit www.weloveeric.com.

View David’s blog post of this drawing.

Yesterday’s iPhone 3.0 software download from Apple included a new Voice Memos application. The Voice Memos application allows you to record sound, save it, and email it.

Of course, the first question I asked was, “How can I get it into my Twitter feed?”

Here’s how:

1) Set up a free account with Posterous.com. Posterous allows you to post text, video, big pictures, or audio from remote sources such as your phone.

2) Configure your social networking feeds on Posterous. If you only want to send your voice memo updates to Twitter then you only have to set up the Twitter account. Make a note of your posting email address.

3) Record your Voice Memo using your iPhone.

4) After you’ve saved the Voice Memo, open the memo item and click on the Share button and select “Email Voice Memo.”

5) Enter your Posterous posting email. If you configured several social networks, you can just use the “post” email and it will post to all at the same time. I only set up Twitter for now so I will only post to the “twitter” version of the Posterous email.

This is the tweet that was generated when I posted late last night:

The second time you need to post a Voice Memo from your iPhone, you only need to follow Steps 3-5, and can easily do so while on the go!

Eric De La Cruz needs a heart transplant but he lives in Nevada where there is no heart transplant center. So his sister, Veronica De La Cruz is fighting to get him into a California center - but is facing tons of red tape. This video is by David Hoang in response to the incredible barriers and obstacles in getting help for Eric.

For more background information, see WeLoveEric.com and follow Veronica De La Cruz on Twitter.

I recently had “the Twitter talk” with the CEO of a high tech B2B company. His one main question was, “Will Twitter help us make money?”

My response was that B2B companies should not look to Twitter as a way to sell widgets, but to view it as a trade show.

At a trade show:

1. Conversations and actions are focused on building relationships
2. Outcomes are evaluated on a long-term basis, not a quick hit
3. Strong partnerships are the greatest financial reward. In the CEO’s business, a new vendor can mean millions in sales per year
4. It’s a great place to share the company’s brand and personality
5. To get the most out of a show, you have to engage participants or you will get lost in the crowd

So there is a reward at the end of the Twitter rainbow for B2B companies. But it takes time, work, and a decent strategy.

Oh, and don’t forget the swag.

Actor Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) and CNN (via @cnnbrk) are in a race to see who will reach 1 million followers first.

This is significant in that a network made up of 10 million+ is now focused on only two entities. Pretty remarkable.

You can follow me on Twitter at @jesseluna.

If you’re using Twitter, there’s a good chance that you’re a member of one of these four twiques. You may not completely identify with any one of these twiques, but it’s like the school cafeteria, eventually you have to choose your own space and there will be others doing the same thing.

ONE. Information Junkie - Many Twitter users log in to tweet about news, excellent blog posts, or re-post other tweets via retweets.

Who they follow
These users are more likely to follow news feeds like @BreakingNews or local news accounts, news personalities, print media figures, and Twitterati (Twitter insiders or “influentials”).

You may be an Information Junkie if:
a) You retweet every major news item in CAPS.
b) One of your tweets has shown up on a live CNN segment with @ricksanchezcnn
c) The only pictures on your blog are of books, fountain pens, or David Allen.

TWO. Fanboys/Fangirls - Yes, celebrities are making their way onto Twitter by the droves and many love to support them.

Who they follow
That’s an easy one, they follow every celebrity they can identify. From one-hit wonders to Internet phenoms, to solid gold actors.

You may be a Fanboy/Fangirl if:
a) You’ve commented on every single @mrskutcher Twitpic
b) You’ve watched at least a dozen TV shows because the star asked you to tune in via a tweet
c) You still think @ijustine will reply to you some day.

THREE. Funny Bunnies - Some tweet peeps use Twitter to hone their comedic writing. This “sub-culture” is chock full of characters (usually Rated R) and they keep score using the site Favrd which keeps track of tweets that have been Favorited.

Who they follow
Funny tweeters usually only follow other funny tweeters. The main reason for this is that in order to score points on Favrd, their peeps have to know about Favrd and be registered on the site. The other reason is that many of the funny tweets are R-rated so they tend to offend non-Funny Bunnies.

You may be a Funny Bunny if:
a) You regularly chronicle four or more bodily functions
b) Make three or more people spit their coffee out every morning
c) You hand out more gold stars than a kindergarten teacher.

FOUR. The Conversationalist - Many people are on Twitter to meet other people and engage in community building. Some, like The Conversationalist, live on Twitter. Tensions may arise if a Conversationalist expects one of the other personalities to do the same.

Who they follow:
They will follow everyone who is engaged in real conversations and will follow folks from all other Twitter types hoping they will chat back.

You may be a Conversationalist if:
a) Your last 200 tweets are all Replies
b) You converse with people via Blips at 1AM.
c) You’ve wished over 50 people a happy birthday in the last month.

So there you have it, four very different Twitter cliques or “twiques”.

Which twique are you in?

The revolutionary part of social media is that it takes offline ways of doing business - networking, one-on-one communication, relationship building - and offers an online way of building and fostering them.

This is a fundamental shift in the way companies sell and market online.

In this new sales and marketing world, “leads” and “eyeballs” will now be seen as “people” and “fans”.

The only way social media will go away is the way the “e” fell off of “e-business.” Social media will be folded into the way all companies conduct business.

——

There’s nothing wrong with using search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. In fact, Twitter recently changed its pages to use more SEO friendly page titles to get better “Google juice.”

But if that’s your only focus then you can end up going down
some unsavory paths.


There are large companies out there that will help your site improve its Google rankings by creating multiple blog sites, each containing blog posts on various random topics (because they serve many different clients), and include links back to your site.

In the long run, this strategy will not serve you.

Sometimes the “SEO-optimized” blog post will end up complete gibberish because it’s main job is to associate a set of keywords back to the main client site.

It might help your Google search rankings for a bit, but it will mostly help damage your brand.

Nowadays, blogging is easier than ever. Use your blog to share your expertise and attract fans. Remember, content is still king.

[Photo courtesy of @Vermyndax via his blog]

I spent the morning at a Starbucks in Cerritos, California, busily working on a proposal. After an hour I took a break, snapped a few pictures of my surroundings then tried to shoot off a 12seconds.tv video update via my iPhone.

But the update didn’t work. I tried again. No love.

So I posted a message via Twitter,

“Trying to send 12seconds.tv update from my iPhone but no workee.”-@jesseluna

I paused, then refreshed my Twitter iPhone application and there were two responses from folks at 12seconds.tv, including one from Sol Lipman, the 12seconds.tv co-founder. Two more responses came in seconds later.

Is your business or organization prepared to compete with customer service on demand? Sol’s is.

Here’s my 12seconds.tv post, third time was a charm:

[iPhone] Productivity paradise? on 12seconds.tv

By John W. Bosley

Imagine a mystical land with a stream called, “Indie”. Fish are traveling in this stream heading to a bigger stream called, “Main Stream”. There’s salmon, trout, perch, and many others. Some are exotic fish, others are fairly plain. All the fish have one goal in mind: to reach the “Main Stream”. If they do not reach the “Main Stream”, the fish die or grow weak with hunger.

As all these fish travel to the end of their journey they suddenly run head long into this large monstrosity…a dam the size of the Hoover Dam!…

Right at the point where “Indie” dumps into “Main Stream” this dam stands like a fortress to hold back those who would dare to come in. This dam has been there for years. It’s not made with precision, but by circumstances. Sometimes it’s technology, or lack of funding. Other times, like in the present it is “too-much-content”, or not enough distribution companies. But for whatever reason, this dam stands in the way to forbid anyone from entering the “Main Stream”.

In frantic panic all these fish dart back and forth to find a way out. Some think in their craziness that if they just follow all the right directions and do what “experts“ tell them they‘ll be ok.

But suddenly one or two of the salmon decide to do a crazy stunt…. They back up and charge at the dam, then, just as they come close, they leap high in the air, trying to jump the dam…. Sadly, many of the salmon who try to escape… die. But a few make it over and find safety in the “Main Stream”.

So why did I tell this obvious tale about film distribution and relate it to fish in a stream? To answer some of the reactions to a quote in one of my press releases:

The system in many ways has always been broken because it is flawed.  The film business maybe one of the most competitive businesses out there. Only so much content can truly be seen, and now, too much content is creating a serious problem. It’s an issue of supply and demand. There aren’t enough indie distributors out there and “everybody and their brother” who has a camera is calling themselves a filmmaker. Only the strongest will survive.

Is it possible that a really great story could be buried forever by the sheer amount of independent films that are out there? Yes. Any film, studio backed or completely independent runs the risk of being “un-noticed”. Why do you think that marketing is so important? Has it potentially happened before? Yes. Remember this film in 1977 called “Star Wars“? Lucas brought this script around to every executive in the business to get someone to fund it, but nobody could understand the complexity of the story until one executive took a risk on Lucas. Lucas‘ persistence, probably almost to the level of annoyance, paid off.. and it ends up being one of the most lucrative story ideas ever.

I have decided to be one of the crazy “salmon” in my little tale I told of the streams. I have and will continue to try unconvential routes to reach out to my audience. I will not back down from my pursuit of reaching as many audience members as possible and give them a chance to see the story of “Amnesia”

The Amnesia Movie Poster Contest and Rebfest are both ways in which I am reaching out to my audience in a personal way.

 RebFest is about emerging talent, which I am concerned has been pushed aside and not celebrated enough. RebFest was actually conceived because of many filmmakers on Twitter and the realization that what WAS working is NOT working any more. (I would go into more detail, but I don’t have enough space.)

For me, the reason for making “Amnesia” changed from when I started on the project. “Amnesia” has become one of the most important projects that I will ever do. I have become extremely loyal to making sure as many people as possible hear about this film and can watch it. Anyone who has seriously sat down and watch the film, allowing the story to influence them, realizes that the story, message and relevance that is has to our present time is extremely important. I believe that “Amnesia” may possibly be one of the most important stories of this decade, that is why I don’t back down!

The “Allan Carter Saga Part I: ‘amnesia’” is being showcased at http://www.rebfest.com March29^th - April 3^rd.