Many in the entrepreneurial world have been closely following the development of Vine, Twitter’s hot new app. This app, which allows users to post short, creative video bites, has been praised as innovative and interesting from the start. But while it peaked the interest of many, there were several doubts about the app’s usefulness, particularly from the perspective of an internet business.

These doubts are quickly being allayed, however. Vine is quickly evolving into a worthy weapon in the arsenal of creative businesses. Very recently, Vine has enabled users to embed the GIF-like videos on any website, when it was previously confined to Twitter. This dramatic increase in flexibility of use will prove useful to any businessperson who wants to use Vine in various contexts.

Erica Swallow recently wrote a post that appeared on Mashable detailing different ways startups have made use of Vine. For example, an iPhone app called Martini that acts as a matchmaker for groups of friends has made a pitch video with Vine that explains their service. Other businesses are using Vine for product demos. Still others use it to concisely explain difficult-to-understand aspects of a product or service.

These recent developments show that with a little creativity, nearly all kinds of social media can be utilized by an internet entrepreneur.

Very recently, Twitter released a new app called Vine. Basically, Vine is the “Instagram” of gifs. It has been rapidly increasing in popularity ever since its introduction to the social media world. Vine offers users a new way to express humor and creativity. And as Cynthia Boris says in her article, businesses are starting to join in the Vine frenzy.

Several companies like Red Vines have already used the app in Twitter-related marketing. Vine could be a useful marketing tool due to the fact that videos are so memorable for potential customers. The app can also be used for mini-demos for products.

A lot of marketers might not be totally convinced of Vine’s validity as a marketing tool due to the shortness of its videos (max time of six seconds). However, a huge amount can be done in six seconds as long as the right amount of creative talent is involved. After all, the “shortness as a limitation” argument can be made against Twitter (Vine’s creator) as well, but everyone recognizes the marketing importance of this social media site.

Vine is proving to be a new venue for marketer’s creativity in publicizing their products. It will be a valuable addition to any company’s Twitter presence.

With one semester left in my college career, the job-hunting process is quickly consuming more and more of my time and thoughts. I have spent time networking, calling companies, sending resumes, and basically doing all the standard, run-of-the-mill kinds of stuff seniors do when they want to find work after they graduate.

One untapped resource that I had not previously thought to use is Twitter. Elisha Hartwig  reports on this social media platform and how it can be used to find a job.

Twitter affords aspiring members of the work force the opportunity to follow potential employers via their Twitter pages.   This is a great way to maintain an up-to-date level of knowledge and education that would be very difficult to attain otherwise. Following potential employers on Twitter also can lead to a quicker awareness of job openings in various companies.

Twitter isn’t just a good way to follow companies and keep an eye on them; this avenue of social media is also a great way for them to keep an eye on you. Twitter’s informal setting can showcase personality like few other settings can. Elisha Hartwig also points out the value of creating original content on Twitter, as well as using it as a way to steer contacts to a personal blog or LinkedIn profile. And perhaps most obviously, Twitter facilitates networking with potential contacts.

If you are a college senior in need of a job, maybe Twitter is the place to find it.

Twitter has long been recognized as a convenient and fast way for brands to get their message out to millions of consumers.  The accessibility of 140 characters combined with the speed that the platform provides for communication is beneficial to businesses just on those two attributes alone.

However, one of the greatest advantages that Twitter offers to businesses is the ability to quickly capitalize on trending topics.  A prime example of this was during the power outage during last Sunday’s Super Bowl.   Oreo brand did an especially good job at this.  During the power outage, they tweeted this:

The message was simple, clear,  and perfectly timed.  Other brands had their shot at fame as well.  Walgreen, Tide, and Audi all tweeted relevant messages during the black-out and received accolades in the press for their marketing team.

The secret?  Oreo had a “mission control” set up for their social media.  That way, when they saw an opportunity, the design, caption, and approval could be done in a matter of minutes.  With instantaneous internet comes immediate opportunities that will be gone just as quickly if you don’t take advantage of them.

However, just as trendy twitter posts can be the golden ticket for your branding, twitter can also go terribly wrong.  Anytime political jokes or national crises are used to promote your brand, be sure to expect backlash.   Maybe there is such a thing as bad publicity.

Moral of the story?  Timely and trendy alliterations work.

Twitter has just released a new app called Vine, which was highlighted on TechCrunch very recently. Basically, according to TechCrunch, Vine will essentially become the “Instagram for videos.” The Vine app allows users to take quick, short videos and loop them together, a little bit like gifs. TechCrunch’s Fly or Die believes that this new application will drum up a lot more user-generated content for Twitter, bring many new users to Twitter, and just generally solidify Twitter as a social media site.

Here is an example of the Vine app, as provided by TechCrunch.

Here is another example.

CNN’s Doug Gross recently wrote an article about Vine, calling it the “Twitterfication of social sharing.” One of the interesting aspects of Vine that fits well with its creator, Twitter, is that it essentially does for video what Twitter has already done for the written word. The six second Vine video matches perfectly with the 140 character Tweet. Gross mentions another very interesting piece of information in his article that ties in very well with TechCrunch’s post on Vine. Gross sees Vine as a way for Twitter to compete with Facebook, due to the fact that Facebook recently bought Instagram. Considering that Vine is “the Instagram for videos,” as TechCrunch puts it, there is a very real opportunity here for Twitter to regain some popularity lost from Instagram going exclusively to Facebook.

Are you familiar with the huge headache that comes with trying to sell your house? Instead of taking some Ibuprofen, try using Pixloo instead. This company is designed to help both realtors and individuals sell houses by taking advantage of the internet and the recent explosion of social media. Signing up for Pixloo gives home sellers the opportunity to upload information, pictures, and videos of their home.  The site will then send everything to major online real estate sites like Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, etc. free of charge. If

you want more than a free basic package (one tour and five exports) you can upgrade for a cost, but most can do it with the basic startup.  What is unique about Pixloo is that it is also connected to the social media sites.  Your information will appear on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube which helps your information reach a broader market.  It is so broad of a market that it even reaches worldwide, though most of the business is focused on the United States.

Pixloo is pleased with their current standing: they had 500 customers signed up even before the press released anything on the company.  One thing Pixloo understands is the importance of social and mobile media.  They plan to expand into the cell phone world by having a mobile support as well as sending text messages about new listings which will only make it easier to connect home buyers to home sellers.  This could change the entire outlook people have about selling their home.  The normally painful headache has turned into an easy relaxing task thanks to the help Pixloo provides by connecting homeowners with good realtors and the ability to figure out just how much your house is worth.  With the great amount of stress already in day to day life, you don’t need any more if you’re thinking about selling your house.  Pixloo can help.