Howard Stern Gives Blackberry, Twitter, and Facebook a Thumbs Up
Blackberry, Twitter, and Facebook have something to celebrate. After long deliberation, and personal reviews of many cell phones, Howard Stern has made his choice on which device will clip to his hip. The iPhone was in the running, but in the end it was the Blackberry Bold that got the nod of approval from The King of all Media.
Stern’s moniker as King of all Media has stepped up in the tech world with not only the Blackberry news, but also because of announcements on the show that Twitter and Facebook are now in the Stern arsenal. After only one hour Stern already had thousands of followers on Twitter, and the news that Stern wanted to post a video via Facebook already has people clamoring to find the Sirius XM entertainer on that service.
As we have seen demonstrated time and time again, Stern carries a lot of influence with his fans. Blackberry has certainly been impacted by brisk iPhone sales over the past eighteen months, but with Stern endorsing the Blackberry platform, the company is sure to put a dent in the “coolness” factor that iPhone has enjoyed since its launch. Tweeting on Twitter is a phenomenon that is wide reaching, and Stern is now participating, which will bode well for the show as well as fans. Facebook has had mentions on the show in the past, but Stern was reluctant to use his private Facebook in a way that fans could participate. With a show based Facebook page, the interaction and updates may be more frequent, giving Stern followers even more Stern material.
As a fan of satellite radio, it is great to see Stern make these moves. Other shows should consider following suit, and Sirius XM in general should consider the same. Technology is moving fast, and participation in platforms such as Twitter and Facebook can give Sirius XM additional outlets to market their services and shows.
So what brought on all of this sudden activity on the net? We have Sirius XM’s Tim Sabean to thank. He is pushing for more synergies, and for that we are all thankful.
Position – Long Sirius XM
Howard hasn’t exactly given Facebook or Twitter a thumbs up. He has said several times on his show that he thinks Facebook is stupid. As a matter of fact, he makes fun of Mike Gange all the time for being on Facebook so much. And Howard has all but said he thinks that social networking sites are generally a waste of time. He’s also pretty much admitted he doesn’t get Twitter. With all that being said, I’m glad Tim Sabean is pushing Howard and the gang to do more of this sort of thing. Howard has a rabid following and they (we) will gobble all of this up. The more Stern fans are talking about Howard and Sirius XM, the better it is for Sirius XM…
About time. I emailed them about this months ago. There needs to be a Twitter feed for EVERY channel. It is free after all. Giving users another way to keep up with their favorite channels is VERY simple for them to quickly roll out. Kudos to Stern. Maybe others will wake up and follow suit.
Wow what a revolution can’t wait until next week when he “discovers” youtube.com then he can truely be Imus.
What a fiasco. The company is about to launch an iPhone App and he is pumping Blackberry! I have no problem if Blackberry also has SiriXM.
Why doesn’t Sirius start a Twitter/Facebook type channel where all these knuckleheads can maybe call in and talk to eachother over the sat airwaves.
This could be a hook to get people to sign-up for the service.
Of the 82 arguements currently attacking this company and stock, this is by far the weakest arguement, and interesting that after weeks of being silent, this is what you choose to write about? I give it two thumbs down. You need to try harder, and write something better than this for your reentry into the writing forum. Just one mans opinion.
Heres some topics you might want to write about Tyler that have exponentially more important than the status of Howards “tweeter” account.
1. STock manipulation.
2. Penetration rates in cars.
3. Lack of marketing or signs of life from this area.
4. Liberty plans, or stategies.
5. IPhone/NiceMac debockle.
6. Why savesirius.com(Mr. Hartlieb) is harrassing its authors who are on the exact same side? Interesting… Very very interesting…
7. Upcoming Q1 report.. Projections…comments…
8. Liberty Upgrade.
I have a hundred more Tyler. Email me if you want more. I have thousands of good ideas.
Opie and Anthony are probably banging their heads hard against a wall. They have been “twating” for months now.
Also, as any loyal listener to Howard knows; he has been calling Facebook “Stupid” and “Gay” almost daily. That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for facebook.
Relmor…..
I am a busy person with other things on my plate. As for what you would like to see:
1. Stock manipulation – It happens, but this does not mean that a vast conspiracy is the driver. We can all see funky trades, but in the end this site does not have the finances, nor time that would be required to do what would be hundreds of hors of investigation.
2. Penetration rates in cars – At 50% and still anticipated to be at 50%. Not much new here
3. Marketing requires funds. I think that the company could do better in many areas, and have already written about it. How many articles should be written?
4. Liberty is still in the early stages. Not much new on that front. We will need to see Liberty give some additional flavor before speculating much further.
5. Look for an iPhone app by Father’s Day. The success and revenue from that application will determine if it is a debacle or not.
6. Hartlieb is not harassing SiriusBuzz. It could be argued that someone here was harassing him. Look at the events, and you will see the timeline of events. This does not mean I agree with Hartlieb, but clearly he did not instigate recent events as they revolve around this site.
7. Upcoming Q1 will be written about when the timing is a bit better. An article now would be a week or two too early.
8. Liberty Upgrade is interesting and something that will be covered soon.
I can appreciate your ideas, and enthusiasm, and can even accept your criticism. However, you need to understand that on my personal list of priorities in life, this site falls below things such as family, and my business that puts food on the table, etc. Aside from all of that there have been issues behind the scenes that needed to be dealt with on various fronts.
Good Retort, TS, however the ‘post script’ was obvious, I think, and can be construed as slightly odious, if I may, of the visitors to this site……………
I think we all come here because we are ‘passionate’ about the product, and indeed, our inve$tment.
I’m sure we almost all, appreciate what it is you and your colleagues are doing here on this site, and as the ‘demigod’s’ of Sirius Buzz,sometimes unfortunately you may have to deal with ‘blasphemy’; which I always think is better handled with less, rather than more, Pardoner Monsieur………..;)
Enjoy This Holiday Weekend with Those You Love and Love You !!
Tyler.
As you have stated many times. You are unable to make everyone happy. I have chosen to believe that anytime you write something you feel it has meaning to the company and along with that it’s shareholders.
Thank you for not resorting to pumping, inconsistencies within your reporting and meaningless writing.
Thank you as well for placing your family and ability to feed them first and foremost. Again. You alone saved me from a terrible financial fate when we were at .05. For which my family and me, will always be grateful.
HooHoo! Join the revolution Rahhhbin!
How about the “other shock jock show” on 202? They’ve been using PalTalk, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Blackburries, and iPhones for quite some time. They also DID A SHOW WITH A LIVE AUDIENCE. The fan interaction is what can build an audience. Stupid Sirius moved them into an office smaller than mine. Sirius management never got it and that’s why this company is in grave danger.
Howard Stern got more people to follow him on Twitter in 1 weekend then O&A have been able to gather in months of using the service…not taking sides, I’m just saying.
There you go again Charles. Posting facts……
Rich:
“Grave Danger?”. LOL. We’ve been there done that Rich. You just wake up?
Cover your short and move on little penny stock man.
Socal
Over 21,000 followers in less than 4 days, pretty good. I imagine after this weeks break it will continue to increase.
Please, Facebook and Twitter?
Anyone who has time to use these isn’t working for a living.
They provide ZERO value to Sirius.
The idea that these lame social networking sites are of any value to Sirius is pure nonsense.
Stern has NOT embraced them and rightly so.
They are a complete waste of time.
He has soundly derided both of these sites but that didn’t stop Tyler from writing a completely erroneous article.
Sirius needs to forget these stupid little kiddie sites and concentrate on CUSTOMER SERVICE, QUALITY HARDWARE and CONTENT.
Right now these things aren’t even on Sirius-XM Management’s radar.
The Howard.tv website, has links and accounts with all major social networking sites so, you can say he hasnt embraced them but, clearly he understands the power of them (or he has surrounded himself with people who do, which is even better). The SB following on twitter is fairly small yet it drives quite a bit of traffic to the site. There are also people who are utilizing the services for product placement (from those who are trusted sources) and they are making a living from it and the companies are paying for those placements so, it must be worth it to everyone right?
I am asking these questions but, I already know the answers because its what I do for a living and the bottom line is that sites like facebook and twitter are extremely valuable to those who understand it. I am concerned that you totally understand how they work since you are saying “Anyone who has time to use these isn’t working for a living.” which simply doesn’t make sense at all.
Sure, if people sit around all day and do nothing but twitter then yes they don’t work for a living but, can’t you say that about anything that people do all day instead of working?
Facebook and Twitter are worthless and provided NOTHING of any value to ANY company.
If there is any value it should be easily quantifiable.
If it can’t be measured, it has ZERO value.
Show me the empirical data that Facebook and Twitter provide any return.
You can’t because they don’t.
They are a ‘solution’ in search of a problem.
Howard has openly and repeatedly stated how much he HATES Facebook and that he does NOT use it.
He tried it for less than 1 week and gave up on it.
The same will happen with Twitter.
Perhaps working on a real business plan might be SOMEWHERE on the radar at Sirius?
They have apparently partnered with a Company that can’t write software or else we’d have an iPhone/Blackberry app already.
Don’t forget they killed a company that could write software and had a working app already.
What a minute, Mel’s a genius, right.
What is the mobile device strategy?
I would like an answer from the man who took a $5.00 stock and turned it into a penny stock.
It’s looking more and more like Sirius-XM will become irrelevant.
They can’t get out of their own way.
Facebook and Twitter and yet Sirius still can’t tell their subscribers before hand when Howard is taking yet another vacation from phoning it in.
So much for ‘Synergy’.
Tim…..
Since you have decided to call into question my credibility, perhaps you can explain a few things.
1. Howard not only announced that the show had a Twitter page, but had nearly 20,000 subscribers on that twitter page within the first few days of announcing it.
2. Howard 100 news has done stories on the new Twitter feed.
3. Fox news utilizes Twitter.
4. What you call “kiddie sites” are being utilized by many mainstream business people and organizations. Fox news is hardly “kiddie news”.
5. Howard indeed has stated that he hates Facebook personally. The new feeds differ in that they are for the SHOW, and not for Howard personally. What Howard does understand is that there is a separation between the show and his personal life. He grasped this concept, and went so far as to ask for a SHOW facebook to upload a video.
6. The data you seek is already there for you to see. Thousands of followers on Twitter, etc. Fox News and many other news outlets using Twitter also add to the data. Do you think all of these people do this out of the goodness of their heart? Please take a moment and think of what you are saying. You want proof that the oceans are wet. You refuse to see what is right there before your eyes.
You ask for facts but refuse to even look at what is there for you to see. With all due respect, I suggest that perhaps you should move along to another rant, because as each day passes, the data regarding Twitter continues to grow. Will Howard show Twitter page fade away? Perhaps. However, 20,000 + people did not suddenly decide to sign up for the feed for no reason.
I can provide you empirical data but, it would involve me opening my books to you which is not going to happen.
That being said, it is pretty easy to find case studies on the net of other marketers and their return on twitter.
Companies like Apple are giving popular sites things like macbooks to give away via twitter and not to mention slacker gave SB a portable to give away.
Should we talk about magpie? You know there are ad agencies tied to twitter correct?
The value is easily quantifiable and none of that includes the loyalty and brand awareness which is reinforced by these social networks.
It seems that nothing I say will make you believe but, so you know, it is widely excepted that there is an easily quantifiable value. I think it was just last month that Dell or some computer company offered a special deal that was exclusive to twitter that sold thousands and thousands of laptops.
The correct term to use would be ‘accepted’.
Again, show me the empirical data.
None exists and these kiddie sites are an example of the nonsense that was the Dot Com bust.
Everyone jumping on a bandwangon to keep up with the joneses.
Believe what you want, at the very least you should post articles that are factual.
Tyler’s post about Howard Stern was pure fiction.
He has no credibility in my book.
What you are asking for is like asking for proof that the sky is blue. Just look around man, I don’t have to do the research for you, its all out there. Once you have a greater understanding of just how viral something like twitter is, it should be easy to understand how valuable it is to any business. It’s free advertising.