Saturday, August 22, 2009

Twitter Group


On my Google Reader I subscribe to many of the "Deal Alert" and money saving blog sites. They are useful to a certain extent. Sometimes, by the time I get around to reading a certain post, the deal is no longer available either because of limited supply or expiration date. Another problem I have with the sites is the regional limitations. I am constantly marking all "as read" because the posts are not relevant for stores in my area.
This is where Twitter comes in. While Twitter hasn't replaced blogging (yet), it has replaced the necessity of subscribing to so many blogs. By following the Bloggers themselves on Twitter, I am alerted to deals when they break. If it looks like a deal that is worthwhile, I can click on the URL that often accompanies the Tweet.
Works great…but it can be better. What I need is a "network." I want to somehow alert others about deals in my area. For example, Fresh & Easy recently had their grill packs marked down to $2.50. This is a great deal for 4 lbs 11 oz of chicken, sausages, and hamburger patties. I found out about it by a phone call from my mom. Of course, I didn't want to keep this info to myself. I wanted to enlighten others in my town with this knowledge. To do this I could either a) call everyone, thus intruding upon their lives or b) direct message each of them on Twitter, which ended up doing, thus taking up more of my own time than necessary. I could have just updated my Twitter status, but that would have also updated Facebook and not all my friends in the world of Twitter really care about coupons and grill packs.
The answer to this is GroupTweet. Instead of sending out individual direct messages, anyone in the "group" can send out a direct message to the "group" name and it will send out a Tweet to the whole group. (If that is clear as mud, just click on the link above.)
I have been working on this for a while now, and I think I have a pretty good grasp on how it all works. So… if you live in Hemet or San Jacinto (or are just curious to see how this all plays out) come check out the group's Twitter page: Hemet Valley Savers. You do not have to follow each individual in the group to see the updates. You just have to follow Hemet Valley Savers and the group has to follow you.
My goal is to not be the only one alerting everyone to great deals. Hopefully, others will share their deals, tips, strategies, and extra coupons (hint, hint!) I have been thankful for my friends that have helped so far and I am eager to have them share their shopping tips with others.

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