New Twitter (#NewTwitter) is here, with plans to roll out the new interface as a preview over the next couple of weeks so Tweeple can get accustomed to this new fangled shebang.

Actually, it looks pretty awesome. The new interface is split into two: the left remains as your familiar ol’ timeline (though with ‘infinite scroll’, so no more clicking ‘more’ incessantly – great stuff), while the right integrates multimedia and allows you to view information and content without navigating elsewhere.

The right column gives you all the features that used to be on the right, plus a few new ones, and a much simplified design, with ‘facebook-like functionality’. To your right you will find: favourites, trending topics, suggestions, lists, recent followers and people you’ve recently begun following, etc. AND, of course, the main event: the ability to view images and videos embedded in the interface, rather than linking to an external operator. Clever, huh? Embedded content is compatible with Twitter partners Dailybooth, DeviantArt, Etsy, Flickr, Justin.TV, Kickstarter, Kiva, Photozou, Plixi, Twitgoo, TwitPic, Twitvid, USTREAM, Vimeo, Yfrog, and YouTube.

Apparently, 25% of tweets include a link, meaning that we’re clicking off page, off site, back and forth like a clicky machine. It’s easy enough to lose track of conversations on Twitter timelines, so this addition is very much welcome. It’s not like it’s spanky new, though, is it? Facebook has enabled embedded multimedia on profile walls for some time now – so perhaps it’s about time that Twitter caught up…

Onwards to more features: When you select a particular tweet, you’re now given the option of a plethora of additional information, should you so desire it, such as: @replies, other tweets by that same user, a map of where a geo-tagged Tweet was sent from, RTs, hashtags etc, all handily accessible on the right pane.

You also don’t have to navigate off page to see another user’s profile – what used to be a little pop up (which used to annoy the hell out of me, personally, so I hope this is off-timeline), you now have a mini-profile with more detailed account information, bio and recent tweets.

There is, however, an elephant in the room. Make that a whale. Will these changes mean we see less of the dreaded Fail Whale? There’s been a lot of him lately, and I’m hoping when they thought about the new design, they also addressed the system overloads which became, ahem, a little…fishy.

The new look has been likened to an app style, which coincides with the fact that Twitter’s mobile usage has apparently leapt to 62% in the last 6 months, following the launch of dedicated clients on each of the main smartphone platforms – now 16% of new users start via mobile. Will this mean an easier interface for mobile? Certainly less flicking between pages and links is a positive thing.

With 145 million registered users and the apparent success (Twitter say they are pleased) with the Promoted Tweets platform, Twitter seem to be making a move to challenge the suggestion that it will be a mere speck in the shadow of Facebook within a few years.

Find @ikroh on Twitter for SEO, social media and marcomm tips and tidbits – or just for a friendly little tweet.

@BPGlobaPR, the mock BP Twitter account with over 90,000 followers giving blow by blow satire on the situation and selling ‘BP Cares’ T-shirts for $15 a pop:

“Listen, we were just drilling into the Earth’s crust a mile beneath the ocean with shoddy off switches. Don’t blame us!”

“I’ve gotta say, at night the gulf really doesn’t look that bad.”

As well as numerous popular trending ‘hashtags’ like #bp, #oilspill, #bpcares and #boycottbp.

A Facebook-wide campaign to publicise the Amnesty advert (actually the issue was with Shell and the Niger Delta, but impeccably timed and topically relevant, no?) that the Financial Times vetoed:

Live feeds of the oil plume (broadcast by BP themselves after an appeal for the company to be more honest about the extent of the damage), and tickers (like the PBS one below) keeping track of how many millions of gallons have been spewed into the ocean:

Greenpeace UK’s ‘Behind the Logo’ competition to design a new BP logo – you can peruse the entries in their flickr group HERE.

Countless number of articles, news reports, blogs and videos uploaded and shared on networking sites, either badmouthing BP or bashing Obama’s response, and the odd ironic gem from the 90s:

It’s a real power to the people situation, if only the people had the power to stop this catastrophe. The reach and exposure of social media has ensured though, that no one is going to slink away quietly following the events of the last month. And it at least gives us hope for the future regarding the impact that the medium could have on non-profit causes needing to be addressed and publicised worldwide. We have the power to save the world, people, we just need to tweet about it…

Well… it’s the next big thing, doncha know? It really is. Social media is currently unavoidable and is causing a storm in the marketing world. You can either stay in the dark ages or you can get with the times, and judging by the very real and impressive results some companies are getting, we would recommend the latter.

But there’s no point jumping on the bandwagon in a keeping up with the Jones’ kind of way. One of the reasons many strategies fail is because a company gets impatient, doesn’t take the time to think objectively about what they want to achieve and how they intend on doing it, then quickly lose focus when they don’t get the results they expect. Others become a little too obsessed with their Twitter interactions and forget about the actual work… As Buddha suggests, “Take the middle path.”

A good social media strategy requires a lot of thought and planning – you need to think about your goals, you need to include your entire company when embarking on this relatively new route to market, you need to prepare content and set aside time to put your aims into practice.

Because we all like a good list of top tips, let’s put it like this:

#1 – Social media is a MASSIVE opportunity for building your brand. Massive. MaHOOsive. Imagine a whole network of people orbiting around your business, getting included in the processes and feedback of your ideas, providing free advertising for you through the phenomenon of word-of-mouth, making your company into a familiar brand. Now, it won’t always work like this, but the opportunity is there. You can make a dent in your visibility and increase the stretch of your marketing campaign’s arms by reaching the largest amount of customers possible through the various platforms of social media – a reach that is incomparable to what you have been doing before.

#2 – Social media has a place for everyone. Where do you belong? Well try out Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Reddit, Del.icio.us, Scribd or a gazillion more of the social media platforms out there. Have a good browse, there are many subject specific niche sites which may focus your results more effectively, such as Hugg (ahhh) for environmental issues, Kirsty for fashion and design, Sphinn for search and interactive marketers, Tweako for guides and tutorials and Autospies for, you guessed it, everything automotive. And there is a ton more if you just look – some are not very well publicised, some are not very active, but hey, it’s up to you to find the best forum for your content.

#3 – Social media is a cheaper alternative to traditional advertising. It takes narry a penny to set up accounts for email, a blog, or any of the sites listed in #2. It takes man power and man hours to manage, but very little, if anything, to maintain. There are tools to help things work more smoothly and integrate all your different areas of networking which charge for services, but it is possible to run a social media campaign for next to nothing. You are reaching your targeted demographic (and beyond) for the price of your broadband…

#4 – Social media allows you to see what your clients are saying about you. It’s no secret that posting certain opinions on social media sites has got people into trouble with bosses, spouses, friends and the law, but a bit of honesty is extremely healthy for marketing. People hang up the minute they realise there’s a market researcher calling, yet they’ll freely publicise their opinions on products and services online. In fact, most people jump at the chance to give their two pennies’ worth. As long as you respond to bad feedback in a productive and professional way, you can use this information to increase your offerings based on cold hard facts, and end up giving your customers exactly what they want.

#5 – Social media makes us all equal. Social media has a great levelling power. If you’re a little local business, trying to branch out into the big bad world of the web – great, you can achieve much wider popularity than just advertising in your home town, doing what you do best, providing great personalised services. If you’re a fat cat company, struggling with a public face like a blank wall – great, you can interact with your customers on a personal level, make yourselves accessible and friendly and show the world you’re not just a corporate suit. The fact that everyone from your little niece to your doddery granny is getting online and getting involved with social media means that everyone has a voice, and everyone has an opportunity to be friends. Ah, isn’t that nice? Now go sell yourself.