Thank you to everyone who attended yesterday’s Twitter talk by Mark Shaw.

If you weren’t able to make it or you’d like a bit more explanation on the mechanics of how it all works, I highly recommend Mark’s free beginners guide for Twitter, just send an email to: cheesesandwich@aweber.com .It’s short, only about 20 pages, easy to understand and explains things like how to follow, how to send a message, what retweets are, and what all those weird symbols mean. (To get Mark’s daily top Twitter Tips via email straight into your inbox send an email to : twitterverse@aweber.com )

Once you’re on Twitter (it really does only take about 5 mins to set up properly) if you go to http://twitter.com/BRXBondStreet and look on the right hand side of the page, you’ll see ‘members’ and ‘visitors’ under ‘Lists’. If you click on ‘members’ you’ll see all the BRX Bond Street members who I’m currently aware of as being on Twitter. If you click on ‘visitors’ you’ll see all the people who’ve visited Bond Street who I’m aware of as being on Twitter. If I’ve left anyone out do let me know. I think Twitter is a useful way of connecting with other members during the week, and it’s also an easy way of keeping in touch with the visitors we’ve had. (By the way if you go to the ‘Find People’ tab and do a search for ‘BRX’ you’ll find we’re now top of the list.)

If you need any help with Twitter or have any problems do get in touch and if I can help I will.

By the way Mark isn’t the only people who’s in touch with the Starbucks UK MD. I messaged the Starbucks corporate US account to ask about a branch they’re opening near me and got a message from the UK MD the next day answering my question, and he’s now one of my followers. So Twitter is a great way for a company to show it’s serious about customer service – and to really impress its customers. It’s also a good way of following and getting on the radar of organisations or people it would usually be very difficult to contact – for example I’m now on the Creative Review (UK’s leading magazine for advertising/design) twitter list of copywriters, which only numbers 28 copywriters out of all the thousands in the UK.

And finally – it’s nothing to do with Twitter as a business tool – but there is such a thing as a free lunch. I follow a Michelin starred chef who’s recently opened up a restaurant and sent a tweet to his followers offering a free meal for two in the ‘soft opening’ week before the restaurant formally opens and the critics arrive, in return for some feedback. So I took my father for lunch and enjoyed apperitifs, amuse-bouches, two courses (I had a herb ravioli followed by wild garlic risotto) with a lovely white Italian wine recommended by the sommelier, a main course (I had some superb angus beef) with a gorgeous South of France red wine, a pre-dessert of sorbet and fruit to clear the palate, and a stunning Louis XV dark chocolate praline dessert , followed by petits fours (marmalade marshmallow, truffles and raspberry sable) with coffee ….. all absolutely free (though I passed on the ‘wafer-thin mint’). In return I had the arduous task of writing an email with my feedback and and some (extremely minor) criticisms. Though I do wish In Kilter Fitness was doing his fat burning kettle bell sessions in a park near me.