Imagine a newspaper that talks–yes, imagine a newspaper that talks to you!
Or imagine a grocery store suggesting what to cook for dinner using only products on sale. Or being part of a radio show without calling in. Or taking part in a presidential campaign by adding an electronic presidential button to your Twitter avatar.  These scenarios are all taking place today in Latin America. How? The short answer: Twitter.

Twitter has become a useful tool in Latin America in areas such as media, retail, and politics. For example, Diario Uno, a newspaper in Mendoza, Argentina, is known as the newspaper that “talks” because it interacts directly with its audience through Twitter.  “Our Twitter followers’ response in seeing that a newspaper reply to them has been enriching and has created a special loyalty to our newspaper,” said Nacho Castro, the person who is in charge of Tweeting for Diario Uno.

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“Don’t steal my plants from my farm.” “Have you watered your farm today?”  These daily greetings about farming are getting popular in most offices in Taiwan recently. For many Taiwanese, the hot flash game called “Happy Farm” is their motivation for Facebook usage.

“Happy Farm” features social networking and gaming. Each user owns a virtual farm for cultivation. Users have to check their farms, and water and weed from time to time. Friends on Facebook are able to steal plants and send gifts, which are the most interactive and fun parts of the game. Furthermore, it’s easy to play and kills employee boredom in the office. As a result, the game’s popularity has grown amazingly. Several similar games were also developed to attract users.

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