The Twitter Official Blog, the massive organization that’s “always wondering what’s happening” is now offering Portuguese Twitter– a translation that took just three days to complete.
Boasting the new service as their fastest translation yet, users can visit the settings page on twitter.com to make the change. They can then browse interesting Brazilian accounts and follow those that suit his/her interests.
Coming from an interactive agency in Miami that deals heavily in the South American market, I can attest that this is a big deal for Twitter. Hundreds of affluent Brazilian buyers are snatching up everything from real estate to luxury cars and other luxury goods in South Florida. A lot of what we do here at LGD Interactive & Social Media includes research into the South American demographics and what they are most interested in. In fact, our Latino division is very close to going live!
From the blog, here are a few suggestions to get you started with finding Twitter users in Brazil:
@blogplanalto: Blog do Planalto tweets official news from Brazilian President @dilmabr and the presidential palace.
@HuckLuciano: Luciano Huck, a TV personality, shares news and commentary on everything from sports to major world events.
@EikeBatista: Eike Bastista, a businessman and entrepreneur, focuses on the economy and business news.
@Njr92: Neymar Júnior, a young and extremely talented soccer player for Santos, celebrates his team’s victories.
@PretaMaria: Preta Gil, a singer, responds to fans and tweets about her career, current projects, and, as the daughter of a former Minister of Culture, political and cultural news.
Brazilians have embraced Twitter as a way to keep up what’s happening both locally and globally. When severe flooding hit north of Rio de Janeiro earlier this year, Brazilians used Twitter to organize disaster relief efforts, share details on how to donate money and supplies, and call for medical assistance in affected neighborhoods.
In Brazil’s most recent presidential elections, all three candidates (@dilmabr, @silva_marina, @joseserra_) used Twitter to promote their campaigns, interacting directly with supporters and answering their questions.
And when one man couldn’t get a customer service response after he purchased a defective refrigerator, he posted his complaint on Twitter, including the name of the store. Other users rallied behind his cause, causing the store’s name to trend for four days — eventually ending with a brand new replacement refrigerator.
In addition to twitter.com, mobile.twitter.com and Twitter for Android have also been translated. Other mobile applications should start to support Portuguese soon.
