Twitter is now being very used to track letters and parcels as they travel through the postal system. The French postal system, that is.
La Poste has devised a clever way of bringing together its automated parcel tracking service and a Web 2.0 interface, using a Twitter account called @suivi_avec_lisa.
And how better to describe this new “Follow with Lisa” service than in five tweets? These are posted in the order that makes most sense, of course, and the gist of it is:
- @suivi_avec_lisa is a free tool to track your mail and packages
- Follow @suivi_avec_lisa. In a few minutes you will be automatically followed by @suivi_avec_lisa and get a direct message (DM) of welcome
- Send a DM with one or more of your unique tracking codes that La Poste has provided, separated by a space (13 characters per number)
- You then get a DM back, at each new stage of your shipment
- This service is completely automated. For questions, follow the link http://bit.ly/cfJpm1 or contact @lisalaposte
You can do much the same via La Poste’s own website, but the Twitter way is far handier for mobile users. In less than a week the service now has over 250 followers, and expects a lot more in coming months.
Above: Twitter becomes a new channel for La Poste customers to track parcels and mail
Business use of phone apps
Instead of just seeing the internet as a threat to its core, traditional business (with emails replacing written letters and so on), La Poste has been to the forefront in embracing online and mobile technologies. Ironically, too, postal services have also been big winners thanks to online shopping – which requires postal deliveries.
The French organisation would make a good case study of business use of phone apps too. Its services for iPhone and smartphone users range from geotagging your nearest post office to accessing your post office banking accounts online.
One of its iPhone apps has already been downloaded over 85,000 times from the Apple Store.
