19 Best Examples of How Top Brands Use Twitter

Twitter is still one of THE most active social sites on the planet -- 2nd only to Facebook.

Its fast-paced feed and real-time conversations make it one of the world’s favorite networking sites for both individuals and businesses.

With over 1 billion registered users, an estimated 320 million active users, and 100 million users daily -- Twitter has earned its place as one of the top four social media giants (and the place to be if you want to network).

In order to knock it out of the park on Twitter, you will need to find or create valuable content in your niche, post consistently, engage with your followers and build relationships.

It's no wonder social media marketers want to leverage Twitter for business -- but the task of building a large, engaged following can seem overwhelming at times.

But here's the good news -- with a little determination and perseverance -- it can be done! (and probably faster than you think)

You can sharpen your skills and shorten your learning curve by studying what the top brands are doing on Twitter.

You don't have to have a big brand budget to get Twitter results. You just have to learn how to do a handful of things right -- and then repeat those things over and over again.

Here are 19 of the best examples of how top brands use Twitter (according to stats from socialbakers).

One thing you will notice about all these brands is that they understand the importance of engagement.

1. Starbucks

I'll admit I'm not a coffee drinker -- but Starbucks crushes it on Twitter!

Not only because they have nearly 11 million followers but because they "get" social media.

Recently Starbucks has been in the news due to their red Christmas cup not being Christmas enough -- even starting a worldwide debate around the hashtag #merrychristmasstarbucks.
Starbucks has embraced this by showing off the cup in many different forms, even in their cover photo.

They also do a fantastic job of showcasing their followers by retweeting them and interacting with them.

Starbucks definitely understands the importance of engaging on Twitter!

Notice they effectively use many different types of media also. Whether it's a photo collage with a witty headline, a video or even a gif -- they are doing it often and doing it right.

Also take note that every tweet has a hashtag in it (which even further extends their reach).

Starbucks definitely gets an A+ on Twitter.

Maybe I'll start drinking coffee after all -- NOT!

2. PlayStation

The video game giant has nearly 9 million followers on Twitter and continues to crush it!

What I really dig about this account -- and why I think it does so well -- is they post a wide variety of posts (links, videos and texts).

PlayStation also engages with their fans, and retweets them!

Notice how they are leveraging a pinned tweet for their holiday promotion. Pinning a tweet is a great way to make your engagement soar!

You can read more about the power of pinned tweets on You Will Get More Retweets If You Do This ONE Simple Thing.

3. Samsung Mobile US

As a Samsung only user -- it makes me happy to see Samsung towards the top of this list!

What makes their account so great is they do a few things really well:

• Wide variety of content
• Lots of retweets
• Good use of hashtags (no more than 2 in a tweet, usually just 1)

Non-Apple users like me should make
sure we give them props!

4. Whole Foods

Nothing is better than grinding fresh peanuts in Whole Foods and eating it with organic celery! If you haven't done this you should.

You should also go follow their Twitter account!

What I love about this Twitter account is Whole Foods isn't always "selling" -- they are educating.

They do this by posting recipes and other tips on how to better cook with the food they sell.

We do this at Post Planner as well!

We have over 600 blog posts purely just to educate and help our followers use social media more effectively -- after all better social media users means better Post Planner users!
You can check out our social media posts on our Post Planner blog.

5. Sony

I don't think it's luck that Sony and PlayStation (a Sony product) are at the top of this list!

Until you look at the Twitter feed from Sony -- you don't realize just how many different things this company is involved in! Music, movies, electronics, games, etc. 

And it's super smart that they use this account to retweet their "sister" accounts constantly -- thus increasing their exposure and Twitter footprint even more.

The lesson here?

Cross promotion on Twitter is huge -- whether it's to other Twitter accounts or other social sites (like Facebook or Instagram).

In order to get the most benefit from cross promoting on Twitter -- be absolutely sure the content you are sharing from other accounts is top notch (high quality, in your niche and eye-catching).

6. Michael Kors

I'll admit I didn't know who this was until I found them on this list! But I can see why over 3 million people follow this Twitter account.

They do a great job of posting a wide variety of images to catch the attention and retweets of their followers.

As a brand, you have a huge opportunity to use you Twitter page as an extension of your messaging and culture.

The Michael Kors Twitter page perfectly captures the essence and sophistication of
the brand itself. 

7. McDonald's

McDonald's has a ton of followers -- over 3 million -- and does a great job of posting a wide variety of posts. 

As a die hard Dallas Cowboys fan, one that really makes me laugh is this tweet with Jerry Rice wearing a Cowboys uniform!

McDonald's is doing a great job using their Twitter cover photo to promote having breakfast all day. They even created a hashtag for it.

I will admit McDonald's fails in posting frequency though with only a few posts per week. They should use Post Planner to schedule out their tweets better!

8. Calvin Klein

The clothing giant comes in at #8 on our list!

They don't tweet often, but when they do, they mix it up between "sales" type posts and simply mentioning celebrities wearing their clothes. 

We predict that if they tweeted more frequently and consistently -- and if they added a hashtag to their bio (which would be searchable) -- they would have even more followers than they already do!

9. Etsy

Honestly I didn't know Etsy even had a Twitter account! But they've amassed over 2.6 million followers it seems!

Etsy does a really good job of mixing up the types of products they tweet about -- and they don't just keep it about products women might buy. 

They are also great at retweeting their followers when they are mentioned. Plus they have a great sense of humor!

Etsy is a perfect example of how quality Twitter content keeps people coming back for more. Once you start looking at their Twitter page -- you won't be able to stop!

10. Nintendo of America

Rounding out the top 10 Twitter accounts crushing it is.. Nintendo of America!

 Although there isn't a whole lot of engaging on this Twitter account, they do tell people they are listening (in their bio).

They do at least retweet -- which is always a nice way to share the love!

They post a great variety of posts from images, to animated gifs, to videos, to text only updates, etc. 

I really dig the humor and wittiness of this account:

 11. AddThis

AddThis does a really great job of using their Twitter account to promote their product -- and they also to give helpful information to their followers.

They engage on Twitter a lot, which is a cornerstone of Twitter success.

You'll notice too that most of their tweets with links contain images also. This draws attention to their tweets even more.

What's the lesson here?

If you have an extra 45 seconds -- grab an image to accompany each one of your link post tweets (to your blog or website).

It makes a HUGE difference!

If you use Post Planner, it will automatically pull an image from the blog or website into the tweet for you!

12. Someecards

I love, Love, LOVE what these guys do on both Facebook and Twitter!

From their creative cover photo, to their funny description, to their hilarious tweets.. Someecards has got it going on!

They mostly posts links to their own content -- links that are both evergreen and timely. Such as the one below posted the day before Thanksgiving:

I don't know who is behind the curtain for @someecards but they know what they are doing!

13. SUBWAY

The person who handles Subway's social media accounts likely needs a vacation after the recent Jared Fogle scandal -- Yikes!

But the Twitter account is still rocking and posting great content!

I love the user of colors in their cover photo and current avatar -- as well as in their posts:

I love the use of the animated gifs -- especially since it looks like a video and makes you want to click on it. Super smart!

You'll also notice they tend to stick to 1 hashtag in their posts -- usually based around their current campaign) -- which right now seems to be #savelunchbreak.

14. TOMS

This is another company in the fashion world that is doing very well on Twitter.

The cool thing about this Twitter account is how they showcase their cause (which is "You buy one, we give one"). 

They also do a great job of cross promoting their Instagram account to gain followers on that platform.

As we said before, cross promoting is HUGE on Twitter!!

15. Threadless

Threadless is a very unique clothing company to say the least -- as can be seen by their cover photo.

This Twitter account uses super high quality, humorous images to showcase their products and get engagement. What
a smat thing to focus on!

16. Forever21

The Forever21 Twitter account uses their tweets to promote their products by showcasing them in great images.

They are also skilled at simply tweeting something funny or thoughtful purely to remain human and get engagement.

This is a great Twitter account to learn from!

 17. Amazon

I love how Amazon uses their cover photo to be current!

They of course tweet often about different products they sell, but they also tweet helpful blog posts they write to help their followers.
Am I the only one who didn't realize they had a blog?!

18. Treyarch Studios

Not being a "gamer" -- I had no idea who @treyarch was until I went to their Twitter account!

For those like me who didn't know they are the creators of the game "Call of Duty" -- guess what? -- they do great with their Twitter account too!

Out of all the accounts I've mentioned so far, they might get more retweets and hearts (formerly favorites) than anyone!

They have rabid fans that follow their every tweet. 

If you're a gamer you'll love that they also tweet out when they are experiencinproblems with their game:

Great use of Twitter!

19. JetBlue Airways

JetBlue is known for doing things differently than other old, boring airlines! 

How they use Twitter is no different.

They don't take themselves very seriously at all on Twitter!

They constantly post contests and funny tweets to get the attention of their nearly 2 million followers.

This video they tweeted recently is a prime example of that:

Well done guys!

What Did You Learn? 

While follower count isn't everything, I think it is interesting to look at these best examples of how top brands use Twitter to see what they are doing well.

And if you notice -- many of them have the same or very similar attributes.

Bottom line is... brands that are killing it on Twitter do these things which tend to get lots of engagement and followers:

• Post great content
• Post often
• Be human 
• Post funny images and videos
• Mainly post images (even with link posts)
• Respond to mentions 
• Retweet posts from followers
• Maintain a relevant (and fresh) cover photo and avatar 

Now that you know what areas are most important and how they complement each other on Twitter -- you have some guidance for your own brand.

While these techniques are coming from major brands, anyone can implement them on Twitter.

Take these handy tips and use them as a launchpad for your own brand's Twitter success.

For even more Twitter tips, grab a copy of our latest Twitter infographic below.

You'll be glad you did!

           

Co-author of Facebook All-In-One for Dummies and "Ambassador of Awesome" at Post Planner, Scott became addicted to social media before even MySpace (the first time around!). Scott handles training for the Post Planner app as well as Customer Support, Blogging and Social Media. He's been married for 21 years and has 3 kiddos who are his world! Connect with him on Facebookand Twitter.

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Volkswagen scandal might force it to sell luxury brands

The Volkswagen saga continues, as the company deals with the aftermath of its emissions scandal. According to Reuters, the German automaker has secured a loan of roughly 20 billion euros in order to pay for resulting lawsuits and to compensate consumers whose cars are now worth less following the admission. However, there's a catch. In order to assure that it can pay back the loan, Volkswagen had to confirm that it's prepared to sell off some of its smaller holdings including Bentley, Lamborghini and Ducati.

As Road and Track notes, these are considered to be the automaker's smaller investments because the cars and motorbikes are made in limited quantity and only serve a specific market. Another alternative is that Volkswagen can sell its holdings in MAN, a supplier of ship engines, generators and heavy-duty industrial components. Even so, it has been estimated that the automaker might owe upwards of 78 billion euros in assorted damages, so selling the abovementioned could just be a drop in the ocean of financial debt.

Water as a Climate

MIAMI — The ordinary man settled into his ordinary ritual.

He lay down at the bottom of the empty, cubelike aquarium with his fluffed-up pillow, crawled under his sheet and shut his eyes. But he was roused abruptly by a stream of water, and in less than a minute he was a man whose day had turned topsy-turvy: He floated and twisted, rose and sank, fought and surrendered. Then, just as suddenly, the water level dropped, only to rise and fall again for the next 45 minutes while spectators sat mesmerized.

As scientists and politicians in Pariswrestle with the complexities of battling climate change, here in Miami, an artist, Lars Jan, is inviting people to view it in a way, he said, that makes people “feel climate change in their guts, rather than just understand it.”

When Mr. Jan brought his installation, “Holoscenes,” to Miami Dade College this week to coincide with the annual Art Basel extravaganza, he knew Miami was the ideal city to spotlight the increasingly delicate dance of climate change, water and everyday life. The ocean, after all, made the city famous.

“I know how exposed Miami is, and Florida,” said Lars Jan, 37, in Miami, who developed the concept for his installation after seeing the damage wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.

JASON HENRY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

But today Miami and particularly ritzy Miami Beach across the causeway are more vulnerable to sea level rise than almost any other place in the country, and now the bill has come due. Roads must be raised, water pumps updated, homes built high off the ground, sewage plants safeguarded, and estuaries and the Everglades protected from encroaching saltwater. And no one knows if that will ever be enough.

“I know how exposed Miami is, and Florida,” said Mr. Jan, 37, who developed the concept for his installation after seeing the damage wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and stumbling across a particularly vivid photograph of a major flood in Pakistan. “It was classically beautiful, but it depicted a horrific situation. It opened a door that I walked through, and I kept walking.”

Mr. Jan, who lives in Los Angeles and is half-Afghan, half-Polish, immersed himself in research on floods and climate change. In time, his visualization of rising seas in mundane situations led him to the human aquarium, where the idea plays out in eight scenes. They depict everyday life jumbled by the rise and fall of water and arrived via video submissions from the public.

Inside the aquarium rising from the middle of a well-trafficked plaza, there is a man tuning a guitar. A woman putting on and taking off an abaya, the overgarment worn by Muslim women. A couple engaged in a duet. There is hose guy — a man in sneakers and jeans who begins to coil and uncoil a garden hose (a frustrating task even on land). The aquarium fills and empties unpredictably, over and over. The hose wafts from his clutch, and as it does he tumbles into fits of pique, resignation, futility and determination. Later, a fruit seller in Indian finery sits in the empty tank with her basket of persimmons. As the water rises, the persimmons float away. Sometimes frantically, sometimes placidly, she gathers them once again.

A couple engaged in a duet as an aquarium fills and empties unpredictably, over and over, to symbolize the uncontrollable nature of climate change.

JASON HENRY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The project, Mr. Jan said, is as much about the ability to adapt as the ability to fight back. And while it was serendipitous that world leaders gathered this week to discuss climate change, Mr. Jan said he was hoping to reach people in a way that eschewed statistics and scientific treatises.

“The conversation needs to happen on the street,” he said.

Pulling off the project took imagination as well: calibrating the hydraulic rise and fall of water; allaying the fears of sponsors who worried about performers drowning (they can breathe at the surface); training performers to hold their breath for extended periods (sometimes more than three minutes); designing costumes that are waterproof yet billowy (the bedtime sheet is actually a shower curtain).

“What’s amazing is that in all of these situations you feel yourself adapt,” said Geoff Sobelle, 40, the choreographer and performer who coils the hose, describing life in the tank. “There is a sense of surrendering.”

For Jannet Dannon-Mairena, 45, watching “Holoscenes” with her three home-schooled children, an element of fear courses through the water scenes. A Miami resident, she joked that she was already building her boat in her backyard, just in case. But she said the scenes also depict a loss of control, which is really where the fear is rooted.

“They are struggling to do all the things they used to but, with all the changes, now they can’t,” she said. “The water coming up and down, it’s like the points in your life when you think, now I have it under control, and you don’t.”

Roseanne Friedlander, 62, a retired airline employee, could not resist making a political quip as she watched the performance. “It’s ironic that with all the water rising around Florida, our governor doesn’t want us to mention climate change,” she said.

Ms. Friedlander was referring to reports this year from former state environmental protection employees who said that Gov. Rick Scott’s administration had unofficially banned the term “climate change.” Mr. Scott has said no such policy exists.

Yet, there is no question the topic remains contentious. Climate change, and its proposed solutions, is equally unpopular among Republican presidential candidates, who express skepticism about the science and a reluctance to act in ways they say could hurt the economy.

Watching the man in the tank struggle with the hose, Ms. Friedlander concluded that he was not adapting very well. “You can’t fight water,” she said.

Jeb Bush’s Team Tries to Soothe Donor Concerns

MIAMI —  Jeb Bush’s backers have watched as Mr. Bush debuted his White House bid amid chatter of inevitability, then plummeted in polls. They have seen him bungle a debate performance, losing a pivotal exchange to his one-time protégé, Senator Marco Rubio. And they have observed as Mr. Bush, in small towns and big cities, has proved a much less gifted campaigner than they anticipated.

So on Saturday, as many of the Bush faithful descended on the Biltmore Hotel near Miami to hear from Mr. Bush himself, he and his aides tried to put their most optimistic spin on a campaign that, so far, has failed to meet — let alone exceed — its early expectations.

The final quarterly gathering of donors this year came on the same weekend as Art Basel, and in a nod to Miami’s glittering art festival, Mr. Bush’s donor event was billed as “Pop Art, Politics and Jeb,” and featured a reception at the studio of Romero Britto, whose bright-colored paintings and sculptures are beloved by the city. (In a street art flourish, a video attached to an invitation showed a tattooed graffiti artist spray-painting “All In For Jeb” in bubbly letters on the side of a Dumpster.) 

The agenda for the three-hour donor meeting, which was closed to the news media, included a question-and-answer session with Mr. Bush, as well as Danny Diaz, the campaign manager, and Sally Bradshaw, a senior adviser; and presentations from Eric Cantor, the former House majority leader, and Brett Doster, the campaign’s South Carolina director.

Interactive Graphic | Who’s Winning the Presidential Campaign? History suggests that each party’s eventual nominee will emerge from 2015 in one of the top two or three positions, as measured by endorsements, fund-raising and polling.

The campaign also presented new internal polling data from New Hampshire. The data found that terrorism and national security are the top issues there and that, according to an aide, “There are half a dozen people within the margin of error competing for second place in New Hampshire, and Governor Bush is very strongly positioned with the best ground game in the state.”

The general Bush pitch hinges on restoring a traditional framework to an election in which — so far, at least — the traditional rules of politics have ceased to apply, and where unconventional outsiders like Donald J. Trump have ridden a frenzy of visceral voter anger to the top of the polls.

Bush supporters argue that voters in Iowa and New Hampshire decide late, and that historically voters ultimately settle on someone more like Mr. Bush, a moderate candidate with a proven record. Mr. Bush, they add, has both the money (his “super PAC” has raised over $100 million) and the organization to stay in the race until the field becomes less crowded, at which point they hope Mr. Bush will fare better.

“If you go back to the Howard Dean days or the Gary Hart days or the Ted Kennedy days, and in our party you can do the same, the only conclusion you can reach is that those at the top of the heap polling-wise are never at the top of the heap when the real races begin,” Al Cardenas, a Bush adviser and friend who did not attend the event, said by phone.

Nonetheless, despite the publicly optimistic outlook, the private mood among many donors and aides is grim. One, asked recently to name which three candidates will ultimately fight for the Republican nomination, did not even mention Mr. Bush.

There have been concerns that the Bush team made a strategic mistake when it moved Mike Murphy — a Republican image-maker and close confidant of Mr. Bush — to the super PAC side, to run what was originally billed as a shadow campaign. Now, because of rules restricting coordination between campaigns and super PACs, Mr. Murphy, who is known as the candidate whisperer, is unable to whisper to his own candidate, who could very much use the help right now.

Saturday’s gathering was less of a production than previous donor confabs, including one in Houston in October, which featured President George W. Bush, and one over the summer at the Bush family compoundin Kennebunkport, Me., where the family has a house. Many ardent Bush supporters did not make the journey, for reasons including business trips, the holiday season and family commitments.

Right to Rise, a super PAC supporting Mr. Bush, did not fly in its team to put on an official presentation. But last week, at a breakfast in Washington, D.C., Mr. Murphy did brief donors on plans for a 15-minute documentary, which will run online and on the New England Sports Network and which the group hopes will introduce voters to “Jeb’s story.”

According to someone briefed on the group’s thinking and speaking anonymously to reveal candid discussions, Right to Rise is also debating whether to explicitly attack Mr. Rubio, Mr. Bush’s former mentee and fellow Floridian, who is competing with him for donor support and will likely prove a formidable obstacle in the Florida primary.

At the Romero Britto event, trendy young professionals clad in Miami chic — more Art Basel than staid political event — filed into a black warehouse covered in neon graffiti, where Mr. Bush mingled and Mr. Britto unveiled a painting he had made supporting the campaign.

The crowd was dynamic, with the very sort of energy Mr. Bush needs to harness. But just across the street, seeming to keep a watchful eye, was yet another reminder of the challenges Mr. Bush still faces — a pop-art mural rendering of Mr. Trump, crossed with Ronald McDonald.

Inside Venezuela's tower of neglect

It might reasonably have been labelled the Tower of Goliath in recognition of its scale and the scare stories that abound about life inside. But, instead, it has become known as the Tower of David, in homage to the man who conceived its construction: the Venezuelan banking tycoon David Brillembourg. 

Once the eighth-tallest building in Latin America, the Tower of David overlooks its immediate neighbour, the Venezuelan capital's financial and administrative district, and the rest of the Caracas skyline. The unfinished 45-floor skyscraper of bare concrete, bricks and cement began life in 1990 as the intended headquarters of Brillembourg's bank and home to a hotel, shops and a heliport. 

Then, in 1993, Brillembourg died, and his Confinanzas group passed into the hands of his son. A year later, a banking crisis brought the company to bankruptcy. Construction of what was due to be called the Confinanzas Complex ceased. In 2001, the Venezuelan government held a public auction but nobody wanted to buy the incomplete giant. Soon after, it was looted; not even its windows were left behind.

In 2007, the first of around 2,000 families began moving in.

" Many of us settled here because we didn't have a place to live; others came after being denied the possibility of renting a house because of the fact that they had children ," explains William Gatian , who has lived in the tower since 2008.

As rents increased across the city, others joined their ranks – the empty complex offering their only option.

" The latest census counted 1,156 families , that is 4,438 people living in the tower ," says Ernesto Villegas , the minister for the urban transformation of Caracas, who is now overseeing the relocation of those residents.

At first they lived in tents, and some of the earliest inhabitants talk of high rates of crime and violence. Then, Alexander "el Nino" Daza, a former convict turned evangelical pastor, moved in, imposing order upon the community.

Now, certain rules govern life in the tower. Men, for example, cannot enter its corridors bare-chested, walking barefoot is not permitted, and children may only play in the corridors – several children are alleged to have fallen to their deaths from the tower, which lacks walls and windows in places – during fixed hours and under the supervision of an adult. In addition to these, all of the residents must make a monthly payment of 200 bolivars (about $30) towards the cost of cleaning crews and maintaining security. 

While some didn't have to pay anything to move in, others say they were charged. Ms Mary, a former resident who has already been relocated, says she paid 2,000 bolivars (about $315). Lisbeth Tailor insists she paid 7,000 bolivars (about $1,102) in 2012.

Once allocated a space in the building, most residents set about transforming it into a home – putting down flooring and decorating walls. Some of the apartments have been divided into two – with one section serving as a living space and the other as a business in the form of a hairdresser's or shop. None of them has running water but there is ample electricity. 

A bicycle left behind on the 25th floor by a family who have moved out [Alejandro Cegarra/Al Jazeera]

The government began relocating residents from the tower, which has been featured in the US series Homeland, in July, 2014. By mid-August of that year, Minister Ernesto Villegas explained: "Four hundred and thirty-four families were voluntarily resettled in houses provided by the social programme Gran Mision Vivienda Venezuela . This is a total of 1,690 people, 38 percent of the initial population of the tower ." 

The residents are being moved to government apartments on the outskirts of Caracas. Some have already been transferred to Ciudad Zamora, in the satellite city of Cua, an hour's drive from downtown Caracas. Others will be resettled in Charallave and Caucagua – a similar distance away.

The relocations began with the upper floors. A s the families left, the apartments were demolished and the storeys closed down. Here, doors now open on to empty spaces littered with the abandoned objects of former residents – odd shoes and children's bicycles; remnants of the lives once lived here.

What the future holds for the tower is unclear and President Nicolas Maduro has suggested a public debate on the matter . Villegas explains: " There are several options on the table, ranging from demolition to rehabilitation, but this decision has not yet been made."  Just what will become of its residents appears just as uncertain.  

A child dances during a family meeting on the ground floor of a building in Ciudad Zamora [Alejandro Cegarra/Al Jazeera]

---

Meet the residents 

Luis Alfonso – 'Every man for himself and God for everyone’ 

Luis watches the sun set from the tower as he contemplates leaving [Alejandro Cegarra/Al Jazeera]

Luis Alfonso observes the horizon through a glassless window in the Tower of David. He  can see every detail of every corner of Caracas from here, although he has barely walked the streets below in the few months he has been in town - not even to buy the supplies he needs to make the food that reminds him of his homeland.

As he looks off into the distance, the man from the coastal city of Cartagena in Colombia says: "I dream a lot. Miss, a lot. I dream to distract myself, to imagine, to occupy my mind so it doesn't dwell on bad things."

He daydreams as he walks along the Tower of David's 17th floor, where he sits to feel the breeze and tries to recall the smell of the sea. He lives on the floor below, with his daughter, son-in-law and 10-year-old grandson. Today, these two floors are his world, for he rarely leaves them. With no lift, the trek downstairs is a mission for anyone, but for Alfonso and his troublesome left knee, it is an ordeal. 

"They are 65 years old," he says of his knees. In Cartagena, his other daughter's insurance covered his medical expenses. In Caracas he goes to an Integral Diagnostic Centre (CDI) provided by the social programme Gobierno Mission Barrio Adentro. There, Cuban doctors see to him. "Little by little, I believe I'll improve and then I can go for a walk," he says, smiling.  

Alfonso's lilt is reminiscent of a gentle tide but his large, leathery hands are restless. Decades ago, they kneaded bread. "Do you know the Pan de Bono? The recipe is very simple," he asks, recalling from memory each ingredient and the amount that should be used.  

Before leaving Colombia, he had a fruit and vegetable stand in a market but says "the work situation is not very good" there. He hoped Venezuela would open up new possibilities. 

So after obtaining a passport, he travelled overland to Caracas. He does not have a residence permit, and his three-month tourist visa has expired. That is another reason why he does not go out on to the streets.

"There is no question of going out without papers," he explains. Otherwise, he says he would have explored the capital and sought a girlfriend to accompany him during his lonely days. "We could dance vallenato and salsa too," he says.

Of the women living in the Tower of David, he says, it is best simply to "be polite, say good morning and that's it because you never know if they have a husband and it's better to stay out of trouble". 

His philosophy, he explains, is: "I live peacefully [and] mind my own business. I don't get involved in the affairs of others. Every man for himself and God for all. In this way, problems are avoided."

Although he has not witnessed any violence in the tower, he does not like the building much, except for "el fresquito - the breeze that always flows through".  

The remnants of an apartment on the 28th floor of the Tower of David [Alejandro Cegarra/Al Jazeera]

The apartment where he lives with his daughter and her family is, he says, "a little thing" but they manage.

They will soon have to move, however. "They will give a new home to my daughter. They say they are large with several rooms, lots of light ... and running water. They need that more than anything, because what we have here is a water pump that fails every so often," he says. 

Alfonso says he hopes that when he is relocated, he will receive the promised residency card. "They said they were going to give it to us, that if we have no problems with the law, there would be no problem." This would make it easier for him to get work doing "whatever". If not, he will be forced to return to Cartagena, to see what remains of the fruit stand he left with a friend.

For now, however, he watches the chaos of Caracas from far above as others go about their business, moving their feet to the beat of 'Altos del Rosario'. 

---

Lisbeth Tailor – 'It's my house, it's peace of mind' 

Lisbeth poses for a portrait displaying the tattoos that were the work of her tattoo artist boyfriend, Ender [Alejandro Cegarra/Al Jazeera]

Before she was relocated to a state-subsidised apartment in Ciudad Zamora, an hour's drive from downtown Caracas, 31-year-old Lisbeth Tailor lived with her two sons, her mother, her sister and her partner, Ender Puertoreal 'el Negro' in a small, 20 square metre apartment in the Tower of David.  

She grew up in the largest barrio or slum in Latin America, Caracas' Jose Felix Ribas, before leaving with Ender for another state in search of work. Most weekends they travelled the 390 miles back to Caracas to see their children who stayed with Lisbeth's mother.

When they moved back to Caracas, they struggled to find somewhere to live. "It was very difficult to find somewhere to rent, because nobody opens the door if you have kids, or you have to pay a seven-month deposit and we didn't have the money," Lisbeth explains. 

For a few days, Lisbeth and Ender stayed in a hotel that charged by the hour – checking in at night and leaving in the morning with just the clothes on their backs and what little they could carry in a backpack. Their most valuable possessions remained, like their children, with Lisbeth's mother. 

Then in 2012, Lisbeth and Ender moved into a friend's room in the Tower of David. "One day a friend told me they had a room in the tower. It scared me at first because of all the stories I had heard," says Ender, a former boxer.

As soon as they found their own place in the tower, Lisbeth and Ender brought their children. Her mother and sister followed later. 

A man takes a photograph from the west facade of the Tower of David [Alejandro Cegarra/Al Jazeera]

They quickly set about making a living. For Ender, who had learned how to tattoo while in prison in the United States and had perfected the art back in his native Puerto Rico, that was easy. He estimates that during his two years living in the tower, he tattooed more than 1,500 people.

For her part, Lisbeth, who sells sodas and sweets, says she is not ashamed of scrubbing floors, cleaning and waitressing. "Shame is not working. Shame is stealing," she says, adding: "But I know that with 'el Negro' there is no problem. He knows everything and we find solutions."

When Lisbeth walked through the door of her new home in Ciudad Zamora, she says she could not believe how big it was. Her room alone was larger than the entire space they had left. Her children who could previously only play outside when watched, and therefore spent most of their time indoors, are now able to run in the streets. The oldest has even joined a football team organised by the new inhabitants of Ciudad Zamora.  

"I have my privacy and, after so much time going from here to there, I have my house," Lisbeth says as she prepares for a Sunday barbecue. "I'll pay for little by little, but it's my house. It's peace of mind."

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Belkis and Saturnino – 'A roof of my own' 

Belkis, left, and Saturnino sit outside their new apartment in Ciudad Zamora [Alejandro Cegarra/Al Jazeera]

Belkis touches the place where the lumps used to be. "They just took the bad. They didn't have to remove the entire breast," explains the 49-year-old Colombian. 

Just a few weeks ago, she lived in a small room without windows and into which sewage would sometimes leak. Now, she proudly shows off her new home. "A roof that is finally mine," she declares.

Her new ground floor apartment in Ciudad Zamora has "an enormous window" and overlooks a garden. It may be just a patch of grass but to Belkis it is the Garden of Eden when compared with her former home in the Tower of David. 

She was happy to leave the tower and was, because of her health problems and those of her diabetic partner, one of the first on the list for relocation. "It was very hard to live with those sewage leaks," she says, still smiling.

Belkis is nothing if not a fighter and has refused to be intimidated by either cancer or her economic circumstances. When the restaurant where she worked closed down, Belkis used the settlement she received to buy a fridge-freezer from which she started selling homemade ice cream. Later, she bought a larger one, which is now filled with a range of flavours.

Then she expanded her business: selling clothes that customers pay for little by little, according to their economic means.

From the shade of the common staircase, Saturnino watches Belkis as she talks. The 58-year-old Colombian has lived in Venezuela for more than 30 years. But it was on a trip to his native Barranquillas in Colombia that he met Belkis. "She fell in love with me, so much so that she came to Caracas with me," he says.

"If he wants to live with that illusion, we'll let him believe that," Belkis responds, giggling. 

For Saturnino, who is prone to seeing the positive in most things, the move to Ciudad Zamora has been for the best – even if he has to get up at 4am in order to start his job as a security guard at a bank. "Before I was always late, always owing 20 minutes to my colleagues," he says. "Now I get to work two hours early. It's a big difference." 

His commute involves walking to the bus stop, taking a bus to the train station, then an hour-long train ride into the capital. Once there, he has to take the underground. If he makes the trip after 5am, he encounters congestion and will be late for work. 

"I close my eyes and open them again to realise that, my God, it's true, I have my own home," Saturnino says. "After 30 years of fighting in this country, I have my own home. This is something I will never forget because no government in the world gives homes like this to people, much less to foreigners. I thank God every day for this project initiated by President Chavez."

Then, when he isn't watching, Belkis takes out a photograph of the two of them at a wedding. "Look at those eyes he's giving me in this photo, just there behind me waiting," she says. "He was the one who fell in love with me."

Colombia says it has found 'holy grail' of shipwrecks

An undated photo released by Colombian authorities shows pots at the archaeological site of the Spanish galleon San Jose [EPA]

One of the world's most valuable shipwrecks has been found by Colombia's military off the coast of the city of Cartagena, President Juan Manual Santos announced. 

The long-lost Spanish treasure galleon San Jose was carrying a large cargo of gold and precious stones when it was sunk during an attack by a British warship on June 8, 1708. 

"This constitutes one of the greatest - if not the biggest, as some say - discoveries of submerged patrimony in the history of mankind," said Santos during a press conference on Saturday in Cartagena.

Colombian President Santos told reporters that the exact location of the ship was a state secret [EPA]

"The Colombian government will continue its investigative process of exploring and protecting submerged cultural patrimony," he added.

Reporting from the Colombian capital Bogota, Al Jazeera's Alessandro Rampietti said the San Jose was believed to be "the holy grail of a shipwreck", with a trove that is "valued somewhere between $4bn to $17bn".

He added that researchers "have no doubt" that after decades of searching they have finally discovered the San Jose shipwreck as "they were able to see the brass cannons that were unique to that ship and that had dolphins carved on them".

Rampietti said that Santos, despite his enthusiasm during the press conference, did not reveal many details about the discovery, saying that the exact location of the ship was currently a state secret.

Legal quarrel

A long-running legal dispute has been at the centre of the issue of San Jose's ownership for years.

The government's announcement did not shed light on a legal wrangle with Sea Search Armada (SSA), a U.S.-based salvage company which had a long-standing suit against Bogota over ownership of the wreck. SSA said in 1981 it had located the area in which the ship sank.

SSA and the government were partners back then and adhering to international custom, they agreed to split any proceeds. The government later said any treasure would belong to Colombia.

In 2011, a U.S. court declared the galleon property of the Colombian state.

100 Best Websites For Entrepreneurs, 2015

“A word of warning about choosing to start a startup: It sucks! One of the most consistent pieces of feedback we get from YC founders is it’s harder than they could have ever imagined.”

That’s how Y Combinator President Sam Altman tells it in his Startup Playbook. No matter how prepared you think you are to start up, staff up or scale up, there’s a long line of founders who could share something valuable. That’s what inspired us to create this list of the 100 Best Websites For Entrepreneurs. In picking the sites, we looked for frequent posts, actionable advice and a collection of content that can be reviewed as needed. Listed in alphabetical order, the sites offer help with all aspects of building a business.

Some of the highlights to be found include Steve Blank writing about Lean Startup techniques and Paul Grahamwriting about seed-stage companies, including some counter-intuitive arguments that are likely to make you think. We also collected tools like Ornicept (THE tool for assessing the size of your market), Startup Stash (a startup multivitamin, of sorts, that rounds up devices to help you get going) and Shake (where you can find hiring templates, non-disclosure agreements and other legal documents).

If you’d rather listen than read, the more than a dozen podcasts on the list are probably for you.

Best of all, no matter how successful your company, it’s a list that you will never outgrow, with sites like Coursera, where you can take classes from all across the country, and Stack Overflow, where you can get help with even your toughest coding questions.

Have other sites that you use daily? Share them in the comments below.