Readers of both my blogs will know that I am far from being a fan of Twitter, and I’m not even on Facebook any more because I’ve been hacked twice and had to put up with a lot of very pissed off people who think I’ve been bombarding them with spam. I never was on MySpace, because that seems to be inhabited by a bunch of illiterates, both graphically and verbally.
OK, I admit, I did open up a Twitter account, but closed it after a day, as it seemed like a giant waste of fu***ng time. Maybe Stephen Fry has nothing better to do when stuck in a lift, but I do, like perhaps talking to the people who are stuck in there with me. Anyway, as you probably know, there’s been increasing amounts of publicity recently about how only 10% of the “Twitterati” actually use the bloody thing more than once every August Bank Holiday. It’s even been on “The Beeb.”
What I found most interesting though, was that the study quoted on this says… “The top 10% of users accounted for 30% of all production. Which implies that Twitter's resembles more of a one-way, one-to-many publishing service more than a two-way, peer-to-peer communication network.” In other words it’s like a spam email program… But it limits you to 140 characters. As one of the researchers on the study says… “Twitter is a broadcast medium rather than an intimate conversation with friends.” Which, funnily enough, is what all the early adopters were claiming.
Apart from the fact that no one has figured out how to make money from it… I’ll lay odds that in a couple of years Twitter will be as popular as “Second Life.” Remember that?
It's only like a spam email program if you "follow" spammers - people or companies who tailor both their content and their followers (both are simply controlled with little time or effort) can use it an effective source of information (especially in combination with tools like Monitter) and a way of communicating a brand in a personable way. Of course people who just want "lots of followers" are going to be disappointed with the posts they see and the reaction to their own "Tweets", but that rule could apply to many online marketing methods.
I tend to agree with you George. The communication is limited, uncreative and seems to be a spammers paradise. It's not going to be around long - but what is these days? If I owned it, I would sell it and move on.
Mark
I once saw some research that suggested that just 10% of people create content (be it blogs or whatever) 20% respond to something the 10% have made and the remaining 70% only read (or follow). This is perhaps a factor in Twitter's growth curve tailing off.
Yes George. It's a total waste of time unless you're a complete airhead. It seems there's a lot of them about. Teenagers love it. They can talk nonsense all day long. I suppose it's the first rung on the ladder for some of them to have meaningful conversations, like when you ask that first girl out for a date and you're desperately waiting for her reply. It's really just texting with a challenege to get the story down to 140 characters. Another use? probably good for practising copywriting skills. Benefit? The smartest texter (or Twitterer) gets what he wants.
The thing is its not teenagers users it. The demographic is older. I blogged the other day about some really good uses that are emerging.
Ten ways that Twitter will change the way we live
It certainly is another window onto a world of useless information .. having said that - it's quite an important step in the evolution of our online lives & world.
If you're selective about who you follow, then it can be a little like a customized news feed .. which isn't just specific to 'the news' - but to your interests, and perhaps industry developments .. etc .. Like Facebook, it does also have some networking facets.. It can also be a way for a person or a company or a brand to connect with people and express what their about.
It can also be a way to jibber inane garbage and expect 1000's of people to think your are incredibly witty .. actually .. I think I might tweet that ... jibber jibber tweet tweet..
Guys...
Lots of good comments, all of which lead me to believe that like me, you consider the jury to be still out on the value, not of "social media" as a movement, but on the various, non-paying itterations of it. We all suffer from a very short attention span. As I have written ad nauseum, you only have to go back ten years to consider how carried away we all were with the promise of Web 1.0... Now we have hurtled through Web 2.0 and are are at Warp speed to Web.3.0 and counting. I wonder where the hell we will be in another ten years. I'll probably be in that big pub in the sky.
Cheers/George
Hi Gordon,
Interesting 'Ten ways to twitter". Perhaps a single key 999 call would be good for mobile users in an emergency. As for the Traders...I think they would be a bit concerned about who else may be listening to the twittering.
Here's the problem with Twitter: same message with 140 characters:
Interesting 'Ten ways to twitter". Perhaps a single key 999 call would be good for mobile users in an emergency. As for the Traders...I think
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Don't we always say Content is King?
Here it's Jack.
George Parker
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Member since: 03 Jun 2008
Last login: 17 Nov 2009
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