26
2008
Overhype Alert: Twitter
Twitter’s cool. It’s becoming a bit of a darling with the traditional media and bloggers. Growth continues to impress (greater than 750,000).
At the same time, its numbers pale in comparison to major social networks. In the case of MySpace, Twitter has less than one percent of its total user accounts. And its penetration within the U.S. population is currently at 0.1 percent.
Also, consider how many people try Twitter and don’t take to the social media form. These are common complaints that I hear often. Yet, dormant accounts count in Twitter’s stats (as well as the other social networks).
Twitter’s a big conversation channel amongst PR and marketing types. And perhaps because it’s with big PR types, it’s now become a sexy story with the media. It’s easy to see why. Both Larissa Fair and I actively enjoy the social scene and camaraderie on Twitter.
At the same time, it’s important to keep the network’s relative impact on the larger social media scene in perspective. That impact is growing, but has not exceeded the kind of numbers that make it a tour de force… Yet.
Jared Goralnick Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Looking at the numbers you make a great point…one that I hadn’t considered. But to play devil’s advocate, Twitter seems much more conversational and is certainly more real-time than the other networks, offering a very different dynamic.
A few other thoughts:
* As you pointed out last week, Twitter often serves as one of the best back channels for discovering information and thus getting the word out, especially to people you’re not that connected with
* Twitter has a different standard for connection than Facebook or LinkedIn and thus can be an easier way to connect with folks you have no ties to
* Twitter usually makes it to Google or something indexed, unlike many features of the other social networks
* Twitter is the only site with reliable mini-feeds–in that you have no guarantee what content of yours will show up in other sites’ minifeeds but you know that your Twitter posts will show up (whether or not people notice those posts is another thought entirely)
* Twitter has more mobile reach and thus is much more persistent than the other social networks
I completely agree that it’s numbers pale in comparison but I just wanted to point out that there are a lot of reasons to get involved with Twitter that are very different than the numbers. Then again, I’m likely preaching to the choir over at the Buzz Bin as you’re much more active on Twitter than I’ll likely ever be!
setjared on Twitter
Martin Ringlein Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 9:59 am
I don’t know … I’ve never heard any of the Twitter hype be about their numbers or even coming close to reaching mass-adoption. The hype is more about the technology and how it fundamentally changes how those who use it communicate with one another. Twitter hype is more about form and function than audience numbers and growth … and there I believe is no “over” hype (yet).
Internet Marketing Joy Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 10:24 am
I’m also a member of Twitter and I really enjoyed using it. It’s very easy and efficient to use. I remember the first time I signed up, I was having a hard time to say what I want to say given the numbers of limited characters. Now, after months of using it, I’m getting used to it already..^^
I agree with you, Twitter is not there…Yet..^^
Your page is now on StumbleUpon! Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Jay Berkowitz Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 10:29 am
The Twitter adoption curve is typically:
- neat, what is it for
- I don’t get it
- wow that is an interesting link
- hey there’s cool stuff on here all the time
- I can’t live without Twitter
Once people ‘get it’ it really sticks. Many of us who do get it, are already bored with MySpace and/or Facebook. I wonder how many MySpace pages sit dormant?
Last thought, once you experience a conference with a unique twitter group you’ll never want to be without one. We created asw08 at Affiliate Summit (on now in Las Vegas Feb 23-26, 2008) and it is amazing to see all of the tweets from attendees, and catch ‘inside scoop’.
Lauren Vargas Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Twitter is one of my fave industry back channels. It is what it is and nothing more. To me, Twitter is all about thought leadership and crowdsourcing.
Martin Ringlein Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Twitter at its essence is a communication tool – how that communication is leveraged and utilized is dictated by you, the user. Whether you’re a project development team, a connected group of colleagues or even just a group of friends – Twitter is what you and your group ultimately make of it.
I ranted a bit about this awhile ago … Twitter is contextual to the individual … no two people twitter exactly the same.
Twitter for business, defined for those who don’t get it
Geoff Livingston Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Interesting responses. Twitterers are blood loyal, that’s for sure. I do love it as some of you have referenced, and just created a blogpotomac account yesterday (twitter.com/blogpotomac).
But at the same time, as a marketer I have to acknowledge that it’s not a mass social media tool yet. I think it really gets back to your stakeholders. It may not be the right place yet. I think it’s got limited vertical uses.
Lionel Menchaca Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I agree with Jeff Jarvis take on Twitter (http://www.buzzmachine.com/2008/02/25/twitter/)
I know they’ve got some infrastructure issues to deal with, but to me, Twitter has the potential to close the response gap to seconds like Jeff recommends.
I think Twitter’s simplicity is key. That’s what makes it useful. It’s rapidly becoming one of the quickest ways for folks to get in touch with me.
I have a Facebook account, but use that far less than I use Twitter. Part of the reason why is that I find Facebook’s interface kind of kludgy.
Twitter, via Twhirl by contrast, absolutely rocks. All the Twitter functionality packed into a streamlined interface.
Very cool in my book.
Andy Badera Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 11:32 am
How can it be overhyped, if most people have never heard of it? Facebook is overhyped. YouTube? Overhyped, but still, I see growing value there, or in similar web 2.0 video hosting services.
Now, if you’re asking, is it over-hyped among those who have jumped on the bandwagon, I’d say absolutely, there’s a good chance a lot of devotees make a lot more of it than it is.
That said, I think it has the capacity to be more than it is, to reach more people than it does. Not with the current web interface or choppy backend support by any means, but I think it has a lot of potential as a medium.
I look at it as an always-on party line, at any time I can tap in and get the low-down on a wide variety of topics, or I can pipe in some info of my own, and get a pretty good response rate, thanks to the way I can tailor those “dispatches” in terms of who receives them, and what I have to say about them.
Laura Thomas Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 11:53 am
I just have to say that I hope this doesn’t turn out to do for Twitter what Clay Shirky’s “numbers” post did for Second Life - turning the focus away from what the new technology promises and putting it simply on adoption numbers. Not every new technology will be for everyone, but talking about how many people aren’t using it becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy IMHO. Like how they’ve been saying the U.S. is heading into recession for so long now that people are beginning to believe we’re already there.
Technotheory.com - Why Twitter isn’t for everyone, and where to find Twitter value Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
[...] motivation for this post was Geoff Livingston’s discussion of how the number of Twitter users “pales in comparison to major social [...]
Martin Ringlein Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I have to agree with Andy … where is the hype for it to be over-hyped? Has anyone actually been hyping the user numbers of twitter and actually comparing them to other popular more mass-adopted social networks?
The hype of twitter is coming only from its form and function — no one (that I know of) has compared it to others with respect to numbers. I think we are all waiting and think most realize there won’t be a mass adoption of Twitter, but there will be a change in how we as a mass population communicate with each other that will be attributed to the innovation set forth by Twitter. Again, Twitter only exists because of the flaws in other communication mediums.
What really gets most people hung-up on Twitter and its value, in my opinion, is that most of its function (hence, existence) is a result of lack of basic functionality missing from communication tools already in-use within our market place. If our instant messaging clients let us create groups and send one IM that hit the entire group – that would be like Twitter. If cell phone providers let us group our phonebook contacts and send an SMS to that group – that would be like Twitter. However, someone came along and did something similar to both of these things and that actually is Twitter.
Krista Neher Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Twitter is like an RSS Feed for all sorts of information - blog posts, interesting articles, funny videos, personal lives and general randomness.
The addictiveness of Twitter reminds me of the early stages of Myspace or Facebook. Lots of excitement. Lots of new friends. Lots of interesting comments. The question is will it stick or is it just a trend?
Martin Ringlein Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
@Krista, I think that is a misconception of those who don’t use Twitter but look at how to monetize it. Yes, Twitter is addictive, but not because it is like an RSS reader of sorts.
Twitters adoption numbers to-date are more attributed to the “checking of away messages” phenomena that became an addictive popular feature of those using instant messaging clients. But look at NYTimes and CNN on Twitter — both have less than 3,000 followers and Obama has only 6,000 (all of these organizations use Twitter to disseminate information much like RSS rather than use it to be conversational). I agree that some people use Twitter as an RSS reader of sorts, but not the masses, the masses on Twitter, (not yet at least).
Most go to Digg, Delicious or Mixx to get an RSS fee like dissemination of content for “blog posts, interesting articles, funny videos [...] and general randomness” … twitter is more focused on the “personal lives” aspect of it all. Twitter is great because it is conversational, but powerful because it is so personal. You never see at “@NyTimes” … because the NYTimes never writes back.
Maria Reyes-McDavis Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Great post, so many ride the hype and never really look at the numbers…
Thanks!
M.
Sonny Gill Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Twitter is awesome for what it is. For us marketers, it’s a great place for us to connect with industry leaders and influencers who blast out messages, blog posts and links specific to our niche.
On the flip side, how is Twitter going to appeal to the community that isn’t in this marketing/PR niche? I’m interested to see how they will further evolve the technology to where it will reach out to more than just early adopters in the tech/mktg realm and attack a larger population than the tiny percentile shown above.
The District of Corruption Show » District of Corruption #9: Twitter, Scoble and Coworking Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
[...] the lines of a protocol that other companies and innovators can build on? Geoff had a post that stirred up some controversy along these lines [...]
Fredrik Johnsen Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Think it’s great that someone takes a step back and urges us all to make a reality check with Twitter. While I love the service myself, it is quite unstable, and I think you’re right on the spot when you say that this is something that’s embraced by PR types. Then again, there might be some small communities of Twitter happy scuba divers and NASCAR fans out there.
But let’s not hype Twitter to something it is not.
Mark Dykeman Says:
February 26th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
I’ve previously said that Twitter has the potential to replace both chat rooms and IM (although Gtalk does keep getting a bit fancier as time goes on). I think that’s where its value may lie.
I’m currently on my second trial with Twitter. The first time I only lasted a few weeks, mainly because I didn’t know anyone else who used it (ironically enough, I was “followed” by Fred Thompson for awhile, but only because I managed to follow him first…)
Twitter is evolving into a social media playground - I see a number of the social news/blogging users there, too and obviously you see your PR peers there as well. It’s a great mass communication medium… for the like-minded.
Thing is, I really don’t have a feel for how Twitter will do within the mainstream community (i.e. outside of us early adopters). In some ways it might poach some of the Facebook crowd who care less about sharing photos and more about keeping in touch with each other. However, since you really can’t seggregate Twitter conversations into groups (unless you use multiple Twitter accounts), I’m betting that many people will find Twitter to be too much like a crowded chatroom.
Good article.
At any rate, your comments
Advertising Jobs, Marketing Jobs and PR Jobs - TalentZoo Says:
February 27th, 2008 at 10:15 am
MarkDykeman's profile - StumbleUpon Says:
February 27th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Rick Julian Says:
February 27th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Re: Twitter, I’m still at the kid-in-the-candy-store stage so it’s all good for me. Once the novelty dust begins to fall off I may feel differently; Here’s my take on my first seven days of Twittering “From Idiot to Genius . . .”
http://www.quo-vadis.tv/rickjulian/2008/02/25/from-idiot-to-genius-my-first-7-days-on-twitter/
Liberate Media » Blog Archive » Best weekly round up of social media and web 2.0 resources for week ending 29th Feb 2008 Says:
February 29th, 2008 at 7:36 am
[...] Overhype Alert: Twitter . [...]
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[...] has received so much press and start-up hype because it’s largely used by a community of influencers, which is fueling its growth. [...]
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