Twitter De - Twitter Dumb?
This post written from Starbucks in Oakhurst, NJ
I keep an open mind and try to look at everything from an optimistic point of view. There is not much happening on the web that I don’t get or can’t spin into a marketing strategy but I have to admit that when it comes to twitter – I don’t get it?
For those that don’t know, twitter is a social networking application that appeals primarily to the 18 – 24 year old group. If Blogging were reborn as an extreme sport it would be twitter. Twitter allows anyone to create a profile and post (twitter) snippets of their lives as they happen (in 140 character increments). Users twitter what is happening in their lives at that very moment. No matter how boring or mundane the activity, people twitter away. They twitter from their web browser, IM and from their cell phones. Twitter describes it as, “A global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question: What are you doing?”
As you can imagine, twitter messages are mind-numbingly trivial. Here is a sample of average twittering:
- Breathing deeply
- Relaxing on the couch
- Trying to wake up and go for a run before it heats up out there.
- Less than 5 hours till I see Transformers movie.
- On my way to work
- Going to bed
My first reaction to twitter was not positive. Do people really have nothing better to do? Have our lives become so boring that we need to read blow by blow updates on the rest of the populous? Are people that self absorbed that they think others want to live vicariously through them? Do we really need to catalog every minute of our lives? – Apparently.
There is no denying twitter’s popularity. I’m wildly impressed with the amount of people twitter has connected with. Not sure what the motivation is to twitter the day away or mindlessly scroll through random twitterings but you can’t argue with success. Twitter found an audience of loyal customers. They twitter in the morning, they twitter in the evening, they twitter all over this land.
As useless as I think twittering is I’ve come to the realization that just because I don’t use something does not make it worthless (it was a hard corner for me to turn). If you really put your mind to it you can extract value from almost anything. Try this on for size. If you have a product or service that targets the 18 – 24 year olds, before you finalize your marketing strategy you may want to spend some time on twitter. You can gather some truly amazing insight into where, how, when and why that age group does, well, everything. From a marketing and customer intelligence perspective does it really get any better then that?
Maybe twitters future is in customer intelligence? Possibly a global marketing focus group or part of another application? Perhaps it will just fade away when the twitter throng move on to the next hot thing?
Right now twitter is hot and the twittering masses are giving the world a glimpse into the happenings of their lives and people seem to like it so I say go for it. Twitter your brains out. Twitter until your fingers bleed but, if you crash into my car while you’re twittering on your cell phone I promise that your next twitter will be “getting my ass kicked”.
Share This Post!
July 10th, 2007 at 9:24 am
My feelings exactly. I find the name “twitter” demeaning — something twits would do, or birdbrains at best
I know some 30-somethings who use it, so the user base seems to be much wider. Nevertheless, it has got to be a marketing opportunity — how about a Bluetoothed device on your wrist that measures your pulse and other vital stats, then sends a twitter status message on your behalf 24×7. In my case, there would be a lot of:
Snoring now
Snoring now
Snoring now
Wife elbowing me now
etc
July 10th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
LOL! I like that! THe wrist device is too funny. I never thought about the “twit” part of the name - good catch!
July 12th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Creative idea to collect info inside Twitter, but I say: Dont do it: That shit community is a waste of time. If you wanna have IRL insider info of what consumers do, think, buy, love and react on - read their blogs. There you can find the real Intel.
PS.
Your blog rocks. I will return.
July 12th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
First I am really jealous that you posted this from a starbucks while I am stuck at my desk. Second, I am JERSEY girl. (nice to be in the same state)
Third: Twit is CRAZY. I have one but……only because I HATE instant messaging, it’s too interruptive / intrusive. Alot of my real life friends live FAR AWAY, so its an easy way to “catch up” “real quick”.. but NO I am not interested in the BLOW by BLOW (as you stated) of anyones life. Not even my own!
I guess I am a loser with my twit, but I am also too old for a Myspace page and I have one of those too.
July 12th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Twitter - outside of being a word I just feel weird saying outloud - to me is just a really big chat room. Same kind of back and forth nonsense…kid stuff. Just like I’d sit on the home phone extemsion as a teenager before the days of PCs and IMs (yes, I’m getting old!) with a friend…
“what are doing?”
“nothing. what are you doing?”
“feel like hangin out?”
“no gotta stay in tonight.”
“have homework?”
“it’s done. you?”
“i dunno”
“did you see jimmy’s haircut? he’s so cool.”
“ya think?”
yadda yadda yadda…
You know…kids spent hours on the phone talking about, well, nothing.
Now they Twitter. And I guess some adults still do that. Not sure…guess they have nothing else to do. I kinda thought the idea from meleah was cool, that is using it as IM, but why not just IM then?
Yes, I agree there’s info to be gleaned from this for sure from the right demographic and it’s wide open for us to see, which is cool from a marketing perspective. From that perspective I totally see it as a tool for WOM. Think of how you can manipulate messages…
OK, then just one rant…I cannot stand when people twitter away while they are supposed to be speaking to living breathing people. Same for texting. I’m sitting in front of you…can you speak to me now and twitter later when I’m gone!@#$$#@!! I really can’t watch you do that in front of me…go twitter in the privacy of your own home or office! No really, sometimes the “totally connected” kill me when we’re in a meeting and they are somehow “communicating” with someone else by text, phone, email, im, whatever. All these tools have killed professional and common courtesy. Look me in the eye and SPEAK to me dammit! Put that damn phone down!
Nice blog Mr Bailin! Great posts!
July 30th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Thanks for the post…maybe I had not tried hard enough but just could not figure out what Twitter and the “rage” was all about.
Hilarious post and some great responses…
My own response….the service does have some merit. If you are into texting or IMING, Twitter can be a great time saver by allowing you to communicate with a network of friends in a few simple key strokes….
Also, there is a viral aspect that you can’t ignore…people looking at your Twitter status may very well realize there are shared interests and as such are motivated to join your circle of online friends….
December 9th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
remarkable…
remarkable…