Do You Believe the Twitter Hype?

Author: Matt

19 Mar

As expected, I’ve heard a lot of buzz recently that Twitter is just a “fad”, “a waste of time”, “not for business”, etc. In fact, on Monday here in Chicago I had to laugh at the report from Bob Sirott at NBC 5 who completely misses the mark about the value of Twitter saying it is, “a place to tell other people what you’re doing.” Such a one way dialog is quite obvious when you look at Bob’s Twitter page .

I’m not at all surprised about Bob’s reaction as this is bound to happen when you see such a surge of stories in the media. To validate this increase in media conversations, I did a quick Google News search on the top social media platforms including Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube. Here’s what I found:

#1 – 62,000 media mentions of Facebook
#2 – 44,000 media mentions of Twitter
#3 – 43,500 media mentions of YouTube
#4 – 26,000 media mentions of MySpace

In fact, I’ve started doing a series of Twitter 101 sessions with individuals, businesses, organizations, etc. My goal is not to “hook” them in our wonderful world of Twitter…but to educate them about how they might be able to leverage Twitter as a valuable networking tool.

What do you think about Twitter? Is it hear to stay or just a lot of hype? Also, what are some of your best practices around using Twitter? Thanks!

Filed under: Media Relations, Social Media

8 Responses for "Do You Believe the Twitter Hype?"

amymengel March 19th, 2009 at 9:39 am 1
I think Twitter is here to stay but is still in the “early majority” phase of adoption. There are plenty of people who don’t understand it and don’t see the value in it (my Hubby included)! But I think this same argument (is it hype, fad, or here to stay) happened with Facebook, YouTube…. heck, even e-mail!

The fact that Twitter is growing so rapidly and that mainstream media outlets are picking up on it (The Daily Show, Today Show, New York Times) lead me to think that Twitter will really catch on and eventually become widespread. Especially so when people realize the connections that can be formed, the information that’s shared, and the learning that occurs in the Twitter community – it’s not just “What are you doing?”

What worries me is that Twitter itself is not ready for mass adoption. Aside from the usual arguments about revenue streams or lack thereof, I’m more worried about capacity. The number of Twitter users has grown by hundreds of thousands just in the last few months, and more will join in as it continues to be a media topic. This week Twitter users have been having problems with DMs not showing up, Tweets disappearing from the stream, replies not making it through. The usefulness of the service breaks down quickly if it’s not able to handle the traffic.

@amymengel
Jessica Smith March 19th, 2009 at 10:00 am 2
I think Twitter is here to stay. I think a lot of people will come and go but I think the community will grow. The Twitter community will continue to forge business relationships, share resources, teach & learn, and promote each other and themselves.

But then again, I’m *slightly* biased.
Narciso Tovar - @Narciso17 March 19th, 2009 at 10:06 am 3
Like you, Matt – these kinds of reports make me laugh. However, I think it’s easy for folks to look at the surge of Twitter popularity as a fad – that’s what happened with the pet rock and the piano-keyed tie.

HOWEVER, unlike the pet rock and that silly looking tie, Twitter actually does a multitude of things for it participants, including (but not limited to)
* provides a platform for people to dialogue w/o blabbering on and on
* gives reporters an easy & effective way to reach ALOT of users that could give them leads they need quickly
* the most inexpensive focus group a person could ever ask for
* an incredible way to ‘rally some troops’ around a cause, effort or new product offering

AND THE LIST CAN GO ON AND ON….and, I believe, it most certainly will.

But most importantly, Twitter brings added value to the table – something that the ill-fated pet rock and piano-key tie never did.

@Narciso17
Jen Wilbur March 19th, 2009 at 1:07 pm 4
When I first moved to San Diego 13 years ago, I interviewed with one of the top local PR firms. My interviewer said to me (after sharing my love of what the Web could do), “we still haven’t figured out if we’re going to do anything with the Internet or not.” That firm is no longer in business.

Like email and other communication avenues, Twitter is as valuable as you make it. You get what you put in to it. If you share nothing but hourly updates on meals or daily promotions, you aren’t going to see much return.

Will Twitter endure? Amy brings up a good point about handling capacity. If it grows too fast and breaks, they’ll either find a way to bring it back or something else will take its place. Definitely seeing issues this week. I was faceless for a day, even.

Even if Twitter itself doesn’t exist in a few years, a service of similar, but more evolved, sentiment will thrive.

RE: Mr. Sirott. Anyone with an opinion on the value of Twitter after only using it for a couple of days and a few tweets is unqualified.
David Mullen March 19th, 2009 at 6:55 pm 5
I’m with the rest of the gang here. I had concerns about Twitter’s ability to endure until November or so last year. I still have some hesitancy about it, but I think it has a strong chance of surviving.

It continues to be infused with more cash, it jumped from the 25th-ranked social network in terms of monthly visitors in early 2008 to the 3rd-ranked in early 2009 behind Facebook and Myspace, and mainstream media is giving it almost as much face time these days as it gave Mr. Obama last year. In fact, I was interviewed today about Twitter, its value and how I use it.

These things and more lead me to believe it’s going to kick its feet up and stay around for awhile.
Arik Hanson March 19th, 2009 at 7:25 pm 6
Here’s the thing. Whether Twitter survives or dies, it doesn’t really matter. The concept will endure. The ability to connect, engage and interact with customers, stakeholders, employees, and media will not change. A year from now will Twitter be around? I don’t know. But, I do know there will be some tool or platform that will allow us to interact in the same way we do right now online. And in the end, isn’t that all that matters–for us and the clients we represent?

@arikhanson
Dawn Bryant March 20th, 2009 at 1:10 pm 7
Twitter isn’t for everyone. But, if you’re willing, it’s a great way to listen and learn, and it’s a super tool for networking.

I’ve had great success in meeting new people across the country (and even one cool guy in Australia) on varying topics. It’s a great way to keep up with friends. And, it’s a great way to show your humanness (which, I believe, is immensely valuable; especially in communications).

The secret is in engagement and learning to use the tool properly. The future of Twitter is yet to be seen, but what it has proven is that real-time conversation open to the world is advantageous and just plain interesting. It helps us all be more rounded & real individuals with new perspectives.
Matt March 22nd, 2009 at 4:33 pm 8
Great feedback from everyone on this post – thanks for reinforcing my opinions about Twitter in response to the mainstream “hypothesis.”

The thing I always tell people about Twitter is its not “a new fangled technology” but rather brings back the basis of relationships and networking – through conversations.

Thanks again for everyone’s feedback and comments – very valuable!