As I wrote about in my previous post, Twitter is one of the fastest growing community sites this year (for the month of February unique visitors to Twitter increased 1,382 percent year-over-year) and is becoming pervasive in the mainstream (largest volume of the population on Twitter was in the 35-49 age group) per Nielsen. No one can argue that that microblogging and, Twitter specifically, is on the rise – but does everyone love it? No. There is a growing trend of ‘Twitter Quitters’…heavy heavy users with a large following that attempt to ‘leave the nest’ (pun intended) and go tweet free. Even more interesting…they almost always come back. The LA Times profiles one of the more well known Twitter Quitters…Leo Laporte.
“They kind of have you,” said Laporte, who now has more than 100,000 followers on the service…..because you have to go where the community is.”
Not only do they have you…with today’s announcement, they are finally finding a way to monetize their model. From the WSJ:
“Fred Wilson, a Twitter investor and board member who is a partner at Union Square Ventures, says Twitter will make money by “following the money,” or building on the ways that others are developing businesses based on the service.”
This will be interesting to watch. Are you willing to pay for something you’ve gotten for free thus far?
David Veneski Twitter Twitter
“…a resource to help you find and follow the top business executives on Twitter” From the about section (where you can find all execs that are on board) on the ExecTweets.com
Battelle writes a nice summary on his Searchblog.
David Veneski Twitter Twitter
From Michelle McGiboney, Nielsen Online:
“Twitter.com continues to grow in popularity and importance in both the consumer and corporate worlds. No longer just a platform for friends to stay connected in real time, it has evolved into an important component of brand marketing. Unique visitors to Twitter increased 1,382 percent year-over-year, from 475,000 unique visitors in February 2008 to 7 million in February 2009, making it the fastest growing site in the Member Communities category for the month.”
What I found very interesting was the fact that the largest volume of the population on Twitter was in the 35-49 age group, and they spend their ‘Twitter time’ at work. One of the biggest stimuli for Twitter? The fact that it’s portable. The volume of tweets sent through a mobile device, either via the web or through a text message, is truly staggering. Personally – I spend most of my time on Twitter on the PC (it’s frankly easier for me to manage since I sit in front of a large screen 10 hours a day), but I understand how those on the move (celebrities, athletes, business travelers) would lean heavily on their mobile device.
David Veneski Social Media, Twitter Twitter
Recently there was an interesting article in the Tech Crunch about the value of Twitter Traffic and the staggering amount of money that people are willing to pay for a slot in the top 20 of the suggested list on the Twitter site. From Jason Calcanis’ Twitter stream:
“It’s actually a standing offer to Twitter. $120k for one of the twenty slots. In fact, I’ll pay $250k for two years in advance.”
Calcanis went even further to outline why he was willing to pay that amount of money for such a placement, indicating that he felt such a place in the top 20 would be worth $1M in 5 years time – equating it to levels spent on ads in the Superbowl.
I believe Calcanis is not alone in this theory. Even though he doesn’t claim to be willing to pay the same upfront costs as Calcanis, Guy Kawasaki professes his willingness to pay upwards of $500/month for using Twitter. He talks about his prolific use of Twitter in marketing his brand and that of Alltop in a recent interview with Jennifer Jones on Marketing Voices. He says “I don’t know how we would do Alltop without Twitter” and likens it to a “free and instant announcement system“. With more than ninety thousand followers being constantly exposed to his ‘brand’ and that of Alltop via his Twitter stream – it’s not surprising to see his loyalty and willingness to pay for this communication vehicle.
David Veneski Twitter Guy Kawasaki, Twitter
It’s an occurence we see almost every year. A company that is small, nimble, and revolutionary can take on the ‘old’ guard and turn it on its head. While I would hardly consider Google part of the ‘old’ guard, it does appear to be starting to take on the characteristics the larger ship that becomes harder to steer as it takes on passengers. At first, GOOG’s premise was simple – they did ‘search’ better than anyone. They still do, for now, but they also have sprouted many branches from the original tree. This leaves their core discipline exposed to companies that are more nimble and more wholey focused on one objective. Chris O’Brien spells out the story here. I love this quote in the article…it’s so true: “Typically, when such goliaths are slain, it’s because they failed to recognize the threat and make the necessary changes until it was too late.“
David Veneski Twitter Google, Twitter
It’s no secret that Twitter use has exploded…it’s not just the social media mavens that are mad ‘tweeters’, but the mainstream is using it to stay in touch with friends far and near – most of which they’ve never met. Athletes like Lance Armstrong, Shaquille O’Neal, and Shaun White are very active – with Lance having one of the largest group of ‘Followers’ on Twitter. The biggest growth rate I am seeing? Business usage. Great article in Advertising Age about How Social Media Tools Can Complement What You Do.
David Veneski Twitter Athlete, Social Media, Twitter
Scott Monty of Ford
David Armano (author of the Logic + Emotion blog) writes an article for Advertising Age that addresses the blurry lines between where a personal online brand ends and where the company’s brand they work for begins. Scott Monty of Ford has taken some criticism lately for those blurry lines. Done properly, I think it can be very effective. Done incorrectly – it puts your credibility and the image of the brand you represent at risk.
David Veneski Personal Brand, Twitter Personal Brand, Twitter
In addition to being a staple for rapid-fire communication among technophiles and a networking tool for tech-savvy companies, Twitter is swiftly being adopted by celebrities who see it as a way to give the public a controlled peephole into their otherwise highly private lives. Clipped from the NY Times. Full article here. And you thought Twitter was only for the true Internet mavens….
David Veneski Twitter Celebrity, NY Times, Twitter