Archive for the ‘Twitter’ Category
As many savvy marketers have already noted, all media is social. Especially when it works the way it’s supposed to. So what’s all the buzz about this term, social media, as if it’s a completely new form of communication?
Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Stumble Upon, etc. are just new communication tools. Tools that will most likely change and morph into new formats as technology advances and they improve their ability to create, manage and grow powerful online communities. Remember forums, chat rooms, even My Space? They’re all just tools that have enabled multiple-way communication, the core of what has changed.
We believe the term, social media, will go into the history books sooner vs. later. At least we hope so.
Will Twitter still be Twitter six months from now? Will the people longing for attention finally stop telling others what they had for lunch? What would happen if everyone reading a lame tweet responded with a “Please Stop Boring Me, I Don’t Care” response?
Then again, how much would we have known abut the election in Iran? Or the Southern California wildfires last year? Or updates on the earthquake in Haiti?
Is there a place for a tool like Twitter? Absolutely. If, for nothing else, the amazing data it is gathering. People think Twitter is just a tool for Narcissists to express themselves. But meanwhile, it’s building one of the most amazing LIVE, SEARCHABLE data bases in history. That’s what its all about.
It’s getting very noisy out here in the online world. One billion uploads daily to YouTube, 2.5 billion active blogs, heck even the average person’s inbox gets over 100 non-spam emails daily.
So guess what’s happening? People are starting to turn off and tune out. Especially those who’ve been trying to figure out how to listen over the past two years, when the amount of online noise has increased ten-fold. Oh sure, Facebook is growing. But users are becoming much more selective about who they friend. Meanwhile other tools, like Twitter and Friend Feed, are seeing 20% of their subscribers making 80% of the noise.
In short, quality over quantity is the new trend.
This is good news for smart marketers. With the proper tools you can find your perfect customers and they’ll be able to hear you. You won’t be fighting the equivalent of 1,300 daily traditional media messages the average American didn’t ask to see but the advertisers still paid for. Marketers will get to enjoy quality over quantity too.
Let’s see what happens when the noise quiets down and people start using all these wonderful (yet currently loud) online tools more effectively. It should be the best time good marketers have ever had.
I had an interesting meeting today with a seasoned gentleman in the business/academia world (I will not mention his name as I did not get his permission). He wanted to learn more about the online world and social media. Specifically he wanted help getting an RSS feed set up. While his request seemed somewhat basic to me, I was so impressed at his interest in learning this new form of media convenience that I found myself really admiring him. He had spent years at Leo Burnett in account services, and years teaching advertising at prestigious universities. And while his peers (and many in academia much younger than him) have no interest in understanding the new world of online communications, he is hungry. What a great guy.
Why is this worth blogging about? Because one of my goals with these blogs is to break down the barriers between those that understand what social media and the online world has to offer, and those that don’t know where to begin learning. I would love for everyone to be like this gentleman I met today. His fascination with the opportunity was so great that his intimidation was irrelevant. We all need to be like this.
One of my favorite sayings is “Do not compare yourselves to others, for there will always be those greater and lesser than yourself.” I am challenged with daily intimidation by those who know so much more than me regardng the online world of marketing. But unless I turn around and offer what I do know to those who are still learning, then it’s all been worthless. So I will.
Don’t be afraid to ask, learn, and be confused. It’s coming at you whether you want it to or not. I hope your fascination will drive you.
