I have been wanting to write a post like this for awhile. Over the past couple of months I have been giving seminars in and out of Indianapolis over the topic of Social Media. Guess which question comes up when talking about the tools you can use online?
What is Twitter? Why and how do you use it?
It never fails. No matter where I am at or what I am talking about… there is always a question about Twitter. Do you know what I say? It is different every time. I always try to give the universal definition of Twitter:
Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.
Or a personal definition from a blog like MovinMeat:
Twitter is a fun and occasionally useful social networking app. You’re basically supposed to give frequent updates on what you are doing and pithy observations on life, in short 140-character clips, or “tweets.” It’s sort of like text-messaging the entire world, as they are public feeds.
Through reading multiple blogs, articles, and opinions on the definition of Twitter… I have come to the understanding that the lack of an identifying value statement is keeping Twitter from hitting the mainstream marketing. I’m talking from 2 million to 50 million users.
Small businesses and big corporations alike have huge problems if their value statement does not line up to the ideas of the people behind the brand. I believe that Twitter is going to have a problem hitting the mainstream market if they cannot push a message out to the users. A message that contains a universal value statement that helps the “viral marketing” aspect push the online tool.
Give me something sticky. Give me something I can yell at the top of my lungs. Help me become an evangelist.
I think you are spot-on, even though I like the air of “Twitter can be anything you like”; the exploring, the feeling of collectivly creating, listening in, and finding different new directions to walk in.
I guess that when Twitter becomes more mainstream, there will be more or less outspoken rules of how it should be used (there already is, I guess, like “always follow back your followers unless they are spammy”). The feeling of breaking-new-ground-in-any-direction-possible will get lost as Twitter (or a Twitter mainstream majority) decides on a value statment. Early adopters move on to other platforms. I don’t say this is bad or that I don’t want it to happen. I’m just saying I like it the way it is, right now. =)
Hey Kyle,
I disagree. But I hope you can see my respect for what you do mixed in with my disagreement.
I know the challenge in explaining what Twitter is. I’ve often tried to compare it to text messaging, myself. But after reading your post… You’ve helped me see that I was wrong.
What I mean is: I’m never going to try to explain it like that again. While reading this post, I’ve realized:
That’s not what Twitter is to ME.
I’m going to explain Twitter in a way that shows them what it means to me and others, instead of what it is at it’s bare bones.
I totally see your point about needing a message to make it more sticky. But I don’t think any phrase of words could, ultimately, make or break twitter.
I never started using facebook because of any phrases or verbal marketing on their part. I used it because other people used it and it was a hell of a lot better than myspace!
What about when the internet came out? How could you explain that to the masses? : ) You couldn’t! People just saw that it was useful and used it. Is this comparison off?
I think the only thing that will make Twitter spread is if it’s a good idea or not… if people use it or not.
Maybe I’m wrong?
But my experience of you, on Twitter, is that you are a grand influence. You’ve certainly helped me out. That’s meaningful to me!!!
Maybe you’re selling yourself short, as an evangelist, in believing you need something from Twitter to yell.
You have your own story and other people’s stories about what you/they are doing with Twitter. That would be much more interesting and helpful, to me, as an audience member.
Thoughts?
@LindLund I am interested is seeing how Twitter defines itself after the majority of social media users move over to the applicaiton.
@JMC You always have good things to say. I think I am starting to see more of a purpose behind explaining Twitter from your own personal experience. Maybe we do not need an overall universall definition. Instead of a usage definition it is a experiential definition.
Good thoughts.
[...] Twitter Has a Problem Going Mainstream (kylelacy.com) [...]
Ahhhh yes, the classic question that everyone who has ever blogged about social media must answer. I agree with Kyle P in that there is not one universal answer or one thing that makes it stick that can easily be passed along.
I also read John Michael Cannon’s post and he brings some very good points to light.
My take on it is that Twitter has two main benefits that really sum everything up:
Twitter is a broadcast tool.
Twitter is by far the easiest way for you to broadcast your message to the masses. With Re-tweeting it also is an easy way to spread that message. Making Twitter viral helps make you viral.
Twitter is a resource tool.
Millions of resources are just a click away all in ONE place on Twitter. And best of all it happens NOW. Think about the Inauguration, the Super Bowl, and any other major event in the past 6 months. Twitter was going crazy and had all of the latest news available as it was happening.
I usually tell people, Twitter has replaced the old AOL chat rooms. Here you can have conversations, ask questions, share information, the restriction, you have to be brief..
Will Twitter ever go mainstream? Maybe not, but that is ok, not every tool is for everyone..
Why does Twitter have to go mainstream? Aren’t there a lot of non-mainstream social media apps which are quite successful. Of course, there are. Let’s compile that list, and see how those can help us bring our value statement to those audiences, one at a time, building us toward acquiring customers across many verticals…not just one big mainstream.
Kyle,
Great post! Something that I’ve been thinking about a lot.
I am a twitter evangelist. I love it, spend way too much time on it, and truly understand its value. However, when it comes to telling my friends and family about it (which happens a lot) I always find that people just don’t really grasp what I’m saying.
You also have to take into account who you’re talking to. Convincing a marketer that there is value in twitter is a lot different from telling a lawyer or a college student.
Right now, twitter is a program that you have to try in order to understand. Then, even if you convince people that there is value in twitter and get them to try it out, there is a pretty big learning curve before people can really understand it. A lot of people give up before they get to that point.
If twitter is to go mainstream, part of the battle will be creating a strong value statement that average people will understand (business people will follow popularity). The other part will be cutting down that learning curve, perhaps with a really good tutorial or starters guide.
Dave
[...] Twitter Has a Problem Going Mainstream (kylelacy.com) [...]
I think one point of resistance is that Twitter requires the user to put in effort to get something out of it. You can’t just join and immediately get benefit. Even if you don’t tweet at all and just follow a ton of people, the non-threaded messaging, the strange @ and d conventions, not to mention #tags and other abbreviations, are not readily apparent to the newbie, requiring an investment of time to understand the system. I do not mean to be cynical in saying this, but the general populist user is not interested in doing much work online. They want things to be easy and simple, and pushed to them. Twitter requires more than that at this stage, not much, but still enough to make the general user quickly lose interest in the service and not even get the point.
I also commented on this on the brazencareerist.com site, and then saw the link to Kyle’s actual blog, which of course has different comments. And there’s a FriendFeed link below for more comments!
[...] Twitter Has a Problem Going Mainstream [...]