Twitter has all of the makings of a social networking phenomenon. It is easy to use and does not require users to fill out extensive profiles. The pressure to compete by uploading pictures and appearing to maintain active real-life social lives that is present on other social networking sites does not exist on Twitter. Celebrities have taken to Twitter en masse because it allows them to interact with their fans while maintaining control of their privacy. Unfortunately, for all of Twitter's convenience, it has yet to establish a true purpose.
Ever since Facebook enabled users to compose status updates, Twitter has been in flux. Twitter still limits its users to one hundred and forty characters per tweet, while Facebook does not impose such limits on status updates. Facebook has a more aesthetically appealing interface that makes room for lots of pictures. Twitter can be difficult to navigate. A user who has responded to a lot of other people's tweets will have a profile page that is clogged with incongruous statements, since the tweet to which he is responding does not appear on the page in question. This makes people's Twitter pages utterly uninteresting to other people. Twitter users have no reason to navigate away from their own home pages. Using Twitter becomes a bizarre exercise in solipsism; people post their own updates and do not stick around to read what other people have to say.
This is a shame, since Twitter really is a great concept, especially when one considers smart phone usage. Twitter can easily be updated via a cell phone, and other people's tweets can be seen more easily on a phone than their Facebook updates can. Facebook's multiple functions make viewing and using it from a phone a very unwieldy process. Even so, since all of those functions make people feel more connected to each other, Facebook remains the favored social network.
Twitter has only recently branched out into the realm of advertising. In the past, businesses have set up user accounts and waited for customers to find and follow them. Announcing contests and giveaways via surprise tweets is an effective way of keeping customers excited about a brand and encouraging them to check out the company's profile page regularly. This practice allowed businesses to skirt having to pay Twitter for advertising privileges, although the downside was that establishing a company page in that manner only attracted people who were already customers. There was no embedded mechanism within Twitter that would have made it possible for companies to make themselves known to potential new clients.
Within the past few months, Twitter has begun sneaking sponsored tweets into users' news feeds. This is a very clever way to advertise. Modern consumers are savvy to banner ads, and they know not to open anything sent by an email marketing reseller; they have learned how to completely avoid absorbing any of the information contained in these kinds of advertisements. A sponsored tweet, on the other hand, looks just like a tweet from a friend, which means that users will consciously read them before realizing it was an ad. Time will tell if Twitter users resent being tricked into reading advertisements, but for the time being it appears to be working. TV networks in particular have successfully promoted event programming using sponsored tweets.
Twitter may have found its niche as a hub of advertising. Just as celebrity users boosted Twitter's profile, so might its newfound business acumen. Its challenge will be to remain interesting to users who may not want to see tweets from brands that are irrelevant to their interests.
My name is Nisha Sharma. I represent a site called neteffekt.com. I love to write, especially about travel, finance and offer business advice.
This is a shame, since Twitter really is a great concept, especially when one considers smart phone usage. Twitter can easily be updated via a cell phone, and other people's tweets can be seen more easily on a phone than their Facebook updates can. Facebook's multiple functions make viewing and using it from a phone a very unwieldy process. Even so, since all of those functions make people feel more connected to each other, Facebook remains the favored social network.
Twitter has only recently branched out into the realm of advertising. In the past, businesses have set up user accounts and waited for customers to find and follow them. Announcing contests and giveaways via surprise tweets is an effective way of keeping customers excited about a brand and encouraging them to check out the company's profile page regularly. This practice allowed businesses to skirt having to pay Twitter for advertising privileges, although the downside was that establishing a company page in that manner only attracted people who were already customers. There was no embedded mechanism within Twitter that would have made it possible for companies to make themselves known to potential new clients.
Within the past few months, Twitter has begun sneaking sponsored tweets into users' news feeds. This is a very clever way to advertise. Modern consumers are savvy to banner ads, and they know not to open anything sent by an email marketing reseller; they have learned how to completely avoid absorbing any of the information contained in these kinds of advertisements. A sponsored tweet, on the other hand, looks just like a tweet from a friend, which means that users will consciously read them before realizing it was an ad. Time will tell if Twitter users resent being tricked into reading advertisements, but for the time being it appears to be working. TV networks in particular have successfully promoted event programming using sponsored tweets.
Twitter may have found its niche as a hub of advertising. Just as celebrity users boosted Twitter's profile, so might its newfound business acumen. Its challenge will be to remain interesting to users who may not want to see tweets from brands that are irrelevant to their interests.
My name is Nisha Sharma. I represent a site called neteffekt.com. I love to write, especially about travel, finance and offer business advice.
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