In 1990, if you told CompuServe executives their 600 thousand subscribers would amount to less than 2% of daily messages sent on a social media network, they would have laughed in your face. CompuServe dominated online service in the 1980’s and continued to be a major player in the 1990’s. As technology continued to improve and companies merged and subsequently closed, CompuServe’s popularity eventually faded away.
Fast forward to 2010, where Twitter is one of the dominating social media networks. The challenge of having your 140 character (or less) message retweeted by your favorite celebrity causes more anxiety than a deer dashing across the front of your vehicle. Adding ‘#’ to your one word tweet can become popular enough that millions of people type in the same thing and it becomes a trending topic.
People have never communicated in this type of fashion before. In 2009 Twitter went mainstream, but how long will the popularity of the network last?
Some people predict Twitter will last forever. But, weren’t those same predictions made about FriendFeed and MySpace? MySpace was the leading social networking website a few years ago. The creators of Facebook dreamed of having the same success MySpace was experiencing. Now, if Facebook was a country, it would be the third largest country in the world, while the MySpace craze dissipates.
If social media history repeats itself, Twitter will be struggling to compete with a social media powerhouse that is currently in development stage. Once someone develops the right network that will connect people in a better, more entertaining way, the social media world will slowly migrate leaving Twitter just as they did Myspace.
Whitepapers and blog posts will be full of statistics and case studies proclaiming this new network is the best solution for your business and experts will pop up everywhere.
Twitter has changed the social media landscape in ways no one could have ever imagined, and Twitter is taking a huge risk on March 12th when they launch their ad network. Will users become annoyed by advertisements splattered over what used to be a clean, user customized layout.
The imprint Twitter will leave on social media and social networking will be permanent, the fact is, something better is bound to come along and take it’s place.
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I cast my vote in the 2-3years column, but I’m almost sure Twitter will be around longer than that. I’m not going to venture a specific guess, but instead ask a different question (which may be what you originally intended):
How long will Twitter be a viable medium for marketing communications (public relations)?
Many wouldn’t consider it one now, which is why Twitter has elected to change it’s format and open the door for advertisers. Some of the Twitterati may be worried that this will damage the “integrity of the platform,” but I’m not sure it hurt Facebook that much (though a massive number of FB users joined the site AFTER ads were introduced).
Circling back to your question, I’d say that Twitter will be around for a while — maybe even a full decade. It’s look, feel and ultimately it’s use will change as technology evolves and new tools are introduced (think Google Buzz). As Marcom/PR pros in SM, tho, it’s all about staying on our toes. Focus on building relationships/communities with PEOPLE — not with the platforms that facilitate them.
Thanks for starting the convo!
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Chris,
Thanks for your comment. I think the battle of the social media networks has begun. Twitter introduced something that was unique and goes so well with today’s “text culture”.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Twitter in the future.
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I think the fact that twitter is now integrated with Google’s new social networking tool, Google Buzz, is a sign that the social networking market place is becoming cluttered, and they fear just how big Google Buzz may become.
However, while Twitter is now a part of Google Buzz, Microsoft recently announced that Outlook will be integrated with Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn in the near future.
It appears that Microsoft has got one up on Google by joining forces with these three social networking giants. -
John,
I agree the social networking market is becoming a bit cluttered. What do you think the solution for that will be? Will there ever be one network that will satisfy everyone’s social needs and demands?
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Trackback from uberVU - social comments on February 24, 2010 at 11:38 am
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Interesting discussion. I put a check mark in the 2-3 years slot. I think history will repeat itself, and Twitter will suffer the same fate as other forms of social networking. The key point in this discussion is that we’re discussing the death of the medium and not the conversation. That’s important to note because we realize that the conversations and connections will take place, we just don’t know where. As our culture, desires and needs change – a “better” social media platform will develop.
One thing I’ve noticed is users now have the ability to sync whatever social media tools they use. It seems as if the platforms are piggy-backing each other. Odd, huh? I don’t have to choose just one. I can tweet, update my Facebook status and buzz at the same time.
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Brandi you bring up some interesting points. The communication will always exist even if the medium doesn’t.
The platforms are definitely piggy backing one another, and someone will dig deep to find their competitive advantage. Once that’s discovered, the new social media network will soon emerge.
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Chris’ comment, “Focus on building relationships/communities with PEOPLE — not with the platforms that facilitate them,” is the key element that some people overlook.
I’ve seen individuals so enamored with one social media platform that they lose sight of what they should be doing: communicating with people.
A good communications strategy involves having multiple ways firms can communicate with their customers, and most importantly, how their customers can communicate with them.
I prefer having sites on several SM platforms, then linking them to company websites or blogs. If you’ve got a new product, toot it–or in this case Tweet it–on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, Buzz and everything else. Just be sure to have a “reply” method on each customers can give you feedback.
Another point that needs to be made is this: some companies have SM sites but don’t do anything with them. If you are going to have a SM presence, respond to comments in a timely manner.
>>Dave Reynolds -
Dave,
A reply method is critical to the success of your social media communications strategy. Social media is fueled by two way communication. If you don’t respond to your customers problems in a timely manner, their perception of your brand is changed instantly.
Their initial reaction will be to tweet, buzz, write on a wall or blog about their unpleasant encounter with your company.
Businesses are held to a very high standard in the social mediasphere. Everyone is watching closely to see whose social media strategy works and whose doesn’t.
PepsiCo and Dell are fantastic examples. @DellOutlet was a big story last summer and PepsiCo’s social media spending in lieu of their traditional TV ads during the Super Bowl was tweeted about so much it should have been a trending topic.
How and when a company responds to their customers should be one of the first five questions you answer before strategizing your social media marketing plan.
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