Thoughts on Twitter

Having used Twitter for a few months now, I have some preliminary opinions and analysis of the site.

Twittah is currently  a media darling and the subject of numerous acquisition rumors. The latest venture round puts the valuation around $1 billion. One billion dollars. And even at such a number, there are sources that say the company wouldn’t even sell at that pricetag. Yeah right.

First, the site is an amazing tool. Once you begin using Twitter as a real-time search mechanism, Google (and Bing) will feel downright slow. Twitter is the instant news and opinion across the entire planet. This functionality makes perfect sense, as it has been revealed that the site’s internal strategy is to be “The Pulse of the Planet.”

It is an impressive technology and I like the way things are being run, but I’m here to talk about the site itself.

1. There is a belief that Twitter is more “adult” than other tech companies. I personally don’t see it. There is research that confirms the “Teens Don’t Tweet” philosophy. Yet there is new data that reflects young people are racing over to Twitter. I don’t see a young/old rift as much as I see other bigger problems.
2. Why doesn’t Twitter make an official iPhone app? There are an abundance of good third party apps (I use and recommend TweetDeck), but why nothing official from the source?
3. There is a HUGE problem with Twitter that needs to be addressed very soon. That would be anonymity. But Dan, anonymity is partly what makes Twitter so great! If you want to require identity use Facebook! I hear ya, but anonymity is killing Twitter. If you search for anything close to trending, you’re going to have to cipher through spambots, pornbots, marketers abusing hashtags, etc. If Twitter required an email confirmation process, or even a first name, or initials, that would go a long way in stopping the spread of the crap on Twitter. We all saw what the anonymity of user names did to MySpace, Twitter can’t allow their product to go down that road.
4. There is a following dilemma that could create disinterest down the road. Twitter unlike Facebook, creates non-linear relationships, meaning on Facebook you friend somebody and are therefore linearly connected. You both ‘follow’ one another. On Twitter, you choose who to follow, and once that happens, there is no guarantee they’ll follow you. While your tweets are still universally search-able and part of the “pulse” that makes the site so cool, there will come a point where people feel like their tweeting is pointless at a small direct audience. Why tweet if no one is paying attention? There is a lot of white noise to send your message through. Will it be heard?
5. Where will the functionality of this open technology take the Twitter platform? As of now, the site is relatively static, you tweet and people read. You take a picture and people view it. The simplicity of Tweeting will expand the platform sooner or later, and third parties would be wise to capitalize on this potential with their own ideas based on Twitter’s openness. Semi-example of what I’m talking about would be sites like Tweetmeme.com and Retweet.com that measure the popular links being spread.
6. Businesses would be wise to start utilizing social media more frequently. Digsby recently @mentioned me when I linked a site about their revenue model. Smart move, I read what they sent, and further digested my opinion. I respect any company smart enough to embrace the power of “now.” Seth Godin, whose blog is amazing if you haven’t heard of it, just launched a company that focuses on the brand management/customer service that Twitter offers companies. Smart, smart, smart.

There is some splooge and some rant within my sentiments toward Twitter, but the upsides still outweigh the downsides. Real-time is here, and it is only going to get bigger and faster. It is an amazing time to be alive folks. As a society we are on the cusp of great change in the way in which we live our lives. Twitter is a big first step in that process.