How individuals use Twitter

As I've spent more time on Twitter, the way I use the site/service has changed.  A part of that is becoming familiar with features and functionality, as well as assimilating changes as they occur, e.g. tracking.  But by far the biggest factor that has changed the way I think about Twitter involves the number of people I'm following.  Moving from a handful of following/followers to over 400 has shifted the way I use Twitter - primarily how I use different platforms.  I think this is an experience that others have experienced as well.

Jeremiah took a poll recently that showed most people using web, many people using a client app, and some using mobile.  I think if tracked, platform usage correlates with account tenure.  Most newbies start out on the web.  If they stick with it and discover enough engaging conversation, people get "serious" a.k.a. "addicted" and install an app like Twitterific or Snitter.

But once the novelty wears off - the brightness and shininess, if you will - what then?

The answer's simple - find *real* value in the service or go dark.  Here's how I see some ways that individuals appear to be finding value (not mutually exclusive):

• Referrals.  I've seen more and more people talking about how Twitter drives people to their sites.
• Community.  A place where conversations around common interests pop up quite often, e.g. around social media or during sporting events.
• Commerce.  Companies like Dell, JetBlue, and 71Miles give early notice on great deals.
• Entertainment.  I was surprised to see a string of sexually explicit tweets last week, a user who was literally involved in a sex chat.  (I unfollowed him.)  In a less salacious application, I wouldn't be surprised to see a game of D&D pop up.
• Information/Research.  I got five replies with to a tweet while showing Twitter to a client.  See the reference to Jeremiah's poll above.
• Serendipity.  When you've got a ton of followers, sometimes it's like watching the matrix to see if you stumble across something delightful.

As more people get on Twitter, the ecosystem evolves and matures, while the "rules" bend and get broken.  The bad news for marketers is a lesson straight from Second Life - just having an account isn't enough; success requires engagement.  Will the next lesson for Twitter itself be from Facebook - if and when the day to monetize arrives?

[BTW I'm tweeting here.]

Comments

[Peter Kim]

Hmmm I get the sense that people from the brand monitoring space are following this blog... :)

Nice post, Paull. @Robin - yes, agreed; I think some people need to realize that a 140 character limit can be a useful self-editing tool. Not a way to string 1400 characters together in 10 tweets.

I have multiple handles, too: @peterkim and @forrester. The latter is shared with Jeremiah Owyang, Tracy Sullivan (PR) and Alexis Karlin (events).

In case anyone hasn't read it, I published research on how marketers can think about microblogging; free to clients http://www.forrester.com/go?docid=43550 and free to prospects with registration http://www.forrester.com/marketingvoices .

[robin]

Hi Peter,

I have experimented with using Twitter to drive traffic to the Collective Intellect blog, and it is very valuable for that. I have also used it to get opinions about potential posts I am thinking of writing.

Occasionally, I find that some people I follow tweet too much, and I have to turn them off -- seeing 25 tweets in a row from the same person is just too much, no matter how great I think he or she is.

I don't know about anyone else, but I have two Twitter id's one personal (copydiva) and one for my company (CollectiveIntel) - like having a personal & business blog. Though I have used for a while now, I resist the temptation to add to my mobile - Snitter & Twitterific suit me just fine.

Lee Odden at TopRankBlog wrote a great post in November about using Twitter as well: http://www.toprankblog.com/2007/11/twitter-guide/

[Paull Young]

Good thinking Peter.

A while ago I coined the term 'twitterdipity' to describe the serendipity that often comes from the app.

I wrote a post this week sharing some examples of how my client and I have used Twitter for business, you can view it here:

http://blog.converseon.com/2008/01/17/examples-of-twitter-providing-business-benefit/

[Pete]

Education - great call, Gloria. We all have something to learn.

Networking - especially with early adopters. Thanks for the insight, mcw flint.

[mcw flint]

Twitter leads me to new people, new feeds, new info

When I was recently confined to bed, it provided entertainment and a challenge trying to meet the perfect length

It is also interesting to play with connections -who follows who.

I use a search application to see how my city and employers are mentioned. I follow some folks through a RSS feed. Plus I drop to scan via the web sometime

[Gloria]

There is another aspect to Twitter that probably does not gets recognize as often as it should. Education.
I have learned so much from the smart, savvy people I follow. What they may see as an innocuous tweet or a link to an interesting blog post turns out to be a tremendous source of information and education for me. As a relatively new member of the social media/blogging/general technology community and as someone who is looking to start my own business, Twitter has been an invaluable source of education and support. I would never be able to thank all of those who, unknowingly, have provided me with that piece or source of information that I didn't even realize I needed.