Why Twitter is Going to Matter Five Years from Now..

If you’re spending any amount of time online, you can’t go too far without seeing the words “social media”, the term used to describe internet and web based technologies that broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues.  At least that’s how Wikipedia is describing it.

What the hell does that mean?  Well, that’s a lofty way of saying that what I have to say reaches out to a group of people I want to see it.  A number of site over the past decade have tried to take that simple sentence and use it as the catalyst to  build an online community.  There are some very successful models out there right now, and in five years Twitter is probably going to be the only one still standing.

Bigger is Better (yeah, right..)

There are lessons to be learned of AOL’s implosion and most social media platforms aren’t looking through their remains to find the clues.  AOL started out as the premiere hub years ago, and as they were the latest and greatest thing people flocked to them in droves eager to pay the monthly fee to be part of the party.  While they watched their revenue grow they came up with the bright idea to add more features in order to keep people using their accounts. Communities, user groups, hobby stops sprung up like weeds in the driveway and the novelty still wore off quick.  Rather than reinventing themselves, AOL felt that the solution to waning subscriptions was to add even MORE features.  Still, people abandoned them like rats from a sinking ship and in the end they can’t even give their service away today for free.

Facebook has a lot to learn from this as well.  To be clear, they must be doing something right: what started out as one man’s idea to connect his college buddies has turned into the largest social media outlet on the planet.  Their success has also spelled the demise of smaller players; most group platforms on other networks have disappeared, or are drawing their last dying breath.  MySpace, once a haven for the cool kids to hang out on has now taken on appearance of an online garage sale.

As Facebook continues to grow, expand, and add every conceivable feature known to man they are going to realize that you can’t be all things to all people.  These days logging onto your page is like attending a Middle Eastern bazaar: too noisy, too many distractions, too many things vying for your attention.  You invariably walk through the vendors all shouting in your direction and while you might stop at one stand to get something to eat you usually end up running for the hills to escape the noise.

Keeping it Simple:

Twitter is immediate interaction with those you follow, or the people that follow you.  In the burst of 140 characters you are creating that monologue to share with your friends.  No games, no distractions – here it is in a nutshell.  And that appeal is not going to unnoticed by legions of people.  From September of last year until January 2010, they registered over 28.2 million users on a monthly basis, up from 6.4 million just six months prior. I don’t have a calculator handy, but I think that comes out to roughly a 400% increase in usage.

Here’s a list of what else is making Twitter standout from the pack:

1. Twitter is turning into a news source.  During the tragic shootings at Ft. Hood and the earthquake in Haiti, Twitter exploded with information from those at the scene relaying information on the events that were unfolding. Smartphones are the key to unlocking real world reporting to those that follow you, immediately from the scene and with no turnaround time in disseminating your information.  Every major news agency has their own Twitter account to relay what they are covering, as well as scour the Twitter timeline for information on possible leads.
2. Twitter is open source. They’re not guarding the crown jewels of their code, prohibiting all from getting a peek.  Twitter has put it right out on the front porch for all to see and pretty much said “Here you go, let’s see you put a spin on that.”  The number of third party Twitter applications runs into the thousands.
3. Twitter is saving lives.  It’s undeniable, Twitter is saving lives and I take no literary license in stating that.   There have been numerous instances of peoples lives being saved thanks to their 140 character burst, including my own experience with it last month. (The day after I wrote this, singer Elliott Yamin was one of many tweeting during Chile’s massive earthquake. For full information click here.)
4. Twitter invented micro-marketing.  Every business from AT&T to the coffee shop on the corner has a twitter account and their marketing efforts are successful for one reason: they can reach out to the people that want to be contacted by them.  If you don’t want to learn of their new promotions or offers you don’t follow them, it’s that simple.  Celebrities from Elizabeth Taylor to Oprah Winfrey have Twitter accounts where their message can reach millions of cyber-voyeurs who want to know what’s going on in their lives.  Conan O’Brien recently added a Twitter account and in the course of one message and twenty four hours gained over two million followers.

I could come up with another 25 reasons on why Twitter is successful, but I think you get the drift.  Twitter has a simple strategy that not only works, but is laying down the gauntlet against other social media outlets in existence today.  In the ever changing landscape of those that are trying to gain followers simple is not only going to win, but it’s going to be the reason why Twitter will be the lone soldier left on the battlefield in five years.

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