Is Twitter Quieting Down?
The Boss posed a question this morning: I’ve noticed the “activity” on Twitter has quieted down. Thoughts ?
My response was that Twitter activity hasn’t slowed down, per se. People are using it more efficiently. Instead of sharing their breakfast and restroom movements, users are engaging more (which doesn’t always show up in the timeline) – they’re meeting up in real-world scenarios and collaborating outside of Twitter.
With applications like Foursquare and Gowalla coming into the mainstream, Twitter serves more as a catalyst for personal engagement. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon, it’s just evolving into less of an IM/Chat and more of a information sharing/gathering tool.
It’s been said that Twitter would replace RSS feeds, I don’t think so. I still have over 40+ RSS feeds in my Reader. While it may seem that the activity is plateauing, it’s really just going back to ‘normal’ after all the mainstream buzz has worn off; Ashton Kutcher isn’t racing to a 1 million followers, etc.
Search Engine Marketer and Team Lead Craig Tippit had this to add: With every new application there is a learning curve. As another example some people are just now starting to realize that employers or universities may be looking at the Facebook page of a potential hires and perhaps putting pictures from their drunken sexcapades in Cancun may not be the best idea.
- Newness wearing off.
- Evolving tweet etiquette.
- Competing applications.
What’s your take? Is Twitter leveling out or is this a calm before another Social Media storm?
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On January 12, 2010 @ 1:51 pm uberVU - social comments said
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by gopoplabs: Is Twitter Quieting Down? We’d like your thoughts too! http://bit.ly/5cginL...
On January 13, 2010 @ 3:22 pm Justin Downey
said
As you say, Twitter is more the Catalyst than the origionator.
With improving integration, your Facebook status updates populate in your twitter account which populates in your LinkedIn account which populates in your blog which is syndicated via an RSS feed. Wow, that's a mouthful!
Fewer, better tweets syndicated over a broader base means the Twitter generation has simply matured a bit.
Perhaps tomorrow morning your boss with ask, "Is social bookmarking slowing down?"
On January 13, 2010 @ 3:30 pm Sal Baldovinos
said
Thanks for stopping by Justin. Yes, Twitter is maturing in that less people are jumping on it because it's the new 'it' thing and are using it as a tool to monitor and promote brands.
As for social bookmarking, my preference is still the old fashion 'Bookmark this page'. I still do this because I'm really picky about what I bookmark, seems so permanent to me, you know? I used Delicious and Magnolia for awhile but it was one more thing to log into. I might give them another go though.
What's your take on social bookmarking?