Twitter’s popularity has skyrocketed, but I find it useless.
Everyone is jumping on the Twitter bandwagon these days. I’m jumping off. I was late jumping on since I thought it was a passing fad with limited amount of use for my business. In the past 2 months, Twitter is in the news daily. Lots of interesting stories about how “so and so now ‘tweets’”, and how a Taco truck in Los Angeles has created a frenzy using Twitter. So, I jumped on the bandwagon to see what I was missing. Now I can say “Been there, done that”.
So why do I find Twitter of minimal value? Every day, you and I are bombarded with emails (business and personal), Facebook requests, RSS updates, podcast updates - you name it. And let’s be honest, we only have so much time in a day to dedicate to work and family. Twitter is just another piece of technology vying for our attention. It dawned on me how useless Twitter was when I was subjected to hundreds of Twitter updates offering no interesting or compelling story or value. One individual was head of social media for a large software company. Do I really care how she is spending her weekend, evening, or what she is eating for dinner. NO! Or how about a podcast directory website that constantly lists each new podcast listed! Then there is the Vegas specialty sites competing with each other to blast the world with headline news from Vegas. Useless for me, and likely for most people.
I know, I know, call me a ranter. My point here is that Twitter offers minimal value. Are there people or businesses using Twitter successfully with compelling stories. You bet. But don’t be fooled because a Taco truck in Los Angeles has 10,000 followers. Like any other marketing success, Twitter offers value to only a small niche of the population. That’s why I will discontinue using Twitter, not read new Tweets, and continue to focus my marketing efforts elsewhere.
Is Twitter a passing fad or here to stay? Let me know what you think.
-Simon
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