Twitter has begun to begin to become a serious part of a lot of people's lives, not only in the USA but all around the world. It is probably the first software/application to have caught on with adults before it did with the youth. I was tweeting before any of the twenty somethings or teens I know even knew the name. And they were amazingly slow to catch on. In fact, I don't think even now, any of the young people I know have become avid Twits. (That's my little word for all of us Twitter users) Which is strange because they were very quick to jump on Myspace and Facebook and Youtube despite those socmed sites being far more complicated than Twitter. Maybe Twitter seems so simple as to hide it's immense potential impact.
If most people under 30 haven't even started using Twitter on a regular basis then the potential is huge. And not just in growth but in the impact that Twitter interaction will have on every part of our lives.
Twitter is not just me answering the question, "What are you doing now?" It is so much more than that. And it is not just a duplication of my Facebook status. (Actually my Facebook status is a duplication of my Tweets) With Twitter's connectivity, it has become a way to share thoughts and links to any place on the web, a way to learn, to get news updates and follow nearly play by play action of live sports events and actually build relationships with people you would have never met, not even on Facebook.
The brilliance behind Twitter is the symbols used to connect people to topics and to others instantly, on the fly. And enable them to connect back to you in the same fashion. And I am not simply talking about random strangers, I am talking about people we have all dreamt about being able to ask a question or share a thought.
Actors, musicians, politicians, writers, sports broadcasters, CEOs, they are all here and willing to dialogue with the average joes like me.
Let me share with you two short stories that example this assertion. I try to follow the German Bundesliga and the EPL as much as possible through the TV and the web but because of the time difference between here and Europe I miss most of the action on TV, at least live. But through Twitter I am able to get live updates from all the matches right to my Blackberry. Getting that commentary live is exciting enough but one day I wanted to ask the FSC commentator a question so I Tweeted him. And much to my amazement he answered my question almost instantly while he was broadcasting live! When has something like that ever been a possibility before?
Another amazing thing happened to me via Twitter. I have a certain product that I use daily and love. I decided to get some of this product as part of our Christmas gifts for some of our relatives. The American spokesperson for this British company is a fairly out in front of the camera sort of person so I thought it would be cool if I could get a short note from this person to put in my gifts. So I Tweeted this person my request and got an immediate response that they could make this happen. I was excited to say the least. But what happened next is what Twitter is all about, I noticed within minutes of my request, a Tweet went out from this spokesperson suggesting that others should give their product for Christmas. Wow, that's flattering. And then a few minutes later the CEO of the company in the UK Tweets the same thing! Within ten minutes, an idea conceived in my head had traveled around the world to tens of thousands of fans of this brand.
THAT'S the power of Twitter. I read where the CEO of that company said that socmed sites like Twitter has allowed him to connect directly with his end users in a way never before possible. It won't just bring him sales, it will bring him loyalty. And that is more valuable than anything.
If you aren't a Twit yet, no matter your age, you are missing out on a whole new world and its a wonderful world. And as my son and I like to say, "That's so Tweetable!"
Nyk
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
0 comments:
Post a Comment