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On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

Hey Christian,

Please forgive my delay in responding. You typed,  "numbers mean zilch"  -- I couldn't agree more.  A connection with one influential tweeter is worth thousands of gamed followers. Go for quality over quantity - every day of the week. 

With an open system such as twitter we will see more and more #AccidentalJournalists like @ReallyVirtual who happened to live tweet bin Laden's death.  From April 30th to May 1st @ReallyVirtual went from 750 twitter followers to over 43,000. Ironically he had moved to the mountains to get away from it all and he had no idea bin Laden lived next door. 

Thanks for your thought filled response. I've learned so much during this conversation - from interesting people like you who took the time to share their expertise.

Amy Stark

On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

Hey Mitch, I contend twitter is on top of the food chain, not on top.  Mankind is at the top of the food chain, but there are lots more insects than people.

You are dead on about twitter's immediacy. It's a lightning fast neutral conduit for good and bad news to spread.  Thanks for your thought-filled comment.

On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

Javier,

Thanks for giving me a source for solid data on my #8 reason (twitter is an Uber Social Media platform).  I'm not familiar with the white paper you mentioned, but I'm glad I now have some data beyond personal experience and anecdotal evidence.

You mentioned a research paper you wrote, are you a student? I'd be interested in reading it. Your statement, "Twitter disseminates information - something thought leaders constantly seek." is dead on!

On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

I agree wholeheartedly, Stephanie.

On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

Hey kmskala,

Thanks for spending the time to write a thought filled response.You made me think. =)

You said, "80 million or so active users"

My best guess ... 93% of tweets from those 80 million users are crap -just like David Letterman suggested. The only thing you have to do is find the tweeters producing the 7% of the NON crap -- which is still a big number!

"We aren't talking to our customers"

Every time I interact digitally I am speaking to my clients and sharing information with them. My social media presence is out there for all clients and potential clients to see.  That's the core to inbound marketing.

I never make predictions more than a month or two out - things change too quickly in the Information Age. Twitter may fade soon but a platform that is free, sms / IP friendly, and has a ubiquitous connection to the Internet is the only thing that can replace it. Brands that hone their twitter skills NOW will be way ahead of the game very soon.  

On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

Hi Robbin, Messages aren't missed if you do a search for a keyword or a person. For YOU twitter is a microblog, but for me it's a groovy cocktail party where I can digitally interact with like minded folks all over the world AND eavesdrop on the ideas of some very smart people. I appreciate your time in sharing your thoughts, Robbin. This has been a fun learning experience for me.

On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

Thanks Redge for your comment.  There are a few people I know who really "get" twitter.  @drthomasho is one of them and I highly recommend following him for intelligent tweets about social media.  He's an interesting and smart tweeter.

On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

Thanks! I stand corrected. I am the author -- a she, btw -- and I'm not a code geek. You are correct about my confusing API with open source. I should have checked with @Codatory before posting it.

On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

Hey Mike,

1.  I stand corrected on the open source statement and am glad you cleared that up for me, truly. I don't want to continue saying it when it's not true. Was the part about geeks having a vested interest in twitter's success true?

2.  That is a great point! You must have a way to sign up before you can access the platform. I didn't think of that. But I stand by my 4 Billion twitter ready devices statement.

I agree twitter is not main-stream but - it should be. There will never be a perfect representation of all societies -- an impossible task with 6 Billion people on the face of the earth.  

As I see it, #3 is exclusive to twitter

#6 It's not what you know... and  #7 Its diversity may be true for other platforms, but twitter has them all beat.  There is no other platform that allows such easy unfiltered flow of information between and among disparate groups of people -- regardless of their socio-economic status or geographic location.

#8 is based solely on my personal experience and anecdotal evidence but #9 goes squarely to twitter. More than any other platform - real time is REAL time on twitter. And if we're to believe Robert Putnam the author of Bowling Alone: The collapse and revival of American Community - Bridging social capital is crucial to allow movement between socio-economic groups. Tweeters form the largest bridging social capital group in the history of our species.

Thanks for the thoughtful input, Mike. You taught me a some things and helped me clarify others. I'm glad you commented. =)

On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

Hey Eric, Thanks for introducing me to the SIM card solution, that's new to me. I read over the press release from Business Wire India and I'd be interested in learning how many units Gemalto sold so far. Do you know anything about the cost or pricing structure? I'd be interested in learning more about it. 

I will never argue the fact that Facebook has the biggest market share of all social media platforms at this moment in time, but if you define reach as a "range of effective action, power, or capacity" then twitter wins - once again - at this moment in time.  Right now there are 3-4 Billion twitter ready devices that have the capacity to interact on its platform. 

One huge difference between twitter and facebook is that facebook is a bunch of closed communities. If I post something on facebook ONLY my friends will see the post. If I post it on twitter it becomes available to anyone who happens to see it or search for it. That's why news travels faster on twitter than facebook, there are fewer roadblocks.

I'm glad you spent the time to answer. The exchange of ideas on platforms like Social Media Today enriches all of our lives.Thanks!

On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

Thanks, Mike. I've found that once people have a hook - or a connection on twitter that makes sense to them - they soon understand its potential.  I think twitter did itself a disservice by its frivolous sounding name and the fact they initially asked, "What are you doing?"  During the course of the day most people aren't doing anything worth sharing.

On Top 10 Reasons Twitter is On Top of the Social Media Food Chain

Hey Eric, You are right. Four billion people are NOT using twitter, but there are 4 billion twitter ready devices, that is not a loose statement - that is a fact.  Facebook does not provide a way to connect and use their platform via basic cell phones.  I will agree facebook is the most POPULAR social media platform, but it does not have the potential reach that twitter has.