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Twitter Rant

March 11th, 2008 Posted in Advertising, Opinion, Social Media, Tools, Web 2.0, Word of Mouth

I hate twitter with a passion.

I can’t live without twitter.

Twitter is a complete waste-of-time.

Twitter is a valuable part of my day.

Twitter links me to some really smart people who find fascinating stuff.

Twitter shows me that even the A-listers are people who can be smart, dumb, mean and kind. In short, human.

Twitter gives me direct access to people I couldn’t otherwise get access to.

I am a better and a worse person for the things I have found through twitter.

Twitter is worse than filling out timesheets.

So when Jonah Bloom (Ad Age columnist) asked the Ad Age Power 150 : “which single technology, site or application do you think is most deserving of marketers’ attention in 2008 and why?” I couldn’t stop myself from saying: Twitter.

So in case my statement doesn’t make Ad Age’s upcoming digital special report, I am posting it here:

Twitter may be a time-sucking, narcissistic stream of 95% drivel. However, as a platform featuring two-way opt-in, conversational tone and overlapping circles of influence it may be the most human form of online conversation to date. Marketers must learn about earning their audiences through value one follower at a time and then listening to what others are saying (and not just about the brand).

Modern audiences are fragmented, inattentive, skeptical and fickle, I can think of no better test track for the inevitable future of communications than twitter.

[tags] twitter, ad age, Jonah Bloom, Power 150[/tags]

  1. 8 Responses to “Twitter Rant”

  2. By Leigh on Mar 11, 2008

    Uch! i was just thinking of writing a post about how I know i SHOULD be on twitter but even the thought of it makes me want to take a very long, unconnected to the network, nap.

    if you know what i mean…

  3. By dwalker on Mar 11, 2008

    Trust your feelings, Leigh…

    It is a pain, it will frustrate you and it may be a while before you stop wondering what the big deal is.

    But as a former rejector of twitter, I now say that I belive Twitter-like things are in every communications practioners future, whether they like it or not. So dip the toe in now while the stakes are still low.

  4. By Dave on Mar 17, 2008

    Thoughtful post, Doug. Twitter, Jaiku, Loophole…this technology has me waffling on the observer/participator fence. It strikes me as being created by the 2.0 elite who are keeping a leg up, but I’ll watch with interest. By the way, I’m watching Married…with Children, in case you were interested!

  5. By dwalker on Mar 17, 2008

    Good to hear from you Dave.

    I don’t think Twitter is a 2.0 elite conspiracy so much as it is most appealing to those infoaddicts who want to share and have a serious geek mindset.

    Wait, I think I just proved your point…

  1. 4 Trackback(s)

  2. Mar 15, 2008: Twitter is My New Search Engine | The Marketing Technology Blog
  3. Mar 17, 2008: Twitter: What and Why « PR and the city
  4. Mar 18, 2008: Twitter is My New Search Engine | The Phenomenon
  5. Mar 19, 2008: how tweet it is…or is it? « PRattle On

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