Comments on: Time for a Twitter Reality Check

By: Dan Hutson

Dan Hutson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:35:39 +0000

Great question. If you subscribe to the idea that marketing is everyone’s job (and I do), then the issue isn’t whether or not non-marketers should be spending time on social media, it’s where can they most effectively contribute through social media. As social media gains greater acceptance, I hope the focus will shift there. Sure, people spending time on Facebook or Twitter without purpose or an understanding of how their involvement can help achieve marketing goals is time wasted, but that’s true of any communication tool.

By: Vince Giorgi

Vince Giorgi — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:36:01 +0000

Hey, Dan, you’ve stirred up some great discussion here. And before I forget, where can I get some of that “guaranteed to engage content” marcy d. is referencing? I’d like to bottle that stuff…

I keep wondering — and I’ve got a post on this over at Touch Point City, http://www.bit.ly/1Srv53, quoting new findings from Nucleus Research re: Facebook’s impact on office productivity — how social media is going to gain widespread acceptance as a business tool if employees can’t demonstrate to supervisors, executives and owners that time they spend on Facebook, Twitter, et al, during work hours is time well spent on the company’s behalf.

Granted, those whose business cards say “marketing,” “corporate communications,” etc., might more easily be able to justify spending work time on social media. But for the vast majority of workers — including the decision makers most marketers are trying to reach — early indications are that this could be a tough sell.

What’s your take?

By: Time for a Twitter Reality Check: Part II | Poke the Beehive

Time for a Twitter Reality Check: Part II | Poke the Beehive — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:28:35 +0000

[...] Professionals, Tweeple and Twittering. I simply asked members of these groups to read my post Time for a Twitter Reality Check and then return to the discussion to share their thoughts. And share they [...]

By: Raghu Nath

Raghu Nath — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:48:37 +0000

I am sure the creators of Twitter know how to prevent, control and manage spam. They are just letting it unfettered because they want to promote its popularity. At an appropriate time, they will pull the plugs and bring things into order (including allowing spam users).
Twitter is an incredibly powerful tool – something that people will soon find they can’t live without – be it for business, entertainment or personal communication.
Already my Linked In usage has come down. It is so difficult to “engage another in a conversation here” compared to Twitter!

By: Dan Hutson

Dan Hutson — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:52:44 +0000

Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more. Let’s hope marketers everywhere see the light.

By: marcy d.

marcy d. — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:47:03 +0000

It’s not about the platform (Twitter), it’s about the Content.

What we’re waiting to see is whether clever and creative people start figuring out how to use the platform for engaging End User experiences.

Don’t blame the messenger service, blame the people who write the message.

The advertising world created commercial television. The advertising world by not merging “interactive” with “broadcast” killed off the prospect of “internet television. So, with TWITTER, agencies and brands have a new platform they can either figure out how to use well and encourage a hybrid commercial and user generated space (chaotic, but, works) or, they will sit back and let another potentially successful platform die. TWITTER will succeed if a combination of professional (guaranteed to engage) and User Generated content (conversations) reside in the space, and, if Brands learn to create new “conversational” experiences that add value to the User.

But, end of the day, it must cease being about Twitter and needs to be about the content that flows through it.

By: Dan Hutson

Dan Hutson — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 23:33:06 +0000

Thanks, Matches. That’s certainly cryptic. I am using Twitter primarily for professional reasons, that’s true, so I tend to approach it from that perspective. Thanks for the reminder that others are just having fun with it. By the way, I’m having fun, too.

By: Matches Malone

Matches Malone — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:23:58 +0000

As part of The Experiment, I’m going to see how many different ways I can respond to this and basically say the same thing, simply because it doesn’t seem like you’re having fun with Twitter, and you see it as work. If that’s what you believe, then your comments above are certainly valid.

However, some of what you say is indeed not the case, simply because what you’re using Twitter for may not be what others are using it for. It’s the biggest demonstration of The Law!!! to date….

By: Dan Hutson

Dan Hutson — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:38:05 +0000

Thanks Martin. I appreciate your thoughtful response. Obviously I’m being more than a little facetious when I say no one’s on Twitter and people are using it for nefarious purposes, but I wanted to remind people to keep this thing in the proper context. We’re still at the very early stages of Twitter adoption, there is no clear road map for its effective use, we’re all still experimenting. There are a lot of people out there mucking things up just as they do in other media. It’s like when we built these amazing transportation vehicles called “cars” and someone decided the Hummer was a good idea. A little silly, but you get my point.

I will challenge you on one point, though. You seem to view Twitter primarily as a broadcasting medium. If that’s the case, I can screen you out just as I do now with other forms of advertising. But if you use it to engage me, build a relationship, address my business needs through an ongoing conversation, well, for me that’s where the true power lies.

By: Dan Hutson

Dan Hutson — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:30:26 +0000

Thanks, Bob. I think if we keep focused on Twitter as a relationship-building and engagement tool rather than just another broadcasting device, we’ll realize its true potential. People who use it as an opportunity to advertise are just short-shortsighted.