Today I Twittered my last Tweet having finally realized that micro-blogging sites, such as Twitter really have nothing to say. Or rather the users that post a continual stream of consciousness to them have nothing to say. After using the service for two months, I finally got tired of reading what people had for breakfast, the fact that they are just going to walk the dog, or that their air conditioning stopped working.
The idea behind Twitter was sound, a version of Citizen Journalism, in short form. Popularized at South by SouthWest (SXSW) in Austin,TX, it gave attendees the opportunity to write reviews of performers while they were at the performance.
Writing compelling content in 140 characters or less is difficult and that should encourage good writing, but it doesn't, instead people simply post what is on the tip of their fingers, with usually no more thought than adding to their total number of posts. Posting for the joy of hearing the sound of their own keyboard!
I have seen posts where people clearly state that they are hoping to reach X number of followers today and thank people for getting others to follow them. This is simply vacuous celebrity, just another manifestation of the "Me" generation. Like reality TV before it, it had appeal when it first started but already it is losing its allure. Do I really care that you had a Bran muffin for breakfast? The downside of this is that people who have something genuinely interesting to say get lost in the clamour for this celebrity.
The "convergence of Social Media Networks" as cross-posting is sometimes referred to has become an excuse for people who lack a filter or any sense of marketing to utilize online tools for their own purposes. Thus networks like Twitter become simply a stream of meaningless "life happenings", Facebook is commandeered by people posting links to their company website because they updated their company blog with a post about... yes you guessed it Twitter.
The pressure facing marketing departments to use these tools because "everyone else is" has become over-whelming. But just because these tools are there should they be used by everyone? Has Twitter just become the Facebook for the over 35's and if it has does it really have any business use?
A company posting to Twitter or any other network stands as much chance of damaging their reputation as it does of enhancing it, perhaps more so. For unless the company has something compelling to say, and writes it in a way that adds value to the readers experience, should they post at all? But wait, isn't that the point of posting? To add value in some form, provoke thought, bring new information to readers, perhaps even engage them and get them to take action? If all the company has to say is "Buy our new widget" or "read our blog about our new widget" does this really add value?
Now, while it may seem from this post that I am completely against these networks, I am not. In fact I think that if they were used properly, they could be a radical new form of media, unfortunately, in their current state they are nothing more than AutoDialers for the web. Would you really just grab the phone book, dial a few random people and tell them you are "just going to take the dog for a walk" and then hope that they will sit with baited breath by the phone for your next call ?
If someone can show me a truly innovative use for these networks, or in fact, a network that hasn't been hijacked by "Celebrity 2.0" crowd, I would love to use it.
Until then, I'll Tweet no more.
