There is a debate going on concerning the use of Twitter and services like it. Specifically, whether the time invested in using the third party services is worth it in the end. Receiving real-time news and real-time conversations. Keep in mind the people discussing this are business owners. The question to me is:
What does the business plan say?
Does their business plans formulate how to effectively integrate third party services into their business model to ensure the maximum benefit is received? Does monitoring Twitter or Facebook outweigh holding a video chat and interacting with the viewers? What is the goal of using Twitter? If one accumulates thousands of followers on Twitter, then what? If there are more followers on third party sites than the main site is that a detriment to the business?
An average user of the service, a business owner wondering if there could be a gain from using the site or someone who “really” wants to create traffic to their blog from their followers from Twitter…these people all have different goals, different interests and could require different approaches to achieve their goals.
For business owners, it directly goes back to the business plan and that is the problem with the economy. People with no business knowledge are doing business and not attempting to enhance their business knowledge. Instead of thinking “this is a cool idea!” how about thinking it through first and realize the strengths and weaknesses in the idea? Is the time of the CEO (or other high level officer) best spent interacting on a third party site instead of building the company site or doing other officer related activities? If investors are involved can the time spent be realistically justified?
Those are the real questions. Maybe one day they’ll get around to answering them.
I don’t think many of the online companies have business plans. Robert Scoble can’t possibly. I listened to Gilmor Gang because I saw on Twitter someone called him an idiot and I wanted to hear it. I remember you told him years ago to think before he leaps. He admitted he still doesn’t in the podcast. It is a good listen if you’re interested.
I like the new site design! Where are all the old entries? I liked the old design but I like this too. Nice and clean.
Twitter isn’t main stream yet and are they making money yet? Logically it can’t go mainstream until it does. That said, you’re right. What DOES their business plan say? Scoble claims to have value in the conversations but most of what he sees has to be trash like “I went to the store.”
I don’t use Twitter and I don’t have a blog so it amuses me how much thought people put into the topic. I understand from a business perspective where a company might want to try it out. When is the CEO’s time ever better spent on Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, etc.? Not on a regular basis.
You hear about the Moms upset that Facebook blocked their breast feeding pictures? I don’t understand the mentality where these women think their profile page is theirs? Fake ownership for the win! It’s the same thing with Twitter. When Twitter changes, and it will change, many people are going to be screwed because they were too stupid to kill their dependency on it.
The whole issue about Twitter or Friendfeed or Jaiku (did that go the route of Pownce yet?) or any of them is whether you can transfer your “cred” or not.
I just passed 1,600 Twitter followers… which really means about 700 Twitter followers, because there are so many people that try to just hop on Twitter to post advertisements, and really aren’t paying attention AT ALL to what I am saying or anybody else is saying. If Twitter fails…. I mean, not like it USUALLY fails, but for a long time, like how Operator11 fell off the face of the earth, without even an explanatory splash page, how am I going to reach those 700 people? How am I going to reconnect to “my network”?
I’m not.
That’s just the thing. If everything you’re doing isn’t pointing to YOU getting the credit, you’re toast. It’s like losing your phone. The only way to get back in touch with those people is by memory or if you have some form of backup. However, if your third-party posting has generated actual CRED for you instead of people just “following” you because you get information faster than other people or because you aggregate other people’s ideas and disseminate them on Twitter, the next thing you do, people will seek you out and reconnect with you.
Posting into the wind is good if you have endless material and can always “wow the crowd” again next time. If you’re not that prolific, you’re better off posting to a blog.
What companies “should” be doing is going back over their business plans and cleaning them up. 2009 is not going to be a joke for businesses. A lot of companies are going to go out of business and I think a lot of people are going to get laid off so companies can continue to operate.
@Janice – I doubt many have plans or if they do they stick to them. The ones with financial backing are going to have to tighten ship though.
@Walter – Thanks. New year, new design. Out with the old, in with the new. I have the old stuff archived. I might bring some of it back. /shrug
@Dantelle – Yup, it made the news. Jeff Jarvis was on there with another woman. What they said was so compelling and important I’ve completely forgotten what they said.
@Bill – Exactly. Twitter can be a fun application but I kind of smile to myself when I see people actively attempting to build an audience on there – over and above their own site. Truth is: if one can’t do it on their own site, there is something wrong. Fix it.
@Alan – For real! For those debating this issue perhaps they might want to look at their declining traffic numbers and fix it instead of puzzling over their Twitter, Facebook, etc. time. What’s done is done, traffic is gone, Twitter won’t help much because….
….wait for it….
Most of the people subscribed to their Twitter are also subscribed to their blog. I crack up when people tout their numbers and completely disregard the high percentage of duplicates or as Bill mentioned, those not paying attention in the first place.
It’s quiet. Everyone is in Vegas with Tyme probably.
What ever happened with Seesmic? That’s another time consuming service I don’t think will make it.
The funny thing about this: people claim they don’t have time to do the things they want to do yet have time to spend all day online playing with social networks. I miss video chats. I LOVED the 9rules streams. Go every once in awhile, have some beers and chill with your friends. Pure fun. I get my one on one interaction and don’t have to give up my time everyday.
I unsubscribed from people who post their links in Twitter. I understand why they do it but if I’m subscribed I’m getting information I already have. If I wanted to talk about the blog on Twitter I wouldn’t subscribe. So I unsubscribed. That is probably why these people have drops. In my reader I’m more likely to click over. On Twitter it can easily get lost in the mix of all the other Twitters I receive.
You’re refreshingly honest in your article. True business owners should know the answers to these questions already. The choice would be more defined if these services weren’t free.
I think it is time to wake up and take a realistic look at what we are doing and why. My Facebook is becoming littered with people taking pictures while they are out. Not pictures of new people. Same people, slightly different pose. Same place. Why is that interesting? Why would anyone care that someone went out with the same people they always go out with? Terrific these people are having fun but why is it enjoyable for anyone else?