Twitter uses a proprietary message-routing system that processes text-based messages
from the Web, SMS, mobile Web, and instant messages. It also allows outside entities,
known collectively as third-party applications, to access its servers via its open-source
application program interface (API) to pass data (messages and user information) back
and forth. Twitter’s flexible, extensible platform has given it wide reach as developers
create new applications, tools, directories, functions, and the like. All of these Twitter
solutions attract attention, trial and use, and subsequent mention by the Twitter community
at large, which then helps to further broaden interest in Twitter. Many users
prefer such third-party apps as their primary means of using Twitter, which often
replaces entirely the need to go to the Twitter website.
On a simpler level, Twitter’s technology can be divided into two key components:
the Web and its mobile counterpart.
Twittering on the Web
The Twitter website itself is programmed using the Ruby on Rails web application framework,
which is popular with Twitter’s developers due to its facility for rapid development
and ease of maintenance. Twitter users who tweet from the Web at http://www.twitter.
com need only a basic web browser to use the service and access all of its features.
Twittering on the Go
Tweeting from a mobile phone while on the go is a slightly more complicated process.
Twitter provides a special web-based interface at http://m.Twitter.com. It is a pareddown,
faster-loading version of the original that works particularly well with browserenabled
mobile devices. If your device does not have a browser, mobile tweeting will
require learning a few special keypad commands. It’s important to note that using
Twitter while on the go is possible from any mobile device with SMS capability. Just
remember this: although using Twitter is free, text messaging (receiving and sending) is
not. If you plan to use Twitter via text messaging, you might want to monitor your cell
phone bills and upgrade to an unlimited text-messaging plan if your tweets really start
to add up.
Follow the Leader
Twitter’s unique subscription system allows you to follow (or unfollow) other users’
tweets, similar to subscribing to or unsubscribing from a blog or email list. Among
the statistics that Twitter displays prominently on every user’s profile page
are a followers count (the number of people following someone) as well as a following
count (the number of people someone follows).
Twitter’s very public statistics promote something of a popularity-contest atmosphere
within Twitter. People may pass instant judgments about the caliber of a user
based on their followers/following counts, and not necessarily on the quality of their
tweets. There are some who have gone so far as to propose that Twitter do away with
these followers/following statistics for this very reason.
The authentic side of the Twitterverse is an ecosystem that respects and rewards
quality over quantity—both with tweets and tweeps—and reduces the signal-to-noise
ratio when it comes to producing quality tweets. Most respectable tweeps frown on
spammers, annoying tweeps, those who tweet too much, and those who take “What
are you doing?” too literally. The objectives for brands utilizing Twitter should be the
same: produce great content, be engaged with your community, seek out those with
like-minded interests, and the followers will come. Ultimately, this kind of interactionattraction
will help support your brand.
Twitter’s Open Source API
From the start, Twitter facilitated its rise in popularity by opening itself up to integration
with other tools and applications built by web developers. Twitter’s open-source
API, the means by which these developers access Twitter’s server to pass information
back and forth, has led to the continuous development or upgrading of solutions that
improve how people use Twitter or extend its functionality. Many such applications are
simple. They are designed to do just one thing and do it well. It’s, therefore, typical of
tweeps to use a wide variety of specialized applications that suit their needs to improve
the overall Twitter experience.
There are hundreds of Twitter applications, and new ones are constantly being
developed. There are some common ones, however, that will be mentioned throughout
this book, so they’re worth listing here:
• TweetDeck is a popular downloadable desktop application with higher functionality
to receive, read, respond, manage, group, and search tweets.
• Twirl is another early front-runner in downloadable desktop applications
.
• Seesmic is a desktop application giving TweetDeck a run. It has now come out
with a web-based version of its app
• TwitterFox is a Firefox browser add-in application
.
• Tweetie is a popular iPhone Twitter application.
• Twitterfon is another popular iPhone Twitter client.
• Tweetlater is a web-based application that lets you schedule tweets for future
posting.
• Hootsuite is similar to Tweetlater. It combines with URL shortening and tracking
metrics.
• CoTweet is an application that manages multiple users responding to single or
multiple accounts with multiple users.
Obviously, there are many reasons why Twitter has grown so popular so quickly.
The industry now questions if it can sustain this growth and, if so, what Twitter plans
on doing to monetize it. In the meantime, we’ll focus this book on ways in which you
can monetize Twitter for business marketing gain.
Tweeting from a mobile phone while on the go is a slightly more complicated process.
Twitter provides a special Web-based interface at http://m.Twitter.com, a pared-down,
faster-loading version of the original that works particularly well with browser-enabled
mobile devices. If your device does not have a browser, mobile tweeting requires a few
special keypad commands due to the lack of a Web-based interface. It’s
important to note that using Twitter while on the go is possible from any mobile device
with SMS capability.
Twitter’s Rapid Ascent
Despite the enthusiasm among early adopters when Twitter was first launched, most
of the public struggled to understand Twitter’s appeal. At first, many users wondered,
“Do people really want to know every little thing I do?”
Part of the initial hurdle in attracting users to Twitter was that people were just
tweeting about the mundane. In its first few months before today’s tools, applications,
and enhancements arrived, it was hard to recognize Twitter’s real value. As Twitter
began to catch on, however, clever users started to use Twitter to share links and news
and to integrate Twitter feeds into their blogs via RSS . Twitter’s technology allowed
developers to access its servers, and then they released new tools that made Twitter
more manageable and interesting to more people.
As is common with unanticipated growth spurts in web technology, Twitter’s
increased use led to problems. By midyear 2007, Twitter began experiencing server capacity
problems related to its growing number of users, prompting the creation of the
now infamous Fail Whale, which was both a humorous graphic and quick-to-catch-on
description of the recurring circumstance
Despite its technical problems, Twitter cultivated a bold and fiercely loyal user
base, while developing its own sense of culture, etiquette, and even vocabulary. Twitter
is one of the most unique social networks in this respect, as many of its social mores
developed out of its requirement for brevity. Twitter users tend to be very matter-offact
when it comes to tweeting, and very vocal about other users’ faux pas. Because of
this, new users, particularly big brands who by their very nature are targets and tend
to be called out faster by the Twitter community, should be well aware and respectful
of Twitter’s unique culture so as to avoid engaging recklessly. That said, Twitter is also
known to be one of the most honest, helpful, and welcoming online communities, and
its reputation is perhaps one of the main reasons behind its surge in popularity over the
course of 2007.
In 2008, Twitter attracted the media’s attention when some American presidential
candidates began using it on the campaign trail, most notably Barack Obama.
According to Hitwise, on election day 2008, traffic on Twitter.com alone rose 43 percent.
Later that year, Twitter users in India live-tweeted the horrific events of the 2008
Mumbai attacks as the tragedy unfolded. It was a significant turning point in Twitter’s
history, as people began to rely on this simple but effective service as a source for
breaking news. In the summer 2009, Twitter again influenced history during the aftermath
of the Iranian elections, which resulted in national tumult, culminating with the
Iranian government’s ousting of the traditional news media. During that time, the only
breaking news came from tweets from the Iranian opposition.
Because Twitter is mobile, tweeps who are first on the scene of breaking news
are able to get the word out quickly and efficiently. Smart phones not only let people
tweet; they can also take and upload photos, enriching the value of a tweet. These
days, news often breaks first on Twitter, and the media follows suit. Not to be usurped,
many media outlets now deliver their news feeds via Twitter, as well as directly engaging
with readers.
By the start of 2009, Twitter’s popularity reached critical mass. Once thought of
as a trivial fad, Twitter was now making headlines and becoming a household word.
More brands began integrating Twitter into their social media strategies. Realizing its
importance, entities from large corporations to small businesses were also racing to
claim their Twitter handles, hoping to avoid the domain-squatting issues of the late
1990s.
Twitter has also become wildly popular in the mainstream media as more celebrities
have joined the fray, reaching a pinnacle in April 2009 when Oprah (@oprah)
signed up for Twitter live on her show with the already popular actor and producer
Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) in the role of guide, and drawing 76,000 followers to her
account within less than 15 minutes of her first tweet! Popular tech blog TechCrunch
estimated that Oprah’s show alone may have brought more than one million new users
to Twitter. Not long after, Kutcher laid down a challenge to acquire more than one million
users before CNN ’s Breaking News (@cnnbrk). Since then, Kutcher
has completely surpassed Breaking News and is currently the Number One “most
popular” Twitterer, as measured by the number of followers.
Twitter’s Financial Future
Twitter’s popularity has also attracted potential mega-buyers. In November 2008,
there were multiple unconfirmed reports that Facebook offered to acquire Twitter for
$500 million of its stock, which included a cash component. The offer was roundly
rejected. In April 2009, rumors furiously swirled that Google was also going to make
an offer to acquire Twitter. Google squarely denied the rumor. In May 2009, Apple
too, it was rumored, was interested in acquiring Twitter. To date, Twitter has rejected
all offers to be acquired, stating on its blog that it intends to go it on its own:
http://blog.twitter.com/2009/04/sometimes-we-talk.html
All of these rumors have many of us wondering, “What is the future of
Twitter?” Twitter seems to be investing in its future by courting investors, hiring experienced
players, and keeping the media grasping at every publicly announced nuance
or teased piece of information. For example, in March 2008 the Wall Street Journal
reported that Twitter cofounder Biz Stone alluded to companies paying for more
features in the future because Twitter had hired a product manager to develop these
yet-to-be-defined features. In June 2009, a general partner of a firm that invested in
Twitter hinted to The New York Times that Twitter’s monetization lay in ecommerce,
namely “links to products and turnkey payment mechanisms” and “filters and feeds
to sort tweets by whom they are from and what they are about.” That same month,
Bloomberg.com reported that Biz Stone said that Twitter could make money by verifying
corporate accounts. In August 2009, Biz Stone taped a television interview on the
PBS show Tavis Smiley and alluded to the company’s plans to monetize itself by selling
more robust data-analysis features to brand companies. In September 2009, The Wall
Street Journal reported that Twitter was close to raising as much as $100 million from
multiple investors who valuated Twitter at $1 billion!
However Twitter plans to make money in the long run, one thing’s for certain:
plenty of people in Twitterdom will have an opinion about their decision.
What Makes Tweeps Tick?
Twitter creates value because it can be used in many clever and innovative ways to
serve many different purposes
(please view part 4)
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