TO: High-Level Business Executives
FROM: The Executive Whisper
We’d just like to go on record that the Twitter-as-a-Business-World-Savior phenomenon has officially gotten out of control and, in fact, the micro-blogging tool will soon occupy the same space as pet rocks and the Macarena.
Why? Everything that’s reported and opined is all based on anecdotes and gee-whiz thinking – and frankly, crap that doesn’t make any sense.
To wit: TIME magazine’s June 15, 2009, cover story predicts Twitter “will increasingly become a place where companies build brands, do research, send information to customers, conduct e-commerce and create communities for their users.” It explains the wonderful conversations people are having on Twitter to deliver “ambient awareness.” And the article actually states “hearing about what your friends had for breakfast is actually more interesting than it sounds.” No, it’s not.
Further, this is all great in theory. Unfortunately, it’s not supported by the data. In fact, the article reports no numbers or research. And it conveniently ignores recent data revealing how Twitter’s traffic has flatlined and that basically no one tweets. Oh, and it’s lower on the social media interaction scale than Wikipedia. (Twitter’s resembles more of a one-way, one-to-many publishing service more than a two-way, peer-to-peer communication network.) But besides that, TIME’s reporter, Steven Johnson, was at a conference where Twitter was used. And, well, it was kinda cool.
There’s more. Jack and Suzy Welch’s recent, usually insightful, column in BusinessWeek proclaim (no lie) “[W]e certainly get its incipient power. Indeed, if Twitter continues to expand at its current rate, it may well become a high-value way for companies to help brand themselves and microtarget consumer groups, as well as another tool for managers to interact with their people, and vice versa.” And to support this claim? They like it. They really, really like it. No supporting data or real analysis need be given.
Holy crap. And that’s where the trouble lies. No real analysis. Hello? Will the grownups please report to work? Can you imagine what Jack Welch would have done if an employee provided a similar report to him while he was running GE? “Gee, that’s interesting, Bob. You’re fired.”
Yes, we’ve all read the incredible success stories how Zappos and Dell tweating their way to fame and fortune. And how Intuit and Comcast use Twitter to assist customer service. But those are anecdotes.
In short, Twitter is an interesting technological answer in search of a problem. But the problem is not what you’re virtual friend had for breakfast.
