Why Twitter is Potentially a Mainstream Media Killer App
Categories: New Business Models, social networking, Social Media
Friend Tony Grey posts a great article on Active Rain on why Twitter doesn't fit in with real estate lead generation.
His points are valid considering the state of Twitter today,
essentially Twitterers only congregate amongst themselves and are not
broadcasting to a consumer base.
First, most of the folks that state they don't understand or are puzzled by Twitter either haven't tried Twitter or have just dipped their toes in it. Conceptually, Twitter didn't make sense at its inception last year even for a few of its most ardent fans today. The reason? Simply, the questions and criticism that arise from disruptive technologies like Twitter are rooted in the perception that the technology isn't integrated within the mainstream, the status quo culture.
True, Twitter now stands out there as a lone medium
disconnected with the consumer internet. However, Twitter has reached a
first level of critical mass
where the communities (such as technology, Wall Street, celebrity and
real estate) have congregated. Bloomberg, NYTimes MSNBC Business and other media are already extensively broadcasting Twitter feeds. I have discussed why Twitter is an ideal syndication "ticker tape" tool for news media, and it's easy to automate distribution. (Tip: read "How we use Twitter for Journalism")
That said, the second level of critical mass will happen when Twitter filters into mainstream media and fits into local news media distribution. The SF Chronicle and other local media are already testing the Twitter medium. Go to SFChron_Alert and note who they are following (see a partial list below, I notice they like following the earthquake twitterers for breaking news...). Note also they haven't figured out Twitter yet and aren't broadcasting like the NYT does.
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MarketWatch
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Webware
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cnn
/ CNN.com
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sfearthquakes
/ Bay Area Earthquakes
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nytimes
/ New York Times
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BarackObama
/ Barack Obama
 You are following BarackObama
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CNETNews
/ CNET News.com
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LAFD
/ LA Fire Department
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hillaryclinton
/ Hillary Clinton
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globalwarming
/ Global Warming
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CCTimes
/ Contra Costa Times
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wired
/ Wired News
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BBC
/ BBC News
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googlemaps
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oregonian
/ The Oregonian
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nprnews / NPR News |
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ladailynews
/ L.A. Daily News
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kpfa
/ KPFA Web Director
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nprpolitics
/ NPR Politics
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earthandeconomy
/ Earth & Economy
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usnews
/ USNewsAndWorldReport
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Lifehacker
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ondeadline
/ USAT On Deadline
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TerraPass
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EQTW
/ Earthquake & Tsunami
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Poynter
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HoustonChron
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newsobserver
/ newsobserver.com
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infodiva
/ infodiva librarian
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WorldEarthquake
/ World Earthquakes
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www.kpbs.org="" listen=""> |
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starbulletin
/ HonoluluStarbulletin
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mercrethink
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PinoyPod
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sfc_justinbeck
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latimesbreaking
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FTmedianews
/ FT.com media news
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SFist
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McCainNews
/ John McCain News
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sacbee_news
/ SacBee Breaking News
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superdaly
/ Chris Daly
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EarthquakeNews
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PhilBronstein
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socalquakes
/ SoCal Earthquakes
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Where Twitter and MSM are headed
Now, let's review a few of Tony's premises about Twitter's shortcomings for business purposes, and reposition Twitter presence assuming local media goes full bore mainstream into Twitter (or any other micro-blogging application that is Twitter-like):
- No easy or quick way for customers to find you or for you to find them
- Local media like SF Chron will eventually develop
Twitter feeds for business, sports, real estate, etc... maybe they will
be called SFChron_sports, etc. Once these feeds are set up, SF Chron
will have to follow other Twitterers who are reporting on these topics,
and real estate Twitterers are good candidates for the real estate topic.
Consumers will then follow any recommendations made by branded mainstream media
like SF Chron.
- Twitter is designed to be very public
- Tony states it is hard to engage a
potential lead into a one-on-one conversation, but an agent Twitterer
does not want to do that on Twitter. Web 2.0 in its blog and Twitter
formats develop neutral channels for information exchange that become
part of the agent's maketing oeuvre. The consumer factors the generous
exchange, both social and practical, into their hiring decisions, and
that's when leads are converted.
- 140 characters is too limiting for a marketing message
- However, in aggregate, the Twitter stream of data valuable to a reader develops that marketing message. For example, a San Francisco Realtor can link the reader to Socketsite (Adam, why aren't you on Twitter?) or Curbed SF reviews of homes in San Francisco. The best part about Twitter is its unobtrusiveness... readers can ignore it until they find something of interest. Twitter applications like Twhirl deliver a useful ticker tape like experience of real time Twitter feeds.
- Most people on Twitter aren't customers
- True... but the customers are all
lurking in the background, they just aren't on Twitter yet. Web 2.0 is
engaging the consumer base... the value of real time real estate
reporting on a local level needs to be demonstrated to the consumer and
who best to do that then mainstream media? It's like Zillow, Trulia and Facebook... eventually a critical mass of consumers will make the applications relevant for business purposes.
Conclusion: Twitter is certainly not for everybody... it helps if you're already conversational and witty. I generally don't small talk about dinner and stuff, but use Twitter to relay new information to the "congregation", so I'm just creating my own ticker tape.
Twitter is another Web 2.0 construct that fits well into mainstream media reporting and it behooves a Web 2.0 engaged real estate professional to grab a descriptive Twitter name like SFRealEstate, park it and prepare for the emergence of this media.
Pat -
Could not agree more with you in your conclusions. I think it has the potential to be big, but like you, I'm of the "park it and wait" mentality.
For people who want to use it to generate business, Twitter is probably a bit too much like CB radio (I Love the 70's!) or chat rooms in the early days of AOL (I Love the 90's!).
Again, another great post.
Reply to this
Pat, I had to agree with Tony on his blog. But you make an excellent point about Twitter being a neutral channel. That in and of itself is reason enough to engage. But, as Tony said - it seems more like the "Next STep" once you have created a following.
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Excellent analysis, Pat, especially as it relates to the News Services. It's at times difficult to see all the various potential uses of upstart platforms like Twitter. The applications tend to morph over time and become more apparent. The value for me is more B2B at this point, as opposed to generating consumer leads. It's not for the networking 'faint-of-heart' who want everything explained upfront. But for early adapters, there a lot of punch in only 140 characters!
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Mr. Kitano,
Thanks for including the Los Angeles Fire Department among your roster of Twitter feeds. Like you, we see these technologies not as 'disruptive', but rather connective.
Please accept our best wishes for success in your many endeavors!
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
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I should thank you Brian for having the foresight to understand how technology can improve your services. Public service should be thinking like this.
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Pat -
Thanks for the links. I opened a twitter account about 2 weeks ago and I think it will be the killer app for micro-communication.
The original "where are you" premise doesn't seem to fit for business, but the "who are you" is a game changer. Eventually you will be able to look at a person's tweets and get a sense of what's important to them. Blog posts, URLs of interest, etc. Kind of a virtual cup of coffee. Not a place for marketing things, but definitely a place for marketing who you are.
As an info stream, I can see it replacing my blog reader some day. I don't need 1000 characters to see if I'm interested. 100 or so and a link is all I need.
I think the tools for following twitter are getting better and better. Using twirhl and twitterberry. Be interested in hearing if anyone else has suggestions.
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I follow several news channels on there, they are not following many at all. LOL
I love the Twitter and Twitbin app. love following the links to posts, technology and met great people there. I follow U of M sports, Wolverines and many local twitters from Ann Arbor too.
IMO we have only began to see the long range effect this will have on us for breaking news.
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Those interested in setting up Twitter Alerts should try summize
http://tinyurl.com/6py6zg
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Good point Joe... Summize monitors any Twitter conversations (including dialogue about oneself) you're interested in and one can subscribe to the alerts by RSS feed. http://tweetscan.comTweetscan does the same thing.
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