I have, at last check, 138 friends on Facebook. I know...that's kind of lame. But here's the thing: I'm not one of those people that, as soon as I meet somebody, I have to search them and friend them before they forget who I am. My palpabley lame friend total is actually all people that I either talk to on occasion, or at least people I used to talk to on a semi-regular basis. But I'm not here to defend my lack of popularity on Facebook...I'm here to say that this only proves that I have no business being on Twitter.
Considering my job title actually includes the words "New Media Specialist," I'm not un-aware of the social uprising Twitter's caused in the meida world in the past two years. My problem is, the entire nework is really just designed for famous (or at least moderately popular...) people or media outlets that need a quick way of spreading news.
I am neither of those things. If I were to Tweet something, maybe ten people would see it. At least if I post a Facebook status there's good chances that maybe a dozen people would notice. Basically, that's all these little status updates are for anyway: being noticed by somebody. I'm ok with that. It's a totally narcissistic thing to do, but hell...500 million people are on Facebook everyday, so me admitting narcissism isn't exactly groundbreaking.
Twitter just doesn't make sense. Facebook exists, so therefore Twitter shouldn't. Twitter is just the status update of Facebook, only meant for celebrities who have fans who actually care about what they're eating for lunch. It's like a company just creating a website where I can play Frontierville. Nothing else. Just Frontierville. And I'd have less friends helping me tend to my Frontier, too. Which is a huge, royal, pain in the ass. (Side note: I hate the fact that I know that.)
Anywho...Twitter should be roped off to the common man at this point. I'm sick of seeing TV ads or hear people talk about their Twitter pages. Just use Facebook. You're not popular enough for Twitter. Ashton Kutcher says so. Or, at least his 2 million fans do.
I completely disagree. After all, what use would it be to companies if "the common man" wasn't allowed on it? How would that even work?
ReplyDeleteDo you have a twitter account? I get the idea that you have never used it or really done any research about it at all. Crowdsourcing is huge now, and if you want to be in the media industry, especially the "new" media industry, you really need to understand how it works, and why twitter is such a huge part of it.
I do have one...and roughly 10 friends. I currently operate my company's, which has over 150. Bottom line is when I tweet, nobody cares. When my company tweets, people care. That's because my company is in the news business and I'm in the "going to work, then maybe a shower!" business. The way twitter is operated is completely overrated in the world of local media, and I'd know because I've been working in it for nearly six years.
ReplyDeleteThe reality is that Twitter is a great way to build contacts and establish a personality. This is true for media personalities, organizations, music, whatever. If you're Joe Schlub in the media, like myself, then nobody gives a hoot. Facebook is still the preferred weapon of choice for crowdsourcing. This week, I've literally dealt with five politicians running for office or re-election. I asked each of them if they were big into facebook, and they said it's all they use. When I asked them about twitter, two didn't know how to use it and the other three said that the common man doesn't give a crap about Twitter. I tend to agree.