I think that part of it might also be that there isn't a whole lot of reciprocity with Twitter. Part of the "fun" is that you post Tweets thinking that others might be interested in what you're doing/saying--if you're following 5000 people and you're interacting with them, but only 20 are following you and little to no one is commenting or responding to your Tweets, I can imagine a lot of people might ask themselves--what's the point?
simonth
· 7 months ago
If noone reads your blog posts, do you stop blogging?
CuriousBystander
· 7 months ago
I don't think of blogging as interactive social networking to the same degree that I do Twitter. I don't expect responses when I blog--that's more of a journal-type of endeavor, among other things. Twitter was meant to be interactive.
Ebony Wiresinger
· 7 months ago
Well, arguably you probably should. If after some time no one is interested in what you have to say why continue to share it with the online universe? There are personal journals for that.
HotForWords
· 7 months ago
That's people returning to the website I believe. Most people access twitter via applications... so I think that number is not an accurate reflection of people actually using the service.
Michael Bauser
· 7 months ago
I doubt that many users go straight to desktop apps in their first month of twittering. Those are for experienced (and by "experienced," I mean "addicted") users.
Jamie
· 7 months ago
I went from Twitter-web to Twitter-apps in 3 hours. People who have seen my Mac with Ada running down the side have also expressed an interest in going for it, without considering Twitter-web in the first place. So I'm sure it's not *that* unusual.
Ilene
· 7 months ago
I do not agree with that assessment. One of the reasons I started using Twitter was because of the Twinkle client for the iPhone, and the ability to meet new geeks locally.
While I've moved on in my choice of clients, I rarely use the web interface, and cannot use it from work - I have to go through a client. So in my opinion, the stats should also count the users coming in through the Twitter API. There should be no programmatical reason why those posts/visits cannot be counted. At this point there are so many twitter clients that it would be impossible to count accurately otherwise.
CT Stan
· 7 months ago
I also would not agree with that statement. As twitter is all about status updates, instead of "browsing" pictures, apps, comments, etc ..... I think that the majority people do exactly what I did. If we like the idea of update status or communicating in a "near real time" mode ....then we HAVE to get off of just using the web. I would bet most regular users --- use the web or a web client when they are at their computer, a few continue to use the web from their phone or pda when mobile, but most mobile users are using an iphone/blackberry/phone app to tweet.......... so none of that is getting captured in the numbers
roxie
· 7 months ago
I agree with the first commenter. I went from Twitter Web to Twitter app in a matter of hours... you don't have to be "experienced" or "addicted" to click a button and download an app....
mashable
· 7 months ago
This is a great point. If true, Twitter could counter this by releasing stats showing how many accounts are accessed the next month, including those that use TweetDeck and the rest.
hitching
· 7 months ago
I'd agree; user loyalty and churn intel from Twitter themselves would be very interesting.
In the meantime you can get a rough feel from search.twitter.com about what proportion of tweets are posted using the web vs. other means (e.g. via SMS, IM, desktop apps, etc.) - just count the mix of 'less than 10 seconds ago using web' results vs. '... using txt' etc.
Based on a mere 60 seconds of analysis, it looks like about 50% of tweets appear 'from web'. I know that's rough and probably skewed but is my conclusion any more/less accurate than Neilsen's?!
[btw you can add 'source:web' to a query on search.twitter.com to see only tweets posted from the web if you want to investigate if those are any different from non-web users]
Actually, Pete, those stats from February don't accurately reflect the entire Twitter population as it's just those following the TwitStat account.
An analysis of over 90% of all tweets shows that "from web" is still the most popular source accounting for almost 60% of updates - http://tweetstats.com/twitter_stats
Television Voyeur
· 7 months ago
that's not true, I think more people access twitter via the web direct than through applications. Look at the public timeline to see this.
isoceles
· 7 months ago
Doesn't retention track account activity? Applications still have to access the site. Twitter is pretty worthless in my opinion. It does the same thing as FaceBook and MySpace but has less features. I'm waiting for the Twitter bubble to burst.
jason
· 7 months ago
eh, where's your proof that most people access twitter via applications? i've used twitter for over 2 years now and i still access it via the web and so do my friends who use it.
do i don't think you can say that the number isn't accurate. for all you know it is.
Justyn
· 7 months ago
I don't think it's unlikely that users move to a desktop app in short order, many in the first few days (I know I did). However, I imagine many people who use twitter clients, still use the twitter.com website occasionally (again, I do). So, I'm not sure how much the numbers would improve.
While facebook and myspace were pretty straighforward regarding their purpose in the early days, many people are still trying to figure out what twitter is about. I would guess that these numbers increase as people start to "get it".
Ari Herzog
· 7 months ago
Tell that "I don't think it's unlikely" bit to folks who've tweeted for MONTHS yet prefer twitter.com over applications.
Stuart Flatt
· 7 months ago
Sorry should have put this under this thread - Even those that use tweetdeck and such (myself included) still log on to the browser version (well at least once a month)? Either for viewing profiles (if not you will use all of your api calls) or viewing followers / followings?
Unless I am missing a trick in tweetdeck!
Daiv Russell
· 7 months ago
Precisely what *I* was thinking as I read the article, which removes 95% of the shock value of the article title.
That is probably a big reason - finding friends, especially long lost friends on Facebook is a big part of the appeal. With Twitter you find people you have common interests with, but you may not know them. Part of the fun for me is getting to know them thru their tweets, but it doesn't work for everyone.
Bill
· 7 months ago
I think the "friendship" issue is a big deal for Twitter. I think that many people go expecting it to be friendly but often find it isn't. Blogged about: it http://blog.harmoniker.net/HarmonikerBlog/tabid...
Vezquex
· 7 months ago
Shouldn't the x-axis be time? You referred to past rates, and this really can't be seen on the graph.
jason
· 7 months ago
the x-axis is time, in a manner of speaking. what the axis is tracking is reach so that you can compare apples to apples with facebook and myspace.
so when all three services had a .5% reach into the internet population for example, what was their retention rates. you see, not every website gains it's share of web reach at the same time. sometimes it can take months to do and others maybe a few weeks so looking at calendar time isn't a fair metric.
simonth
· 7 months ago
Twitter is about sharing news. If you have no news to share or to find, you will find Twitter uninteresting. Unlike Myspace and Facebook, these has multiple features to cater to wide range of users.
Though the recent mass adoption of Twitter is encouraging, I will prefer to have a quality group of users instead of high quantity of users. This news of high percentage of quitters is good news.
ArmandoD
· 7 months ago
Although Twitter is now "known" by the masses, not everyone really know what it is, so they sign up, they don't get it and they quit.
miberry
· 7 months ago
Yes, Twitter is a new concept and many people refuse to use this new way of social networking. Even Twitter don't have an exact definition. What is Twitter? a mini blog, a status update service, or spammer heaven.. etc. I think Twitter is for busy people don't have a lot of time to take care their blog.
ArmandoD
· 7 months ago
You may be right about busy people, for that I use http://amplify.com/. On the other hand I myself have found it very useful to connect with people that share my interests, mostly web related.
Colin
· 7 months ago
Twitter User, BUT, the problem I see with Twitter is that you take the time to post your thought, action, blog, etc... and if you are following a reasonable amount of people, and the people following you are following a reasonable amount of people, there is a good chance your tweet is out of sight before many people see it. You have to keep tweeting to stay relevant, you have to work in other words. What you do on Facebook and MySpace lives on, as you left it, until you decide you have time to go do something else. That is why I absolutely do not like the Facebook shift to the current format, or even the last for that matter. In my view, they are undoing their competitive advantage. Here is the other reality about Twitter from my perspective. The Twitter population may double, triple, or even quadruple (or much more) from its current numbers. However, if we were to measure average user activity over time I would bet there already are, and certainly will be, millions of accounts collecting cob webs. I just don't see it being a long term force, but I do see it being a fantastic spring board for some longer lifespan project from Evan and Biz through Obvious Corp. That is, if they have the time to come up with one in the midst of the Twitter frenzy.
Ooph
· 7 months ago
Well said Collin. It is hard to stay relevant on the rat race of Twitter. I have too much life going on to be tweeting the way I need to. Also, the ones that are tweeting nonstop drive me crazy. I have to go through and search out the others that I am interested in. I need a tool that sorts by person and not by time posted. Then I could weed out what I want from each person.
Ilene
· 7 months ago
Then you should really be looking at TweetDeck because it allows you to group users, follow searches (a lot of people use it while they're watching their favorite TV show like #heroes to talk about the show and converse with others as they watch it)...
Ooph
· 7 months ago
Thanks for the tip. I will look into it.
Ooph
· 7 months ago
Ilene. Your tip saved me about 3 hours per day. Love Tweetdeck. Took literally less than 5 minutes to set up and arrange my groups. Thanks for the help I owe you one. @ooph
Colin
· 7 months ago
... to follow up on my own comment. I do think there is a place and a usefulness for Twitter, though I don't believe that will be the same for everyone, and not everyone will find a use. As far as the long-term force comment, I just have a personal doubt that it will ever be as ubiquitous as Facebook. Soon the buzz will fade, and Twitter will return to a normal growth cycle, so if ever the guys had an idea to get off the ground besides Twitter, now would be a great time.
Shakir Razak
· 7 months ago
Hi,
Why do the twitterati seem surprised.
Whatever people want to make of it, it is primarily just a micro-blog, and like the original bigger-brother blogs, there's been a whole load of evangelising of it, people will experiment, try to post regularly, but normal people with rounded lives will generally get bored or lack time.
Eventually a group of professional will get together and think it would be a good idea to merge their efforts and tweet about specific niches, they might call it the TweetCrunch Network.
We will simply return to the largest twitterers replicating ye olde' days of pager-alerts and rss feeds!
Google will still be the primary conduit for most activities on the web for most people ;)
Kind regards,
Shakir Razak
Dili
· 7 months ago
This might actually be a good example of why people are leaving twitter.
For the record. I read that blog, now I see it all over my screen still. My eyes can't adjust from looking at that white on black so long. :)
Anurag
· 7 months ago
I don't think the main problem of twitter is hard to find friend but the fact that most people can't really associate twitter with anything useful. On Facebook, Myspace and any othe social networking site you can find friends, you can see pictures, you can post pictures, you can post hundred different visually appealing entities where as on Twitter one has to just twit. I didn't find the logic of texting through my mobile and getting it posted on the twitter site any interesting. Now who will want to sit and twit (mobile to site) when they can go to facebook or myspace and find some real interactive stuff over there.
I joined twitter and I twitted for like a week. I couldn't really find anything "useful". Yeah couple of people replied me. So what?
Lorna
· 7 months ago
I love Twitter and I think it will be #1 more and more people and popular shows are setting up accounts with Twitter.
KimSVanderwall
· 7 months ago
I agree with the comments that news on Twitter gets lost in the very rapid current of updates. I posted on Twitter (and through it to Facebook) that the last of my mother's sisters had died, and that I felt the loss of her whole generation. Not one person reacted on Twitter. Whereas on Facebook I had a whole rich conversation with others who were facing that same phenomenon. It really drove home how different the two media are. I don't think people are less caring on Twitter. I just think that it's an information overload. And people get caught up with making lots of noise in a competition to have the most followers. Which creates more overload.
Ayako
· 7 months ago
Several people around me at work did make a Twitter account after the whole Oprah/Ashton stuff. Well, the sad thing is I have been telling them about how Twitter could be useful for a while and they still listen to these celeb Twitterer over me! Well, but almost all of them just set up the account and have not done anything about it. I can tell them how we can all utilize to meet their needs, but I also believe in proactive approach - just like alcoholics will not quit drinking until they realize they need to stop. I personally enjoy using Twitter in so many different ways and have had a few Tweet-ups, too. I can just use the Tweetdeck all day long on one of my monitors!
Michael Bauser
· 7 months ago
Pete's got a point of how difficult Twitter makes it to find friends on the site. Twitter's "Find People" search is painfully bad. If Twitter wants people to find their real life friends, they need to do 3 things:
1) Add some fields to the user profile, and do a better job of encouraging people to fill them out.
2) Expand the "Search Other Networks" function to actually search other social networks, not just e-mail address books.
3) Add some filters to the search so you can (for example) search for "John Doe in Michigan" instead of just "John Doe."
Of course, considering that Twitter never seems to have more than 2 programmers working for them at once, we can expect a better user search exactly.... never.
Nischal Shetty
· 7 months ago
"how many people set up a desktop application like TweetDeck (TweetDeck reviews) and continue to Tweet, but never return to Twitter.com? "
I don't think that would include many. Not many of the twitter first timers start using third party apps right away. In most cases it requires recommendation frm frnds which happens only after you spend sufficient time on twitter.
May be the main reason for not returning is the boredom that catches on. People join twitter following just a handful of people and their timeline is pretty stagnant! Thats the reason twitter had introduced the "People you may like to follow" feature. But there's something more twitter needs to do to retain the chunk of new users!
dreyfus_marion
· 7 months ago
I scarcely look at facebook, let alone My Space, whereas I think in terms of 140 characters since joining Twitter. Part of the fun is wondering who shares one's views, total strangers all over the world, whereas the posted comments on FB and MS are quotidian and not very engaging, aside from positing a pressure to 'respond' to such twaddle. It is a puzzlement how some people 'follow' 4,000+ people--how do that and live a life?--but for the people I've connected to, that interest me, that have a risible mindset, high-profile mentition, or significant contributions to make in these quick blurbs, I think it refreshing and a constant surprise, as I get further into hatchmarks and the lesser-known recondite stuff floating around. I like Twitterfall for the vastness of its grasp and the feedback on the topics of interest. I learn from Twitterholic who is gathering acolytes, and how absurd it is that Ashton K is more popular than CNN--but even that tells us the mass of Twitterers are numbnuts without the higher goals and aspirations of learning and teaching and spreading the wealth of data that the better Twitterers excel at. More high-level theoretical thinkers seem to be on Twitter, as opposed to the "Brushed my teeth, threw out the rubbish" types seen on FB, etc. That's my view, and if you don't like it, i have others, as Groucho so famously quipped.
maayanroman
· 7 months ago
Facebook's use was obvious - find new people at your college and connect with old friends. They've done a lot to muddle it up, which is why I don't use facebook nearly as much as when I started, but with such good beginnings they were able to carry forward and update people bit by bit, teaching them new things like apps as they went along. Twitter seems to have first gained popularity with the internet elite who are far more pro-active and who immediately jumped to using applications that utilize twitter but aren't native to it - something facebook only recently started doing. Most people just don't have the patience or interest to teach themselves.
Anita McCants
· 7 months ago
Rick Sanchez with CNN asked Twitters "what is the best reason to engage in social media, twitter?" The best reason is...
To involve potential customers or partners in your product or service (Kyle Lacy).
I have to admit... I have a twitter account, but I'm not all warm and fuzzy about it. On the other hand, I love my Facebook account. I love the options to filter and search. For me, Facebook is less a "standalone" thing and more of an "aggregator". Twitter updates my FB status. My friends have their blogs posted to their walls. I post links, and read and comment on the links that others post... often on their FB wall, even if the article itself has a comments thread. I like twitter because I get great little tidbits on it... but since most folks have connected their FB and Twitter accts, there isn't really much added value in that.
chris
· 7 months ago
The difference is that Twitter is only valuable if you use it frequently. Since it's based on real time happenings, there's no value in archived material. On the other hand, I can use Facebook frequently or infrequently as I see fit, and its value remains the same. I only log onto Facebook maybe twice a month, and I'm still able to maintain those connections with people and it still holds tremendous value. That's next to impossible on Twitter.
The really are 2 different services for different purposes. We should stop treating them the same.
KChitika
· 7 months ago
We all know (and if you don't you should) that those who complain or talk get the most attention. And one persons voice can easily be mistaken by a "mass quantity" of people and their options, when in actuality, it's the option or situation of just one person.
The amount of people/businesses who use Twitter in hopes of getting some free publicity or attention to what they are about will lose steam after a month of being disappointed, because they are not using Twitter the way they should. I believe this assumption is based mostly on those people. Because those who know how to properly use Twitter will not stop using it, as long as what they are doing is personal and true.
For example. I received a follower, who will remain @un-named, and they had happened to be my 100th follower. And as a very personal and interactive Twitterer, I had offered them a free Chitika (my company) tee shirt as a 'thank you'... this user didn't even acknowledge my @tweet, or my free gift and then continued to un-follow me ( probably because I did not follow them back ) which is the hard-headed response of a typical "mass follower".. this person has already failed at Twitter and will probably be among the people who "lose steam" because they didn't use Twitter properly, and they have idea! And now they are among the list of idiots who say Twitter is an "un-useful service". Little did they know that if they had just put an actual person behind it, things would have been different.
I also know this because while I was in charge of spear-heading my company's Twitter account, I wasn't inclined to even try and understand Twitter because I wasn't able to put my 'personal self' into it. And I truly believe that you have to do this in order to achieve the full potential of Twitter and it's ability to open your eyes to things unimaginable. Now that I have my own, personal, Twitter account, I have now tapped into the true power of it.
So for those who matter, it will stick around and we will continue to have a lead against those who were too oblivious to the Twilight =)
-K
ThunderStorm
· 7 months ago
Well then why the bloody F%$@ doesn't the company post a stupid little tutorial on the site. DO you even know how frustrating and time-consuming it is for us? Once again I reiterate my previous posts.
princess
· 7 months ago
I use tweetdeck and Twitterfon apps for twitter. But still, I return to twitter.com. I would like to agree to the last line that it is difficult to find friends (who are your real-life friends in twitter) while in Facebook, they are almost there. It is also easier to convince friends to join facebook because of many cool features (aside from the status update).
Uma Chandru
· 7 months ago
I hated precis writing in school. I like Facebook better as it facilitates the longer dialogues/debates that I enjoy and also long personal messages to friends, but have stuck onto twitter after the first month as I am an information/trend seeker. However, I must admit I lack the time to read all the tweets and dislike the pressure I feel on twitter to tweet/retweet single lines of gyan on a daily basis. I recently set up tweetdeck but have not used it after that
MacSmiley
· 7 months ago
I set up my Twitter account and posted my first update on March 18, 2007:
It was months before I posted any more updates, so Nielsen back then may have counted me as a quitter. These so-called quitters, like me, may just be slow starters.
Two years and 1,931 tweets later, I'd hardly consider MYSELF a quitter. But I must admit, it wasn't until I found Twitterrific for the Mac that the charms of the 140 character limit dawned upon me.
Nielsen needs to look at Twitter and other social websites over the long term.
ekmr
· 7 months ago
I set up a Twitter account about a month ago. I've been using facebook for over a year but thought Twitter might be fun too. I'm kind of bored with it though. I check it once a day but I just don't get the appeal. I have over a 100 friends on facebook and can interact with them easier plus I enjoy some of the games. I also use goodreads and enjoy following my friends reading choices and I look forward to checking it each day----I check facebook numerous times a day but mostly Twitter just bores me.
Donteatacowman
· 7 months ago
Well, it does specifically appeal to those with lower attention spans...
Jim Preston
· 7 months ago
In my network, which is the world wine community, almost everyone uses TweetDeck and a variety of desktop and mobile apps. Measuring retention by looking only at twitter.com would miss our network. We quickly bring Tweeps into those apps when they join. However, I suspect that most of my followers are no longer there. Wish I knew.
Jimi
· 7 months ago
No offense to twitter, I know everyone in the US loves it and all, but for beginners such as myself and some people I know, it doesn't seem as intuitive or easy.
Facebook is very visual in that it aggregates thumbnails of pictures etc, you can post on friends profiles in the typical format etc. whereas twitter is all link based, which can be confusing for some people.
Not saying it's a bad service, and I'll probably use it more when it becomes popular in Ireland, it's just it sometimes feels as if you're shouting in the dark...
Thunder
· 7 months ago
I completely agree with Jimi. He just put words to what I was thinking. Its like "Shouting in the Dark."
ThunderStorm
· 7 months ago
...unless you're a celebrity and can actually get that many people to listen to anything you have to say that's worth saying.
speener
· 7 months ago
Honestly the best use of Twitter for me came during election season - during the debates and during the actual election. As for the lack of intuitiveness - that's easily fixed by the many 3rd party sites and programs that allow you to tweet.
Here's a suggestion for everyone trying to figure out the value, next time there's a big TV show, you're interested in, like Lost - watch what happens to the #lost (or #24, or #How I Met Your Mother, etc.) tweet feed. Thousands of people talking real time about something you're interested in also.
As with everything online, twitter is only as valuable as the content it presents.
speener
· 7 months ago
I started using Twitter late in 07 and stopped using Twitter after status update overload about 4 months in as Facebook took more of my attention. Once I got an iPhone in July, my usage of all social media increased dramatically. I think there are a lot of people, especially now, that will sign up and use specifically on an iPhone or Blackberry.
ThunderStorm
· 7 months ago
Twitter Sucks. The service makes absolutely zero sense for even remotely private people. I loved Facebook and Myspace but I don't need constant stalkers on Twitter. The only thing ever useful to me is the search feature to check on different issues. They also need to make it easier to follow conversations. Even if I wanted to follow what Ashton Kutcher is talking about on his page with all the different people its virtually impossible to follow the conversation with a click (unless you specifically search for ALL conversations with @aplusk, which honestly is way too time consuming)
Nicholas Quinlan
· 7 months ago
I'd have to say that it took me a lot longer to get my head around Twitter (compared to facebook and Myspace) when I initially signed up and started using it. I assume that foe most people if they don't 'get it' right away they wont make the time to come back to it.
john
· 7 months ago
I was a twitter sign on who left it alone for a few months. I was still learning social marketing and trying to understand the whole concept. I began using it again at the beginning of April. I downloaded the tweet deck within the second week then found other applications to post. It is a multipurpose site and the results you receive are contingent on who you follow and who your followers are. I see this as being similar to finding targeted traffic on Google. What are you selling or offering as services? Twitter is good for promotion and getting more business contacts. People who have no business, service or products to promote won't find any usefulness in twitter. They'll be more comfortable in facebook. Unless you have a lot of contacts in facebook posting all the time that will eventually lose your interest. We don't have enough hours in the day to work with all the different sites out there so only a a handful will remain victorious. Besides we all need some real socialization like meeting real people, exercising, getting out for a few brews once in a while. It's definitely better than staring at someones photo on a screen and trying to figure out how you will be the next internet millionaire.
Rob Fleischmann
· 7 months ago
I do quite a bit of data analysis in my line of work and much of it revolves around "mass wisdom" [aka the wisdom of the masses]. I'll admit I'm a newbie twitterer, but I was quickly introduced to TweedDeck when I noticed some of the more "experienced" users commenting from that app; naturally, I downloaded it and found out why. I believe more in our 'data maturity' these days, I think we should give more credit toward others' ability to slice and dice what they're looking at (both cerebrally and visually). TweetDeck - and other similar field players - let the user concentrate on a few columns of conversation at once; allowing them to filter down to topics of interest, while TwitScoop can remain there to quickly enlighten them on up and coming trends - and let's face it, most twitter users possess *some* level of ADD to manage the data stream w/o tossing their cookies on every screen refresh.
Two major differences that I found between this and other social media is that tweet brevity can help you in your filtering. Sure, the argument is that no one wants to hear about your bathroom break, etc, etc... but, by contrast, a quick "visual read" of my columns lets me hone in on tweets that are either a) longer than 'usual' or b) short with links... the "pee tweets" are usually not that long (so to speak) - perhaps, thanks to the lack of bathroom breaks, typical of most of us who get carried away behind the screen. The second "major diff" is that I can now follow along with "groups" of twitterers (such as StockTwits), who I'm not 'officially' following or being followed by. Sure, this is similar to joining Google/Facebook/Yahoo Groups, but the "jumping through hoops" is missing:
Through TweetDeck, for instance, it's one-click-quick. And if I want to join into a conversation, mid-thread, it's as easy as replying to someone else's comment and/or Re-Tweeting something of relevance to me. I believe the twitter attrition rate is far lower than hinted and apps hold the hidden audience; as well, the main reason why some people can't put their finger on the success of this thing is that it's sooooo close to real conversation that they can't see the forest for the trees - then again, I think that's typical of most birds (me included). ;)
Are they asking who comes back? I joined Twitter in July 2007, walked away for a few months, came back in September, posted sporadically, and really got connected in early 2008. Now I'm here to stay.
I wonder how many of the 60% who don't return the next month DO come back a few months later... vs how many never come back.
philmaxwell
· 7 months ago
I did almost the exact same thing. Although, back in 2007 the Twitter buzz wasn't all over the place like it is today.
Jessica D
· 7 months ago
I think there's too much overt marketing and business orientation to Twitter---that is to say, many companies, entrepreneurs, and businesspeople are using it for expanding their reach and visibility. This may be indicative of why the age median is higher in Twitter. The marketing orientation isn't really a behavior exhibited in FB or MySpace, where things are more casual.
@PhilBellamyInc
· 7 months ago
Is Twitter anything else than one ginormous chat room? In the end Twitter is a telegraph system for whatever you want to say. Some have something to say on a continual basis and some do not... thus they will not return.
Whatever the numbers are is not the point Twitter should be taking note of. Twitter would be better served if the powers that be took note of some of the services being offered by 3rd parties via the Twitter Api. They are services that users want.
Until Twitter recognizes this factor and changes its UI and facilities to suit it's users better, i.e. make the space more personal and permanent to the user, tweeps will continue to come and go.
The way things are going you are now lucky to have your tweet seen by a small percentage of your followers. So in the end, for the average user, Twitter will become just another chatroom and no more. It will however become a great facility to businesses that want to offer customer support and the like. And of course the search abilities of Twitter have not been fully realised yet. To me that's Twitter in a nutshell.
So who really cares how many join and not return. For those of us who are happy to use it as a chatroom we need alot more from Twitter. Like a decent filtering facility... one I'd like especially is the ability to stop certain individuals from following me... (camgirls for instance)... this can't be hard to do surely?
Andre R
· 7 months ago
"Could it be, possibly, that finding friends on Twitter remains harder than doing so on other social networks?" I think you've answered the question there already. Over time, we'll be separating the wheat from the chaff to clarify who really are friends or just followers for the sake of internet marketing, etc. We might find this task daunting - hence twitters quit. If you're an info-holic, or even a person hoping that that certain celebrity you follow will somehow follow you (or even @ you) - keep on twitting if you have the patience and faith. For me, mind you, at this point of time of my life, it's keeping me sane. Life still goes on. Real friends are out there in the real world, I remind myself from time to time. Just my thoughts.
JD
· 7 months ago
A HUGE part of the problem is this recent "follow" rule Twitter has established. I don't know...I think they make it more difficult to make connections than other social media today. I enjoy twitter and use it daily however one has to question the "staying power" of the service. I don't think it would be too terribly difficult for another company to come out with something better to replace the service.
TareqG
· 7 months ago
I think these stats include the high amount of spam accounts which get suspended from Twitter admin. Twitter are closing more accounts than Facebook & MySpace.
But if they're also not including the stats from people who use twitter apps, then this is surely miscalculated.
Joel Brown
· 7 months ago
The update was one of my first thoughts that came to mind reading through the article.
However i can also understand the view point that it is more difficult to find and connect with individual people. I have a large number followers, however the main group that i connect with often is maybe 10-20 users. This is not because of anything more then, that it takes time to build a connection, and the connections that i build often are based off a shared interest that either myself or the other person tweets. So with a lot of followers many opportunities to connect are generally missed, however at the same time if i was not following so many there would be many fewer opportunities available.
simmessa
· 7 months ago
Insightful and it poses interesting questions about twitter growth. I think it may have a low retemption rate, but Nielsen didn't bother consider the twitter addiction rate...which is soooo much more important IMO ;) All the Best! Simmessa.com
Σχολή Χορού
· 7 months ago
If twitter was supporting my mobile or if i had a mobile number from an other country, supported by twitter, i dont think i would ever quit the service.
Joey
· 7 months ago
Havent read through all the comments (quite a few ;-) ) - so: sorry if this has already been mentioned. I guess, Twitter is (after the hype) not a real "mass product". Certainly there will be those Oprah followers and stuff. But in the end IMHO twitter is a useful tool to get connected to other people esp. in business matters where informations can change on daily basis. F.e. SEM/SEO (or other online business), stock brokers, scientists and so on. So I d say its not a relevant/useful tool for most of the people. Those ones rather get to facebook for some posing with pictures and stuff... ;-)
Cole Zajicek
· 7 months ago
i think its actually quite a bit simpler to find friends on twitter. i have a myspace too, and twitter is quite simpler. you just have to get used to it. ive only had mine for a week and im already with the program.
CaptainJack63
· 7 months ago
Once again this just goes to show that Nielsen has no clue on how to properly rate the media.
Emre Ersahin
· 7 months ago
Indeed desktop & mobile apps may be a solution to keep them coming back. But I don't think it's a fair comparison. People have to come back to myspace & facebook to get something out of it. Because they are generating revenue from advertising so basically it's a KPI and they have to do it that way. Not the same for Twitter. People don't need to come back to Twitter to get something out of Twitter. It's an API world out there and measureing the site just cannot be the criteria.
Suzy McCarrell
· 7 months ago
A big problem with Twitter in the beginning is that it is so hard to get people to follow you. You can send replies out the ass to people that you follow, but they never respond to you. Never. Not once. I live in a small town & I even found someone in my town & started following her. But... she never responded. Also your search only works for a persons name. If you could also search hobbies or medical diseases. Even that would help. I have only been a member 2 or 3 wks & I'm already considering throwing in the towel! Are there any tips or advice on how to meet people and get responses from others? Sincerely SuzyQ in Texas
Suze
· 7 months ago
Hi Suzy...To find people with mutual interests, go to a site like www.search.twitter.com. You can search for what you're interested in there and start following them. Best advice I can give from there to try to get involved is just to start tweeting about what you like and what you're interested in.. tweet links to articles you read and liked, tweet what you're up to.. etc..people searching for things will then find you as well and follow you. Once you're following someone you find interesting, reply to their tweets with relevant comments and info..they will likely then check you out, and may start following you back...even if it takes a while. Also, retweet things people send that you enjoy..it helps. It does take a bit to get it going, but once you do it's a lot of fun. If you are active, you will find it a lot easier to find followers. pages without much on them dont inspire people to want to connect with you. Once you have some "content" on your page for people to look at and use to search for you, so they can see what you're about and whether you're interesting or have things in common with them, people will be more likely to follow you. Some random people you find and start following, like the local girl, may not respond to your messages because they have no clue how twitter works, how you found them, or why you, a stranger, are following them.. but dont give up..once you get the ball rolling, you'll enjoy it.
Ian
· 7 months ago
I think Twitter will only really get big and retain more users when they properly thank third party developers by promoting their products far beyond a small random text link. It is those third party products that made Twitter what it is and why it is so good.
krishnamurthir
· 7 months ago
Dear Sir, i have gone through of this article for self analysis. Daily, i am spending more hours with these above social websites. To sum up, application in Face Book is easy. Application in Twitter is somewhat hard. Application in other social websites are more or less same. Within 80 days, i was able to get 215 friends in Face Book. very easy to share,mingle with Face Book friends.
Joe Peach
· 7 months ago
I predominantly use tweetdeck, but visit twitter.com probably daily for a few moments. I would suggest that people signing up, using an app, and never returning EVER to twitter.com are very very rare.
krishnamurthir
· 7 months ago
For me, grading of the below three important social websites:- 1.Myspace website is GOOD. 2.Twitter website is BETTER 3.Face Book is the BEST.
markshaw
· 7 months ago
When you buy a car, no one tells you that you have to fill it up with petrol to make it go.. It is just a given.. However when you join Twitter, no one tells you that to really benefit from Twitter, you have to use 3rd party applications.. You just cannot do anything from the Twitter.com home page...So yes.. people join, they start following a few people, usually the famous ones ie oprah, Ashton,Stephen fry, and then they think... hang on.. i cant follow these people any more.. there is too much noise.. so they think it is rubbish and they leave...
Also the media when talking about Twitter, keep highlighting the famous few... and usually none of these are in the business world.. So people cant see how it can help their business. So they leave...
There needs to be far more education on how to make Twitter work better for people, what tools you need to get started, how it can massively impact your business and the Twitter rules of engagement...
Best
Mark
Stuart Flatt
· 7 months ago
Even those that use tweetdeck and such (myself included) still log on to the browser version (well at least once a month)? Either for viewing profiles (if not you will use all of your api calls) or viewing followers / followings?
Unless I am missing a trick in tweetdeck!
Suze
· 7 months ago
I think the major problem with twitter is that most people who sign on have no idea what it's about or how to use it. They sign on, have no friends or clue really how to get them, get bored/intimidated, and go about their business. That's what happened to me. I joined about a year ago, was all alone, saw no point, and got quickly bored and abandoned it. But I have since made some friends through YouTube and other places who have accounts, so I went back and hooked up to follow and interact with them.. then made lots more friends..now I'm a twitterholic lol Facebook and Myspace are easier to get started and figure out. People know what they are supposed to do there. I think many people do exactly as I did, and a lot of those "quitters" do eventually get involved and become active. A big part of the appeal of Twitter to me is the ability to get immediate information and feedback about things....If something is going on, someone is tweeting it...
TimothyFish
· 7 months ago
Do you have a source (other than the comments here) to back up your update? Given that the Twitter API accesses Twitter via HTTP, much like a web browser does, and given that all those Tweets are available for someone to extract data from, short of Nielsen reporting that they are unable to track hits via the API, I see no reason to assume that their data is inaccurate.
Todd Mintz
· 7 months ago
What % of "quitters" are "bots"? Just wondering...
DanOnBranding
· 7 months ago
Finding friends on Twitter is harder, but I'm not sure that using Twitter for this purpose is really the best anyway. Facebook and MySpace have got Twitter beat in the "personal" realm because not only is it easier to get a group together but the apps that accompany your friends and groups are fun, easy and encourage repeat engagement. You don't really have that going on on Twitter. I've found Twitter's apps to make the experience better for me, but not for an overall group I continuously belong to. So if you come to Twitter seeking friends and lots of 2-way communication between each other, I don't see Twitter as successful in that way. I do see Twitter successful for potential 2-way communication between businesspeople, however. It's just that that's a smaller number than the overall populace that's going to come to Twitter for what I believe are not the best uses of this tool. If fewer people would stop looking for the One Social Networking Tool that can we can rely on and instead use different tools for different purposes, there won't be a need for Twitter users to become Twitter Quitters.
dacort
· 7 months ago
This isn't really anything new. People have been "not getting Twitter" for a long time. I've seen a lot of graphs of Twitter activity as part of TweetStats and it's not uncommon for somebody to sign up, not use the service, and then come back months later when they finally "get it" or the number of their friends on the service reaches critical mass.
Trae
· 7 months ago
Wow. Analysis Fail! Interesting that the same day eMarketer posted somewhat contradictory data: http://bit.ly/zr5yd
Peter
· 7 months ago
On the update.. My intuition is a very small proportion of people likely set up an alternative interface to Twitter via a desktop or mobile app, and thus don't return to the main site. Some stats on the spread of users across website vs mobile or desktop clients (as opposed to traffic on each..) would be nice. The proportion of updates attributable to desktop/mobile vs site isn't quite hte statistic we're looking for here..we want proportion of users. Afterall, I would guess the most active Twitterers are those who use alternate clients, so that would skew traffic on those clients higher (i.e. it could be the 'vocal minority' on those clients).
hci0300
· 7 months ago
I think trying to find friends on Twitter and keep track of them is more difficult than on Facebook.
ARDELL
· 7 months ago
Pete,
I often sign up for things to reserve my username, and then go back later to actually implement them into my social media network.
I technically "signed up" for Twitter in June or July of 2008, but didn't become an active participant until I had more time at the end of 2008 and early 2009.
When I signed up for Twitter, I "used" Facebook more than Twitter. Now I use Twitter a lot more than Facebook. So you may see a change in usage 6 to 12 months out from here.
PingMobile
· 7 months ago
It seems more-likely-than-not the Nielsen numbers are extremely skewed, considering most tweeps we've spoken-to are using a desktop/mobile application, and hardly visit twitter.com.
Agree/disagree?
Dan Sullivan
· 7 months ago
Well, twitter is mainly for people who love to share some interesting stuff, be it interesting articles or some interesting updates. I guess Twitter should move forward from that and try to create some value from the communication that's been made. Or they should just go and grab some companies that do such things based on twitter. One such company, which is my favorite, is BoilingPage (http://www.boilingpage.com) that shows the hottest pages on the web based on how popular they are in Twitter. This is actually serving as a real-time search engine for web pages and thus creating significant value for the users. Now users wouldn't just quit, but start using the real-time search engine.
Rich Gilberto
· 7 months ago
You have to remember a lot of people start up professional accounts and never use the Twitter web page to update them.
Also, Facebook grew quickly because it was implemented gradually at different universities until it created a buzz.
MySpace is a mystery to me - everything about the way it was designed is atrocious.
David Binkowski
· 7 months ago
Sure, the third party apps might contribute toward the numbers declining but c'mon.... Twitter doesn't want to disprove close their numbers like this because it'd devalue them, bottom line.
Stefan Martens
· 7 months ago
I don't believe in the 60%, if you're interested why I don't read my quite comprehensive blog post: http://snipurl.com/h11dj
I'm relating to Twitter CEO Evan Williams TED talk and my own "twitter career", visualized by tweetstats among other things.
Looking forward to reading about your Twexperience!
Chris Carson
· 7 months ago
The debate about whether twitter.com stats do or don't reflect actual usage (including clients/API) is a side issue. I think most people who have commented here see that Twitter has potential. The model is simple, public by default, and therefore highly extensible. That potential has yet to be fully expressed. Once it is expressed -- once applications come out that provide value to Jane Doe -- then's the time to compare Twitter to Facebook.
allen johns
· 7 months ago
Marketing on Twitter? Really? Check who is following you - customers (current or potential), your competition or people in the same line of work? More than likely it is the last two. So you are Tweeting to people that Tweeting to people just like you. Waste of time.
And putting links in your Tweets to your website or other? Do you know how few really are clicking on those links?
willStewart
· 7 months ago
Anyways twitter remains like one of the most pawerful marketing tool! I think it will always depend on search engine optimization tips that companies are actually using on those campaigns http://www.ilikesem.com/natural-search-engine-o...
Chad
· 7 months ago
Holy geeze, I rarely go to twitter.com unless I have to change some settings with my account.
Sally Sue
· 7 months ago
You cannot have a business selling one product. At some point you need to branch out under the brand or include other services. Twitter is just an app. It's a bad business model. Myspace and Facebook operate under a strong brand image that includes many "apps" or services to give a holistic experience of "virtually connecting" with people. Retention stats don't surprise me.
John Daivs
· 7 months ago
Wow I had no idea so many peopel gave up on tweet!
I don't understand. Every tweet that is chirped from tweetdeck is routed through the twitter.com network. Otherwise, how is it that every tweet from tweetdeck is captured, processed, and displayed on twitter.com? If this is true, then the Nielsen numbers are 100% accurate. Can someone elucidate.
Eric Stoffle
· 7 months ago
I would imagine there is a large percentage of people who drop off after the first month, and for a variety of reasons. One reason, Twitter takes practice. I think there is a steeper learning curve with Twitter than with Myspace and Facebook.
Spirestar
· 7 months ago
Twitter is like going to the ice cream store for one flavor - novelty. Facebook and Myspace are both personal webpages that offer the widest range of flavors. But clearly all of the attention is trying to leverage that 'fresh new flavor' thang. But how many Social Networks does a productive soul really need.
Caleb
· 7 months ago
I don't mind that the retention rates are low, but it seems that whoever is left there have a tremendous stickiness with the site. I've only been in twitter for a few but the amount of conversation, following and the fact that a lot of tweeps are there the whole day all the way to 2 and 3 AM is outstanding. The statistics Nielsen has shown does not account for the loyalty of those who are currently there, the interaction that transpires and the businesses that thrive and benefit from the twitter environment.
This is great, informative news that shouldn't break any tweeps heart :-)
tom
· 7 months ago
It's difficult for me to imagine that people using apps would never go back to logging into their account online and tweeting. As far as I know the only way to follow people is to log into your account. So I guess if most users find all of the people they want to follow within the first month, they might decide that they never have to log in again because of web apps like tweet later, but that seems unlikely.
Soho Sales Coaching
· 7 months ago
Perhaps 60% of Twitter users quit within the first month because they realize they're spreading themselves too thin. I encourage clients to identify the top-3 ways of consistently reaching a large number of your ideal target customer. Emphasis on 'consistently' and 'ideal'. Check out this blog post: http://tiny.cc/towia
Soho Sales Coaching
· 7 months ago
Perhaps 60% of Twitter users quit within the first month because they realize they're spreading themselves too thin. I encourage clients to identify the top-3 ways of consistently reaching a large number of your ideal target customer. Emphasis on 'consistently' and 'ideal'. Check out this blog post: http://tiny.cc/towia
MasterSaji
· 7 months ago
Interesting. I would blame Oprah instead, though. Or It's America's ADD? Actually I really think it's because the users who leave never had a chance to follow me on Twitter!
Shane Gibson
· 7 months ago
I have grabbed 20 twitter ID's related to my various products and companies but I only use 3. Is it possible that not-unlike domain squatting we have a lot of Twitter ID squatters? I grabbed ID's to protect my brand, imagine someone like Proctor and Gamble may have 200 twitter ID's but only use 5 or 6? Also I signed up but it took me a year to get active, is the time line too short? Twitter is very different from FaceBook so is it a fair comparison?
Rob
· 7 months ago
Yeah, this doesn't make much sense - most people sign up on the website, and then download a client. BOGUS statistics!!!
Cage
· 7 months ago
When you first tell people about Twitter, they usually don't understand why they should be on Twitter. I think Twitter is a fad product which will eventually become a part of another more developed social networking site or some other system. I see Twitter more as a utility than I do a social networking site, maybe this is why the retention is not as high? It just seems like it needs more meat on the bones.
ann
· 7 months ago
It would be easy to agree with the stats, I have had my Twitter account for about 4 months, and did not have a clue what to do with it, it was only when I started analyzing what was going on and the many tools like TweedDeck and retweet etc that you get it.
I love what I am able to achieve with it and encourage everyone to stick with the program.
I think it's because Twitter doesn't make much sense to the new user. I thought it was supposed to be a social network but everyone seems to be selling something and there's so many things you have to learn about twitter that aren't used in any other social networks. Why work that hard for something when there are so many alternatives.
Interesting post! I enjoyed it, as it really shows that Twitter isn't ready for primetime in many ways - and might have gotten all this media attention a little too soon. Part of it is that people don't know what they actually expect as a return for the time they spend investing in Twitter as a tool. I just put together a post on the topic at http://wherestheroi.com/twitter/whats-your-retu... that tries to cover that.
scott
· 5 months ago
I think people are still a bit confused as to what twitter has that the rest doesn't. Many people use twitter for different reasons but as we know it s most effective point is online marketing. Twitter is an evergrowing social network and will continue to grow especially with all the media and celebritie coverage. Twitter has an edge in the way of Connection! I know all networking sites are socially connected thats the point of them isn't it but twitter can connect entire communities with different skills, backgrounds and experience, all in the goal that they are either trying to make some money or help people out. when twitter took off it must of been an affiliates dream come true as this is a site that can generate x amount of leads from an update this does not happen on facebook or bebo and even if it did you will only have a specific audience. Twitter will continue to grow and those who leave it in the first few month dont understand it, twitter is its waiting gold it s going to be huge, David & Goliath Twitter & Facebook
scott
· 5 months ago
I think people are still a bit confused as to what twitter has that the rest doesn't. Many people use twitter for different reasons but as we know it s most effective point is online marketing. Twitter is an evergrowing social network and will continue to grow especially with all the media and celebritie coverage. Twitter has an edge in the way of Connection! I know all networking sites are socially connected thats the point of them isn't it but twitter can connect entire communities with different skills, backgrounds and experience, all in the goal that they are either trying to make some money or help people out. when twitter took off it must of been an affiliates dream come true as this is a site that can generate x amount of leads from an update this does not happen on facebook or bebo and even if it did you will only have a specific audience. Twitter will continue to grow and those who leave it in the first few month dont understand it, twitter is its waiting gold it s going to be huge, David & Goliath Twitter & Facebook
alezzzorz
· 4 months ago
I'm very often just using twhirl to update my twitter, but recently because twhirl uses so much memory to just have running in the background, i've visitly twitter.com instead. I never knew using twhril would affect twitter's ratings.
joette
· 3 months ago
I agree with those finding Twitter a bit unappealing. I've only been tweeting about a month, and while the occasional "real" connecting is nice, I find it hard to remain interesting. I don't need to tweet about what I'm doing every few minutes or hours. Plus, some tweet so much it's like a rain storm on my page. I'm an oddball who actually prefers to spend time away from my computer, have time to think, reflect and be in creation of something. I really value connections of substance. I guess I'll hang in there for a bit longer, though I'm rarely tweeting already...
timothy joseph shaw
· 3 months ago
Twitter would retain users for long periods of time if it allowed longer comments.
All Comments
While I've moved on in my choice of clients, I rarely use the web interface, and cannot use it from work - I have to go through a client. So in my opinion, the stats should also count the users coming in through the Twitter API. There should be no programmatical reason why those posts/visits cannot be counted. At this point there are so many twitter clients that it would be impossible to count accurately otherwise.
In the meantime you can get a rough feel from search.twitter.com about what proportion of tweets are posted using the web vs. other means (e.g. via SMS, IM, desktop apps, etc.) - just count the mix of 'less than 10 seconds ago using web' results vs. '... using txt' etc.
Based on a mere 60 seconds of analysis, it looks like about 50% of tweets appear 'from web'. I know that's rough and probably skewed but is my conclusion any more/less accurate than Neilsen's?!
[btw you can add 'source:web' to a query on search.twitter.com to see only tweets posted from the web if you want to investigate if those are any different from non-web users]
An analysis of over 90% of all tweets shows that "from web" is still the most popular source accounting for almost 60% of updates - http://tweetstats.com/twitter_stats
do i don't think you can say that the number isn't accurate. for all you know it is.
While facebook and myspace were pretty straighforward regarding their purpose in the early days, many people are still trying to figure out what twitter is about. I would guess that these numbers increase as people start to "get it".
Even those that use tweetdeck and such (myself included) still log on to the browser version (well at least once a month)? Either for viewing profiles (if not you will use all of your api calls) or viewing followers / followings?
Unless I am missing a trick in tweetdeck!
- Daiv http://Twitter.com/DaivRawks
Blogged about: it http://blog.harmoniker.net/HarmonikerBlog/tabid...
so when all three services had a .5% reach into the internet population for example, what was their retention rates. you see, not every website gains it's share of web reach at the same time. sometimes it can take months to do and others maybe a few weeks so looking at calendar time isn't a fair metric.
Though the recent mass adoption of Twitter is encouraging, I will prefer to have a quality group of users instead of high quantity of users. This news of high percentage of quitters is good news.
Here is the other reality about Twitter from my perspective. The Twitter population may double, triple, or even quadruple (or much more) from its current numbers. However, if we were to measure average user activity over time I would bet there already are, and certainly will be, millions of accounts collecting cob webs. I just don't see it being a long term force, but I do see it being a fantastic spring board for some longer lifespan project from Evan and Biz through Obvious Corp. That is, if they have the time to come up with one in the midst of the Twitter frenzy.
@ooph
Why do the twitterati seem surprised.
Whatever people want to make of it, it is primarily just a micro-blog, and like the original bigger-brother blogs, there's been a whole load of evangelising of it, people will experiment, try to post regularly, but normal people with rounded lives will generally get bored or lack time.
Eventually a group of professional will get together and think it would be a good idea to merge their efforts and tweet about specific niches, they might call it the TweetCrunch Network.
We will simply return to the largest twitterers replicating ye olde' days of pager-alerts and rss feeds!
Google will still be the primary conduit for most activities on the web for most people ;)
Kind regards,
Shakir Razak
http://tikakpissu.blogspot.com/2009/04/twittert...
I joined twitter and I twitted for like a week. I couldn't really find anything "useful". Yeah couple of people replied me. So what?
1) Add some fields to the user profile, and do a better job of encouraging people to fill them out.
2) Expand the "Search Other Networks" function to actually search other social networks, not just e-mail address books.
3) Add some filters to the search so you can (for example) search for "John Doe in Michigan" instead of just "John Doe."
Of course, considering that Twitter never seems to have more than 2 programmers working for them at once, we can expect a better user search exactly.... never.
I don't think that would include many. Not many of the twitter first timers start using third party apps right away. In most cases it requires recommendation frm frnds which happens only after you spend sufficient time on twitter.
May be the main reason for not returning is the boredom that catches on. People join twitter following just a handful of people and their timeline is pretty stagnant! Thats the reason twitter had introduced the "People you may like to follow" feature. But there's something more twitter needs to do to retain the chunk of new users!
social media, twitter?" The best reason is...
To involve potential customers or partners in your product or service (Kyle Lacy).
http://kylelacy.com/20-ways-to-engage-contacts-...
The really are 2 different services for different purposes. We should stop treating them the same.
The amount of people/businesses who use Twitter in hopes of getting some free publicity or attention to what they are about will lose steam after a month of being disappointed, because they are not using Twitter the way they should. I believe this assumption is based mostly on those people. Because those who know how to properly use Twitter will not stop using it, as long as what they are doing is personal and true.
For example. I received a follower, who will remain @un-named, and they had happened to be my 100th follower. And as a very personal and interactive Twitterer, I had offered them a free Chitika (my company) tee shirt as a 'thank you'... this user didn't even acknowledge my @tweet, or my free gift and then continued to un-follow me ( probably because I did not follow them back ) which is the hard-headed response of a typical "mass follower".. this person has already failed at Twitter and will probably be among the people who "lose steam" because they didn't use Twitter properly, and they have idea! And now they are among the list of idiots who say Twitter is an "un-useful service". Little did they know that if they had just put an actual person behind it, things would have been different.
I also know this because while I was in charge of spear-heading my company's Twitter account, I wasn't inclined to even try and understand Twitter because I wasn't able to put my 'personal self' into it. And I truly believe that you have to do this in order to achieve the full potential of Twitter and it's ability to open your eyes to things unimaginable. Now that I have my own, personal, Twitter account, I have now tapped into the true power of it.
So for those who matter, it will stick around and we will continue to have a lead against those who were too oblivious to the Twilight =)
-K
http://www.flickr.com/photos/macsmiley/425872331/
It was months before I posted any more updates, so Nielsen back then may have counted me as a quitter. These so-called quitters, like me, may just be slow starters.
Two years and 1,931 tweets later, I'd hardly consider MYSELF a quitter. But I must admit, it wasn't until I found Twitterrific for the Mac that the charms of the 140 character limit dawned upon me.
Nielsen needs to look at Twitter and other social websites over the long term.
Facebook is very visual in that it aggregates thumbnails of pictures etc, you can post on friends profiles in the typical format etc. whereas twitter is all link based, which can be confusing for some people.
Not saying it's a bad service, and I'll probably use it more when it becomes popular in Ireland, it's just it sometimes feels as if you're shouting in the dark...
Here's a suggestion for everyone trying to figure out the value, next time there's a big TV show, you're interested in, like Lost - watch what happens to the #lost (or #24, or #How I Met Your Mother, etc.) tweet feed. Thousands of people talking real time about something you're interested in also.
As with everything online, twitter is only as valuable as the content it presents.
Two major differences that I found between this and other social media is that tweet brevity can help you in your filtering. Sure, the argument is that no one wants to hear about your bathroom break, etc, etc... but, by contrast, a quick "visual read" of my columns lets me hone in on tweets that are either a) longer than 'usual' or b) short with links... the "pee tweets" are usually not that long (so to speak) - perhaps, thanks to the lack of bathroom breaks, typical of most of us who get carried away behind the screen. The second "major diff" is that I can now follow along with "groups" of twitterers (such as StockTwits), who I'm not 'officially' following or being followed by. Sure, this is similar to joining Google/Facebook/Yahoo Groups, but the "jumping through hoops" is missing:
Through TweetDeck, for instance, it's one-click-quick. And if I want to join into a conversation, mid-thread, it's as easy as replying to someone else's comment and/or Re-Tweeting something of relevance to me. I believe the twitter attrition rate is far lower than hinted and apps hold the hidden audience; as well, the main reason why some people can't put their finger on the success of this thing is that it's sooooo close to real conversation that they can't see the forest for the trees - then again, I think that's typical of most birds (me included). ;)
http://twitter.com/TopTraderGame
I wonder how many of the 60% who don't return the next month DO come back a few months later... vs how many never come back.
The marketing orientation isn't really a behavior exhibited in FB or MySpace, where things are more casual.
Whatever the numbers are is not the point Twitter should be taking note of. Twitter would be better served if the powers that be took note of some of the services being offered by 3rd parties via the Twitter Api. They are services that users want.
Until Twitter recognizes this factor and changes its UI and facilities to suit it's users better, i.e. make the space more personal and permanent to the user, tweeps will continue to come and go.
The way things are going you are now lucky to have your tweet seen by a small percentage of your followers. So in the end, for the average user, Twitter will become just another chatroom and no more. It will however become a great facility to businesses that want to offer customer support and the like. And of course the search abilities of Twitter have not been fully realised yet. To me that's Twitter in a nutshell.
So who really cares how many join and not return. For those of us who are happy to use it as a chatroom we need alot more from Twitter. Like a decent filtering facility... one I'd like especially is the ability to stop certain individuals from following me... (camgirls for instance)... this can't be hard to do surely?
But if they're also not including the stats from people who use twitter apps, then this is surely miscalculated.
However i can also understand the view point that it is more difficult to find and connect with individual people. I have a large number followers, however the main group that i connect with often is maybe 10-20 users. This is not because of anything more then, that it takes time to build a connection, and the connections that i build often are based off a shared interest that either myself or the other person tweets. So with a lot of followers many opportunities to connect are generally missed, however at the same time if i was not following so many there would be many fewer opportunities available.
I guess, Twitter is (after the hype) not a real "mass product". Certainly there will be those Oprah followers and stuff. But in the end IMHO twitter is a useful tool to get connected to other people esp. in business matters where informations can change on daily basis. F.e. SEM/SEO (or other online business), stock brokers, scientists and so on.
So I d say its not a relevant/useful tool for most of the people. Those ones rather get to facebook for some posing with pictures and stuff... ;-)
i have gone through of this article for self analysis.
Daily, i am spending more hours with these above social websites.
To sum up, application in Face Book is easy.
Application in Twitter is somewhat hard.
Application in other social websites are more or less same.
Within 80 days, i was able to get 215 friends in Face Book.
very easy to share,mingle with Face Book friends.
grading of the below three important social websites:-
1.Myspace website is GOOD.
2.Twitter website is BETTER
3.Face Book is the BEST.
Also the media when talking about Twitter, keep highlighting the famous few... and usually none of these are in the business world.. So people cant see how it can help their business. So they leave...
There needs to be far more education on how to make Twitter work better for people, what tools you need to get started, how it can massively impact your business and the Twitter rules of engagement...
Best
Mark
Unless I am missing a trick in tweetdeck!
I often sign up for things to reserve my username, and then go back later to actually implement them into my social media network.
I technically "signed up" for Twitter in June or July of 2008, but didn't become an active participant until I had more time at the end of 2008 and early 2009.
When I signed up for Twitter, I "used" Facebook more than Twitter. Now I use Twitter a lot more than Facebook. So you may see a change in usage 6 to 12 months out from here.
Agree/disagree?
Also, Facebook grew quickly because it was implemented gradually at different universities until it created a buzz.
MySpace is a mystery to me - everything about the way it was designed is atrocious.
I'm relating to Twitter CEO Evan Williams TED talk and my own "twitter career", visualized by tweetstats among other things.
Looking forward to reading about your Twexperience!
Check who is following you - customers (current or potential), your competition or people in the same line of work?
More than likely it is the last two. So you are Tweeting to people that Tweeting to people just like you.
Waste of time.
And putting links in your Tweets to your website or other? Do you know how few really are clicking on those links?
http://www.ilikesem.com/natural-search-engine-o...
RT
www.anonymity.ru.tc
This is great, informative news that shouldn't break any tweeps heart :-)
I love what I am able to achieve with it and encourage everyone to stick with the program.
Twitter is an evergrowing social network and will continue to grow especially with all the media and celebritie coverage. Twitter has an edge in the way of Connection! I know all networking sites are socially connected thats the point of them isn't it but twitter can connect entire communities with different skills, backgrounds and experience, all in the goal that they are either trying to make some money or help people out. when twitter took off it must of been an affiliates dream come true as this is a site that can generate x amount of leads from an update this does not happen on facebook or bebo and even if it did you will only have a specific audience. Twitter will continue to grow and those who leave it in the first few month dont understand it, twitter is its waiting gold it s going to be huge,
David & Goliath Twitter & Facebook
Twitter is an evergrowing social network and will continue to grow especially with all the media and celebritie coverage. Twitter has an edge in the way of Connection! I know all networking sites are socially connected thats the point of them isn't it but twitter can connect entire communities with different skills, backgrounds and experience, all in the goal that they are either trying to make some money or help people out. when twitter took off it must of been an affiliates dream come true as this is a site that can generate x amount of leads from an update this does not happen on facebook or bebo and even if it did you will only have a specific audience. Twitter will continue to grow and those who leave it in the first few month dont understand it, twitter is its waiting gold it s going to be huge,
David & Goliath Twitter & Facebook