Twitter has experienced massive growth in the past year, with the number of people signing up each month accelerating. It has also become the media darling of the day. It seems that everyone is Twittering.
However, with only 10-12 million people on the site, its clear that everyone is NOT Twittering.
Don't fret. They will be soon.
So where is the media paying the most attention to Twitter?
You guessed it. It's all about the celebrities.
Shaquille O'Neal can't spell, but he loves to tweet. He challenges people to find him when he tweets about giving away free tickets to a game.
Jimmy Fallon turns a regular Joe (Bryan Brinkman") into a Twitter celebrity when he calls on all his followers to follow him.
And the list of celebrities on Twitter goes on.
Britney Spears, Ellen DeGenres, John Mayer, Lance Armstrong, Ryan Seacrest, MC Hammer and many more have quickly become the Twitter Elite. Most of these are fully embracing the Twitter culture by interacting with their fans on a regular basis.
And of course, there is Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, who recently brought their across-the-room tweets to the general public. Both are receiving massive media attention, especially due to Kutcher's most recent stunt.
Essentially, Kutcher put out a video stating that he wanted to beat CNN's Breaking News Twitter account to one million followers.
CNN has been at the #1 position on Twitter since the election and Kutcher is gaining quite rapidly.
You can read more about the details of the story on Mashable.com.
I'm more interested in how Kutcher and CNN are using Twitter, and why I think Kutcher is more relevant than CNN.
Let's take a look at both accounts.
On the left (yes, that is supposed to be a pun. Deal with it...) is CNN Breaking News.
This Twitter stream is exactly what you would expect... breaking news.
There's no conversation. There's no interaction. There's no dialogue. There's no relationship.
Is there even a person behind the CNN account? If there is, they don't want you to know. They don't WANT you to interact with them. They just want you to read the news as they choose to deliver it.
On the other hand, let's look at Ashton Kutcher's Twitter stream.
True to Twitter culture, Ashton is actually interacting with other people. He's engaging in dialogue. He is communicating with his fans in a down-to-earth way that communicates he gets it. And he cares.
I would like to see him following more people, but that's a matter of personal preference.
Like the email newsletters that clutter your inbox due to their impersonal one-way communication and end up in your trash folder, I predict that the CNN news feed will become less relevant as time goes on.
After all, isn't Twitter made up of over TEN MILLION citizen journalists who are always on the scene and able to report breaking news before CNN has a clue what is taking place?
Wasn't the Mumbai terrorist attack and the Continental plane accident in Denver proof that we the people have the potential to report breaking news far quicker (and sometimes more reliably) than CNN or any mainstream news establishment?
The bottom line is that Ashton Kutcher is demonstrating the real power of Twitter to build relationships and enhance branding. CNN's attempt to bring old media ways to the new media are stale and boring.
Ashton, I'm behind ya bubba. Whether you get to one million before CNN or not really isn't relevant, because YOU are relevant.
Oh, and one more thing. If you are reading this Ashton, I'm happy to send you a signed copy of Twitter Power. Just shoot me a tweet and I'll take care of it.
Follow me on Twitter at @joelcomm
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April 16, 2009 03:12 PM
Nice analysis Joel. Its true that CNN should first understand "what is Twitter" and "how to use it correctly", and not just to use it as a one way communication tool.
Other thing is Twitter is all about people, and personal accounts are way more interesting than corporate accounts.
Its very cool to see how Twitter is hugely popular in the mainstream
Lasse
@lassevideo
April 16, 2009 04:26 PM
Ashton Kutcher is generating so much publicity, you would think that other celebs would jump on this bandwagon.
Its free and you can become more famous. More fame usually entails more money.
April 16, 2009 11:06 PM
Thanks for the analysis. I confess I've been wondering if most celebs really "get" twitter or if they're just taking advantage of their status for self-involved updates, however interesting they may be. Yet, I've also been secretly rooting for aplusk and now I realize why.
April 17, 2009 12:58 AM
Cool this analysis and in line with what you wrote in Twitter Power (am half way). Greetz from Holland, where Twitter is upcoming. Did you know that our Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen is bringing a lot of publicity to this medium? Brings politics quite closer to the people I believe, lots of potential there. And he really tweets with his followers. Recently, he twittered quite a bit about the big Afghanistand Conference in The Hague (with Hillary Clinton). You should follow him too and send him a copy of Twitter Power. Who knows...:-)
@Thunderbirdwmn
April 17, 2009 01:48 AM
Joel, your take is refreshing and illustrates how to and how not to properly use twitter. I follow both and come away with the sense of your article whenever, I read a twit from either CNN or Aplusk. But I have to admit, half the time I have no clue what Aplusk is talking about.
April 17, 2009 03:07 AM
Ashton is always going to be heard more than CNN, because he makes you feel part of his life, ok maybe not everyone will get a reply to their posts to him, not sure he could manage to if he tried, with so many followers, but knowing he does reply to some and the frequent updates and twitpics lets you know he's actually there and wants you to be part of his (and Demi's) life, even if it's only in a small way.
April 17, 2009 04:00 AM
Actually I don't think CNN is behind @cnnbrk at all. I read the other day it was started and run by a regular Twitter member, but that CNN is trying to "buy" the account from him.
April 17, 2009 05:09 AM
Thanks for this analysis I was wondering why CNN was getting their panties in a twist over this.
Power to the tweets. :-p
I've always loved AK anyway.
@jlsmiles22
April 17, 2009 06:49 AM
I agree with you but I really am wondering about the future of Twitter.
I just signed on yesterday because of aplusk. I watched Ashton live get the 1 million followers. He has it down pat and with all his friends and family involved, you felt like you were really a part of making history.
Now my only concern is will we as parents now start nagging our children about being on twitter instead of doing there homework. We have to remember our lives when we weren't allowed to watch T.V. because we had homework or the privilege was taken away as punishment....just a thought.
April 17, 2009 06:51 AM
I agree with you but I really am wondering about the future of Twitter.
I just signed on yesterday because of aplusk. I watched Ashton live get the 1 million followers. He has it down pat and with all his friends and family involved, you felt like you were really a part of making history.
Now my only concern is will we as parents now start nagging our children about being on twitter instead of doing there homework. We have to remember our lives when we weren't allowed to watch T.V. because we had homework or the privilege was taken away as punishment....just a thought.
April 17, 2009 07:16 AM
The Secret is Engagement:
Great article. When will people learn, be interesting god nammit!
April 17, 2009 09:35 AM
RT @joelcomm Ashton, I'm behind ya bubba. Whether you get to one million before CNN or not really isn't relevant, because YOU are relevant. || True and exact, as allways.
(Ops ! Wrong textarea ....)
April 17, 2009 11:10 AM
Hi Joel,
Some great points and a valuable comparison - for those who use Twitter for marketing can certainly gain a lot from that.
One thing that caught my eye was your comment, even though it was just a side comment:
"I would like to see him following more people, but that's a matter of personal preference."
And of course, you stated it is just your preference, but was curious as to why. Clearly, he is in tune with his audience, engages them and pays attention. Who should he possibly follow, besides people who he knows personally or who may be of true interest to him?
Just curious is all.
April 17, 2009 03:32 PM
Alice,
I'm not Joel but I feel the same way so I'll answer. :)
I see what you're saying and honestly you've helped me see it a little differently than before.
But to me it's just like all those people are following and supporting him and he's not returning the favor to many......he can only see @aplusk replies, not what people have to say in general, kinda like he only cares what they say when it's about him..........I don't think that he feels that way don't get me wrong but it's just kind of the message it sends, know what I mean? His convos with fans mostly revolve around what they say and respond to what he has to say to begin with, and not what he has to say about their original thoughts.......
The small number of people he follows was one of the first things I noticed about him on twitter, doesn't change my great opinion of him at all, but I noticed. ;-)
@jlsmiles22
April 18, 2009 01:29 AM
Thanks Jessi for your opinion. I appreciate it and I know a lot of people feel the same way.
But a MILLION people are following him. He can't follow a million back or he'd see nothing...it would all just zoom right by. And with a million followers he's got the @'s flying at him like crazy, he has plenty to keep up with and will start to find interesting people he may follow back. It's totally up to him.
I think a lot of the people who say you should follow more people, go ahead and do so...but then they use apps/tools that allow them pick friends lists, etc...where in the end, they aren't REALLY following the people that their Twitter account says they are. That to me, isn't true following...it's just making appearances.
And let's get right down to it...WHY do people think people should follow people they don't know back? Whether it's from a personal perspective or a marketing perspective - WHY?
And do we really think the average Twitter user cares who follows whom? Or do they just follow the celebs (whether they're in movies or gurus or otherwise) they admire?
April 18, 2009 03:23 AM
Do I expect him to follow a MILLION people? No of course not.......and if he did he wouldn't really be following them anyway like you said.......not true following, just for show.
But out of a MILLION people he doesn't even find 100 interesting? really? I find that difficult to believe that not even 100 are worth following. Although I just looked and he's following 80 now, that number was much lower when I started following him.
I would consider myself an average twitter user.......and I follow both celebs, news, and people I know personally......I also follow people I don't know that have caught my interest, and have met some cool people that way.
To answer why---because it would make followers feel they are interesting as well. To have the support he has perhaps he should try to get to know some of those people, I'm sure someone is worth the effort in that million.
That's just my opinion and it's completely his personal choice........I don't let it affect my opinion of him either, I don't think it reflects on how he feels about his fans. It's just what I think. :)
I'm sure his @replies keep him more than busy enough.
I'm much too private to share my life with a huge amount of people in the way that he does so I am in no place to judge his choices.........but we all have opinions.
April 18, 2009 10:23 PM
Ashton always come up with a very surprising stunts, he's one of my favorite actors...very brilliant!
April 21, 2009 03:24 PM
Hey again Jessi...you said it:
"I'm sure his @replies keep him more than busy enough."
...and thanks for being the only one to answer my question. It was open to Joel and others too. :-)
Kutcher's following over 90 now, they are not all celebrities and I'm sure it will grow. Personally, I regret following so many, so quickly. It's too much to keep up with and I do wish I was more choosy at the beginning. So many people doing this for Internet marketing purposes keep looking at numbers. I'd venture to guess that the average person just doesn't care.
April 25, 2009 11:45 AM
Joel,
As always you're right on point! I've shared this with my Twitter for Internet Marketers Group on Sta.rtUp.Biz http://www.Sta.rtUp.Biz/group/twitter I also blog at http://www.mike1mb.blogspot.com
With full attribution to you, of course.
______________________________________________________________________
My post:
So in case you've been in the closet without your BlackBerry, iPhone, and TV, Here's the Deal:
* Celebrities have discovered Twitter.
* Businesses are discovering twitter, because celebs have.
* Celebs are talking about Twitter on talk shows.
* Talk show hosts are signing on to Twitter, and talking about Twitter on air.
* News shows cover Celebs, News Shows are using Twitter to collect and quickly mini-broadcast.
Even the Greatest Newbie cannot avoid hearing about Twitter, and wondering "what is this about?" So they log on, they follow the Celebs and News people, they take a while to find out their friends use Twitter. They finally get around to following everyday people, family, friends, maybe even you and hopefully me.
What does all this mean to us as Internet Marketers? More prospects in the Twitterverse! But they are harder to get to, because there are so many others vying for their attention. Just Tweeting isn't going to get there, being accessible via Twitter Adds to Your IM Message, but it can't be the only thing. Creating "Viralness" for yourself and your product/service is going to be harder and harder as Twitter grows to reach 100 Million Tweeters. (Wow, do we need to turn the Bass up, it'll sound like AM Radio)
______________________________________________________________________
April 29, 2009 09:17 PM
I wonder what will the race be after this million. But it seems like a bot vs human race to me.
May 19, 2009 12:29 AM
Hello, this is Bravosmith visiting first time this site. I agree with your thoughts.
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Bravosmith
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