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Is Twitter Evolving from the Facebook to theMyspace of Microblogs? Analyzing Twitter trendsand demographics
By Brian Solis, blogger at  PR 2.0  and principal of FutureWorksPR, Co- Author Putting the Public Back in Public Relationsand Now Is Gone
When I attendedTWTRCONin San Francisco and also the140 Twitter Conferencein Mountain View recently, the intent of businesses was perspicuous. Speakers andattendees were on hand to actively share, inquire, and learn about how to increasevisibility, engagement, and brand presence on Twitter and other social networks.Equally paramount was the division of those who believe they’re already successful onTwitter and those who have yet to discern measurable value for the long-term.The consensus defined engagement as a way to join the conversations that weretranspiring around their brands – with or without them. The need to not “miss out” andalso attempt to steer perception was critical and pervasive. For the majority, ROI wouldcome later.In one example of ROI, where the I = investment, @delloutlet reported $1 million insales directly to the company’s activity on Twitter.
(cc) Brian Solis,www.briansolis.com- Twitter, @briansolis
 
In many other examples of ROI, where the I = involvement, companies including@jetblue, @southwest, @carlsjr, @ciscosystems all reported dramatic increases incustomer engagement, which led to the creation of vibrant online communities rich withempowered brand ambassadors.In theTwitterverse, this is about businesses attempting to get down to business.At TWTRCON, I received a printed summary of a Twitter trends report publishedbyThinkTankresearch and strategy. I found it rather interesting. In fact, it was sointeresting, that I decided to retype the data to share with you, with full attribution to itsauthor Robin Boyar of course.Why is it so interesting?I believe that this report may signal the end of the innovators and early adopterssegment of Twitter adoption and the beginning of the era for the early market majority.It’s more than a hunch and less than scientific, but I’ve continually observed anddocumented the Twitter Trending Topics prior to the greatrace to Twitter’s(ir)relevanceleading up to the present. In addition to Twitters incredible growthasreportedyesterday, there are scores of hints that the older age groups responsiblefor Twitter’s rise are now rivaled by an increasingly younger demographic that isresponsible for sparking some of these interesting and obvious “mainstream” trends.Remember, when Ashton took on CNN, it created a series of copycat contests that
(cc) Brian Solis,www.briansolis.com- Twitter, @briansolis
 
included the likes of Britney Spears, Will Smith, Spencer Pratt and many others whoreach a much different market segment. This rush of new users were introduced toTwitter from a much different psychological perspective than how Twitter was initiallyembraced and utilized by early adopters. Whether theystay or notis an entirely differentstory however.Two of many, many recent examples:Whereas Twitter launched as the Facebook of microblogs or micronetworks, it may nowshift into a cultural fusion of Facebook and MySpace. And if this is indeed the case, itwill fundamentally change the behavior, interaction, customs, habits, and trends withinthis highly scrutinized societal microcosm.Perhaps brands will need to rely on digital anthropologists and sociologists in addition tosocially aware marketing strategists in order to effectively navigate the shifting currentson Twitter – today and tomorrow. In the end, it's about capturing andgraspingattentionand injecting value in order to engender loyalty and empower communities.Compare these thoughts with your personal observations and the data included in the
(cc) Brian Solis,www.briansolis.com- Twitter, @briansolis
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The Trashy Novel Corp

The echo chamber effect is interesting. We're now in the base marketing stage. I'm going to go twitter now.

reply08 / 28 / 2009
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