The last few weeks, I’ve been trying to get proficient with the microblogging tool called Twitter. Actor Ashton Kutcher uses it. President Barack Obama uses it. Athletes like Serena Williams and Chad Ocho Cinco use it. Why shouldn’t a 40+ freelance writing mom of four use it too?
But here’s the dilemma: all of the above have fans who, for various reasons, hang on to their very words. I don’t. I have Facebook friends, but these are people I actually know, and might actually care that I had a turkey sandwich for lunch. Or, maybe not. But they do cheer me on when my child has a softball tournament, or talk with me about current events. The Twitter environment doesn’t do that. It’s set up for bigger news items than the usual ones occurring in my life.
In addition to celebrities, businesses use Twitter. They use them to communicate directly with their customers. But, a new study by Harris Interactive shows that only 8% of advertisers think Twitter is effective in promoting products. But even more interesting is that 34% say that Twitter is NOT very effective.
Not surprisingly, younger advertisers were more positive about Twitter than older ones.
In my own very unscientific poll, I asked several people I know– regular folks– if they use Facebook. About 60% of them said yes. I asked if they used Twitter. Nope. Not a one. Not to lurk, not to spy on Ashton, not to get an inside line on a good deal. They said that Twitter was too time consuming, and that Facebook suited their needs.
As a writer, I do like the ability to have a steady stream of information coming in to my computer. By downloading Tweetdeck, I can categorize the folks I follow and save searches so I have more control of the stream. I can connect with other writers and marketers and newsmakers. But for regular life, I have to admit, Twitter is beyond my needs.
Your thoughts?
