I thought so...

When Twitter seemed to explode on the scene a year ago, I took a look, just to see what all the hype was about.  After a few days, I thought to myself, "Either it's a wasteland of inane chatter, or maybe I just don't get it."

A few months later, after seeing several of my blogging friends spending less time blogging and more time on Twitter, I figured I ought to give it another try.  Some bloggers who I follow and respect were all but calling Twitter the next best thing since sliced bread... or since, well, blogging.

I started following a bunch of people,including some journalists I know or would like to know.  I installed Tweetdeck on my computers.  I updated my Twitter profile.  I was ready to go.

What happened?  Even more inane chatter, except now from even more sources.  Some of the journalists I decided to follow, hoping to perhaps get insight into stories they're working on or info they'd like to receive from a p.r. person, seemed to be writing more about what bar or restaurant they're at or what they had for dessert.  And some of my blogger friends, who write with insight about marketing and social media issues, are tweeting about movies they saw or providing a running dialogue (or monologue) on what they're watching on TV. at the moment.

Enough!  Please.

I'm not saying Twitter is bad or a waste.  It doesn't do much for me, personally or businesswise...at least at the moment.  I still check Twitter a couple of times a day.  Tweets have pointed me to some interesting posts and articles.  But I have to wade through so much chatter to find the good stuff.  There's just not enough time.  I complained about it to one friend, who simply told me to unfollow them if I didn't like the chatter.

A study ,mentioned in this week's Mediaweek, said 58% of Twitter account holders rarely or never send or receive tweets.  Twenty percent do several times a month; 11 percent several times a week, seven percent every day or nearly every day, and only two percent are doing it several times a day.  Those are the people with thousands of tweets logged and often thousands of followers. That two percent may be the ones jamming Tweetdom with so much clutter.

So I feel a bit redeemed when I read results of a study that found more than 40% of Twitter tweets are "babble." (Not my word. That's how it was reported online by BBC News.)

Market research firm Pear Analytics looked at the Twitter stream every 30 minutes for six hours a day over the course of a week.  They took 2,000 messages at random and categorized them into six groups:

      News

      Spam

      Self-promotion

      Pointless babble

      Conversational

      Messages having pass-along value

Pointless babble took first place, accounting for 40.5% of the messages analyzed.  Conversational accounted for 37.5%.  Those with pass-along value were 8.7%.  Self-promotion and spam were 5.9 and 3.8 percent respectively.

Ryan Kelly, founder of Pear Analytics, was quoted saying, "It will be interesting to see if Twitter takes a heavier role in news, or (will it) continue to be a source for people to share their current activities that have little to do with everyone else."

I hope it will change over time. More marketers are experimenting with Twitter, and I know there are some serious and helpful dialogues going on.  It just seems, now at least, that they're few and far between.

In the meanwhile, I'll keep trying.  And I'll probably keep complaining, too.  So bear with me, you heavy tweeters.

Comments

[Jeanne Byington]

David,

Moderation is key in sending tweets. As the recipient, when I see too many from one source, I tend to gloss over/ignore all of them.

I love the news tweets from the New York Times and updates from organizations I belong to. Lets me listen to music on my computer and tune out news during the day.

If babble is what I generally get from a contact [followed for political reasons], their 140 characters fall into the “boy who cried wolf” category and I don’t read what they write and take the risk of missing something important.

For anyone to compare a blog to a tweet is like comparing a bag of potato chips for dinner to a cooked protein, vegetable, salad and fruit for dessert. Their relative impacts are unrelated. It’s easier to dash off 140 characters or retweet someone else’s thought or finding than to come up with an idea and flesh it out.

The blog creates conversation and a feeling of community. Because classical music was a topic of a few posts on my blog, a follower whose son was singing in an opera in NY sent me an email asking me to let the readers know about the event. I did.

Further, the blog is long-lasting while the tweet is like a thin mint: Sweet for a moment and gone.

[David Reich]

I love your analogies, Jeanne. I agree -- less is usually more, especially in these days of information overload.

[Jeff Johnstone]

This is my first time commenting on your blog, but I've been a reader for a while.

I agree that there is too much "babble" on Twitter, but that babble probably serves a purpose for some people -- a social connection to others. It's sort of like the old CB radio in the 1970s. Anyone could buy a CB radio and join in the conversation. A lot of it was mindless, but for those people, it was fun. Those who wanted more serious conversation probably went elsewhere. Maybe Twitter is the CB radio of today.

[David Reich]

Thanks for visiting, Jeff. You make a great point about Twitter being like Citizens Band radio. I remember it was the big thing and got lots of buzz way back. I had a friend who had one and when I listened in, it was a lot of random chatter. Not my cup of tea, then or now.

[Ryan Sauers]

I am monitoring Twitter closely as well. I see both good and bad things in it. If it is used correctly, it is another valauble tool in one's marketing arsenal. It is my bias that businesses can gain a following on twitter but twitter should then point back to their blog-- and the blog to their website etc. Tweets should only be posted if they are of value and likely to be passed on or in the Twitter world "RT". Inspirational messages are nice as well. Keep me posted as to your future thoughts on Twitter and by the way nice post here. Ryan Sauers http://ryansauers.blogspot.com

[David Reich]

Thanks for your thoughts, Ryan. Maybe Twitter could be better if there were separate areas for "chatter" and for pass-alongs, etc. Would make it easier to cut through the crap.