Part of my job with the Name Reader crew is to not only read names and make people see the good they have inside of themselves, but it is also to create a social media presence. (no pressure huh?) So I have been dabbling in such things. I created a twitter account, as you can see. It’s been doing all right. But I must admit I do not understand twitter. Perhaps if I have a look at the word and examine it as I would a name, I may find some understanding.
There are 3 T’s in this word. Which explains a lot. T is all about personal gain. Not a bad thing, we all need a little T in our lives lest we become doormats. T is about creating balance and giving in the process, provided it gives a little something back in return.
Here’s a question for you, what the heck does twitter get out of allowing millions of people to suck up their bandwith doing brief tweets.
Let’s have a looky loo at wikipedia, shall we:
In July 2009, some of Twitter’s revenue and user growth documents were published on TechCrunch after being illegally obtained by Hacker Croll. The documents projected 2009 revenues of US$400,000 in the third quarter and US$4 million in the fourth quarter along with 25 million users by the end of the year. The projections for the end of 2013 were US$1.54 billion in revenue, US$111 million in net earnings, and 1 billion users. No information about how Twitter planned to achieve those numbers was published. In response, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone published a blog post suggesting the possibility of legal action against the hacker.[114]
On April 13, 2010, Twitter announced plans to offer paid advertising for companies that would be able to purchase “promoted tweets” to appear in selective search results on the Twitter website, similar to Google Adwords’ advertising model. As of April 13, Twitter announced it had already signed up a number of companies wishing to advertise including Sony Pictures, Red Bull, Best Buy, and Starbucks.[115][116]
To continue their advertising campaign, Twitter announced on March 20, 2012, that it would be bringing its promoted tweets to mobile devices. Twitter generated US$139.5 million in advertising sales during 2011 and expects this number to grow 86.3% to US$259.9 million in 2012.[117]
The company generated US$45 million in annual revenue in 2010, after beginning sales midway through that year. The company operated at a loss through most of 2010. Revenues were forecast for US$100 million to US$110 million in 2011.[109] Users’ photos can generate royalty-free revenue for Twitter, with an agreement with WENN being announced in May 2011.[118] In June 2011, Twitter announced that it would offer small businesses a self serve advertising system.[119]
Advertising, I should have realized. That’s pretty hardcore when you think about it. It’s nice to see the corporation paying for something that benefits others. And to my mind it is less advertising and more “branding”.
Now that W in twitter, let’s have a look at that. Influenced to attain greater awareness. Well twitter has successfully done that, no doubt about it. I don’t know too many people that were born 1965 + that doesn’t know what twitter is. It has certainly attained a greater awareness if not for itself than from others.
There is an I in there, which in part is about exploring the unknown. Twitter achieves that in spades. There is as much madness on twitter as there is likely to be anywhere on the internet. To explore the unknown is quite achievable there. In fact the unknown world is as likely to find you. I have blocked my fair share of pornographic offers that seem to delve into a concept I am not quite ready to deal with.
Now the E. The main influence I see is the ability to be agreeable. Twitter certainly is that. It will take on anyone with a pulse and let them post whatever it is they want out to the world. I certainly wouldn’t open my blog to that kind of treatment.
Finally, that R. R is all about repetition. Keeping things flowing so that they will constantly cycle without faltering. Isn’t twitter that way? You must be on top of it regularly to make sure your followers do not become bored, and drop you. You must be willing to give your followers information they wish to retweet or favourite. I must say, it is the R that most people that have twitter accounts fall prey to. Repeatedly checking their accounts hour by hour, moment by moment. It truly is far too entertaining! Not only is it entertaining, it is also brief. 140 characters is all you have to make your pitch, so you better make it good.
So that’s Twitter in a nutshell. Its name sums it up rather well. And now, to put that information to use as I try to gather a following. It may seem like a dream, but I hope to create a group of people that understand just how fantastic they are, and if they are ever in doubt they can look at their name a know otherwise.