Tweeted Out

Friday, September 25, 2009

There is a great post today at Mashable that shows some compelling data that Twitter’s stratospheric growth may finally be hitting a friction point, at least in terms of total US internet traffic.

Twitter is a fascinating tool, both in its simplicity and its openness. The one thing that Twitter got right was to publish a robust API that allows third-party developers to build applications and utilities that sit on top of the service and make it better. Allowing innovation to come from outside the organization may prove to be the model that helps Twitter stay ahead of the competition.

I’ve been hot and cold on Twitter as a personal communications tool. In terms of following sports teams I like and political issues I follow, Twitter provides a wealth of up-to-the minute information. Twitter search is a fascinating way to get insight about what people are thinking about at any given moment. My problem with Twitter is if you don’t check in with your account multiple times a day, it becomes hard to follow all of the activity. Even using third-party tools like TweetDeck, UberTwitter, and SeesMic, I find it impossible to keep up-to-date with the activity of the 50 or so accounts I follow if I go a day or two without logging in. I can’t imagine how people who follow thousands of different users manage the fire hose of information that Twitter sends their way.

News this week of a substantial new round of funding for Twitter and a valuation of $1 billion should see third-parties continuing to invest in building more Twitter utilities.

As a tool for businesses or organizations that have staff time or consultants to manage their accounts, Twitter can be a great component of a comprehensive communications plan. As an individual that often forsakes personal communications to focus on client concerns, I’m hoping that the app community comes up with a better solution for managing Twitter activity.