Shortcast opinions and ideas » twitter

Is it abt time twtr blt its own URL shrtng svc

TTB — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:36:05 +0000

Services that are in the business of providing short URLs is getting shorter .. thanks to lack of viable business model. For one these short URL addon service might make more sense being core offering from twitter the mother ship. I am not sure what percentage of content does NOT have a link in them. (including this one)

Tr.im. After a number of attempts to sell the service, no companies in the Twitter space stepped forward to purchase and operate it in its existing form. Says the company, “There is no way for us to monetize URL shortening — users won’t pay for it — and we just can’t justify further development since Twitter has all but annointed bit.ly the market winner.”

In addition to a number of general URL shorteners such as bit.ly and TinyURL, Tr.im was also competing against site-specific services like StumbleUpon’s Su.pr and music URL shortener TinySong.

The company’s Twitter statistics (as with all URL shortening services) are used to determine and aggregate Twitter trends by Tweetmeme; however, as of today, according to the company these statistics “can no longer be considered reliable, or reliably available going forward.” Tr.im links will continue to redirect until at least December 31, 2009.

Facebook showing twitter some love by copying them Do no evil was one of the axis of evil...
Over 6 Billion minutes is spent every day on facebook Image via CrunchBase If that number peaked your interest...

Tried twitter and think it’s about to Jump the Shark already?

TTB — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:25:08 +0000

There is all this talk about Facebook fatigue and 60% Twitter users stopped using after 30 days all comes down to a phase in usage of social media. Interesting post by Dom Sagolla on stages we go thru in using social media. I agree and was able to relate to most of these stages. These stages in my mind apply to conversational media rather than entertainment. I am assuming usage of youtube and such continues to have a different usage pattern than facebook, twitter, orkut, tumblr, etc.

Getting overwhelmed with junk on Facebook? Annoyed by random spam targeting you? Tried Twitter for a while and now you think it’s about to Jump the Shark already?

12 Stages of Social Media

Curiosity
Interest
Novelty
Excitement
Inviting everyone you know
Optional: Inviting the Wrong Person (skip to 9)
Massive Use / Addiction
Slight Abuse / Accidental Use
Annoyance / Frustration
Cutting way back
“Going Dark” / “Taking a Break” / “Going Private”
Acceptance / Renewed Curiosity

Facebook showing twitter some love by copying them Do no evil was one of the axis of evil...
Is it abt time twtr blt its own URL shrtng svc Services that are in the business of providing short URLs...

Social networking, twitter demographics

TTB — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:00:44 +0000

Harris Interactive conducts a poll of 2,220 adults was conducted online within the U.S. between March 31 and April 1, 2009. A little less than half of all Americans have a Facebook or MySpace account according to a recent The Harris Poll.

The poll clarifies “substantial differences” between who is and isn’t using social networking sites and networking software, with 51% of all Americans not using Twitter or a social networking site like Facebook or MySpace. Of those who do use the sites, only 16% update their page at least once a day. Also, and despite the hype, only 5% of Americans are using Twitter, according to The Harris Poll.

Other poll results include:

Three-quarters of those aged 18-34 years old (74%) have a Facebook or MySpace account but this quickly drops off the older one gets. Just one-quarter (24%) of those 55 and older have an account;
Tweeting is also slightly more prevalent among the young, but not by much; 8% of 18-34 year olds use Twitter, 7% of those 35-44 use it, 4% of those aged 45-54 and just 1% of those 55 and older;
While men and women use Twitter at the same levels (5% each), women are more likely to have a Facebook or MySpace account (52% versus 45%); and,
There is also an educational difference in usage of social networking sites. Two in five people with a high school degree or less (40%) have a Facebook or MySpace account compared to 55% of those with some college and 52% of those with at least a college degree.
45% of adults believe social networking sites are popular, but they won’t pose a real threat to the domination of search sites (Google, Yahoo!, etc.) while just one in ten (9%) say they may become a threat. Fully 46% of Americans are not at all sure. Even among the largest users of the social networking sites, 18-34 year olds, three in five (62%) say they will not become a real threat to the search engines.

“The media may be all abuzz about Twittering, but mainstream America is not hopping on the same bandwagon. While the younger age groups are all about the social network sites, they haven’t yet migrated to Twitter. The question is will they or won’t they? If they had found it before the media had, there is a stronger possibility they would be increasing their usage, but they may already be looking for the next big thing – before it becomes a media darling,” according to The Harris Poll statement.

download the report (PDF)

Facebook showing twitter some love by copying them Do no evil was one of the axis of evil...
Is it abt time twtr blt its own URL shrtng svc Services that are in the business of providing short URLs...