The Flight from Twitter: Is It True Everyone Leaving?
Guest Blog by Andrew Lisa
The rapid ascent and meteoric plunge of Myspace gave a real-time example of the fragile nature of social media giants – and the lack of loyalty displayed by even their most die-hard followers. Although Facebook reigns supreme with more than a billion users and an innovative suite of advertisements and sales techniques, study after study shows that teens and young adults have abandoned it in droves. Twitter, the pioneer of microblogging, saw extraordinary growth and became a crucial pillar in the foundation of media outlets, marketing firms, businesspeople and politicians alike.
But is Twitter witnessing the beginnings of an inevitable downward slide? Twitter is still going strong, no doubt, but for how long?
Could Twitter have peaked and be on its way down?
Victim of its Own Success?
As early as July of 2013, industry analyst Bob Lefsetz said of Twitter: “It’s toast. Over. Done. History. Soon to be as behind the curve as Facebook, someday completely forgotten like Friendster.” His logic was that the wildly popular social media site and godfather of microblogging was a victim of its own success. Too many people had joined, too many tweets were being fired off, and as a result, individuals were no longer being heard, but drowned out in a tidal wave of digital noise. But was he right?
Irreplaceable Aspects of Twitter
Twitter has proven crucial in getting real-time results in several key arenas. First of all, people seeking jobs have found the site to be among the most credible and reliable links to employers, especially since Twitter’s rise came during the financial crisis. Second, it is still a media powerhouse. From the Boston Marathon bombings to the disappearance of flight 370, people still flock to social media for breaking news, which often hits Twitter first and with the most accuracy. Also, live tweeting – the real-time mass tweeting of major events such as the Oscars or the Super Bowl – is now a pastime for celebrities and mortals alike. For these applications, Twitter has yet to be challenged by a credible rival.
The Realities
No matter how much its loyalists may want to believe otherwise, Twitter is, if nothing else, cooling off as far as growth is concerned. According to reports, Twitter grew at a rate of 140 percent over the last three years. In the final quarter of 2013, however, that growth slowed considerably. Don’t worry about that being a final nail in Twitter’s coffin, however. It still has 241 million monthly active users.
Twitter is the king and founder of microblogging, but there is always a new concept not far behind.
Is Twitter going the way of Myspace? It’s difficult to tell. Twitter appears to have reached some sort of plateau – at least as far as new subscribers are concerned. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s losing social or political relevance, or that businesses won’t come up with new sales techniques designed specifically for the microblogging platform. Most experts agree that Twitter isn’t going anywhere just yet.
Photo credits: Flickr users Pixelant, George.
Andrew Lisa is a freelance writer who covers social media and the blogosphere. He writes about online careers and profiles online resources such as top 10 article writing companies.
