Twitter: The Innovation Business Needed

Part 1 of a 5-part series

Four years ago I made my first tweet, unaware the action I just made would not only change my world, but the world of communication, business and the lives of people everywhere--forever. In 140 characters or less you could communicate to anyone in the world what you were doing, watching, participating in or just your interests. Little did I know this vast form of communication would spark a social phenomenon and change not only the look of communication, but all of its functions.

I started using Twitter to simply feel connected to other people and make my actions and thoughts known. It started as a game and a way to communicate with multiple people at the same time, mostly through humor. I only followed high school friends and a few celebrities. There weren't sports team pages or nearly as many businesses as there are today to interact and stay updated with. Nearly four years ago, 140 million tweets were being published on a daily basis as of March 2011. That number has significantly grown to nearly half of a billion tweets published daily; over 5,700 tweets per second. Those numbers are fascinating to me and put into perspective the growth of Twitter as social tool. 

The question I asked myself is "Why has Twitter grown so fast and when will it fall off?"

Another amazing innovation could take the place of Twitter, but I do not see this happening in the near future. For a long time we will see Twitter not only grow in its' users, but in its' content and functions. The more important part of the question is why has Twitter grown so fast? When I think about the answer, only one word repeatedly comes to mind: Business. 

Twitter is no longer a social hub for teenagers and young adults to use as a funny chat tool with their friends. Its’ world has changed to a network of marketers and businesses who are promoting their content, services and products to the audiences their research reveals most interested. It's easy to notice too; take a scroll through your timeline and look at all the links that are being posted which take you directly to products or services in some way, shape or form. In 2013 Work Smart reported that 93 percent of marketers were using some form of social media, Twitter being one of the most popular platforms. Today I am sure that percentage has risen given how important social media has become to major corporations. 

But why am I only talking about Twitter? Although I analyze and use Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other social media platforms on a daily basis, Twitter has always been the standout I go to for three specific reasons: 

• 140 characters of information. Our world has become so used to instantaneous connection that we have become impatient. We want information in its simplest and sweetest form; Twitter forces that.   

• Minimal distractions. I don’t know about you but when I go onto Facebook and see everything that’s happening, it can be distracting and confusing. Between the messenger list, all the tabs and the advertisements, you can be diverted from the material you went to Facebook to see in the first place. I don’t see this problem with Twitter because it directs your attention to the heart of the content without all the fluff.  

• The infamous “hashtag". Let’s give credit where credit is due. Twitter is the originator of arguably one of the greatest ways of connecting others to information through “hash-tagging”. In fact, Twitter would not be what it is today without that one specific innovation.

Part two will express the importance of 140 characters and how it has changed the way we communicate through the world of Twitter. Stay tuned.   

Part One
Part Two