Justin Bieber Is Not Newsworthy: Why Twitter Isn't Relevant Anymore

Justin Bieber has been in a lot of hot water lately, but is the Biebs really considered newsworthy? With everything else happening in this world, our crazy weather, etc., my vote is NO! This New York Times article agrees that Twitter isn't about the most important and relevant news anymore. Justin Bieber is definitely NOT considered relevant (big shocker):

"But by far, the most common refrain was something like this: “Why is this news??”

The simplest answer is that it wasn’t — at least not the most important news happening on that particular day. But Twitter isn’t really about the most important thing anymore — it stopped being about relevancy a long time ago. Twitter seems to have reached a turning point, a phase in which its contributors have stopped trying to make the service as useful as possible for the crowd, and are instead trying to distinguish themselves from one another. It’s less about drifting down the stream, absorbing what you can while you float, and more about trying to make the flashiest raft to float on, gathering fans and accolades as you go."

According to the article, Twitter really isn't about how many followers you have anymore:

"What does matter, however, is how many people notice you, either through retweets, favorites or the holy grail, a retweet by someone extremely well known, like a celebrity. That validation that your contribution is important, interesting or worthy is enough social proof to encourage repetition."

This article makes me wonder what's in store for Twitter's future, and social media in general. Will the "tweeting" novelty eventually wear off for the average social media user? Obviously, tweeting is still going strong. Celebrities are always getting in trouble for posting nasty tweets and "questionable" selfies on their Twitter. Is it all just a big publicity stunt these days, especially for celebs and those in the limelight?

Is Twitter really a popularity contest that feed people's inflated egos, and gives them personal validation through "likes"? My vote is a resounding yes. This applies to Facebook as well. Social media is a valuable marketing tool, in my opinion, but some people view and use social media as their own shallow beauty/popularity contest. And that gets old fast.

Do you use Twitter as a social media marketing platform? Do you think that Twitter has gone down the tubes? 

Happy 5 Year Anniversary, Twitter!

The world's most popular global social microblogging turned five years old today. Happy Anniversary, Twitter. Were you onboard Twitter (then Twttr) in 2006? It's amazing to think that Twitter is five years old - time flies when you're tweeting away! I'm not sure I remember my first tweet since it's been a few years since I joined Twitter. Like everyone else, I was dumbfounded how it all worked, until I got my feet weet and learned just how fun and useful it was for social networking (and haven't stopped tweeting ever since).

According to Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, his first tweet "inviting coworkers" was the first tweet written by a "human." Now six years later we are in the midst of Twitter mania. Based on the stats found on Twitter's blog, they handle an average of 140 million tweets per day. It's mind-boggling to think that when I graduated from college in the mid-90s, that the Internet and email were a new phenomenon. And now social media has literally taken the world by storm.

Remember that your business culture might not be suitable for Twitter - why it's important to track and analyze your tweets to verify that Twitter is an effective social media marketing tool. It doesn't make sense to tweet your time away if you don't see a ROI on  your Twitter marketing.

Do you remember your first tweet, or have you avoided Twitter mania altogether? Don't let Charlie Sheen and his posse scare you away from the benefits of Twitter. If you haven't jumped on the Twitter bandwagon, today might be a good day to start.

 

What’s the Tweet on the Street? How Twitter Spreads News Like Wild Fire

 

When was the last time you actually turned on your TV for late-breaking news? It’s probably been awhile. So it shouldn’t be surprising that Twitter blasts out breaking news hours before the news stations get wind of it.

Between popular celebrity tweets and winter storm updates, Twitter makes it very easy to find out what’s happening in the world – especially when it comes to groundbreaking news.

Most people seem to love Twitter or hate it, but even more people seem to be unaware of its vast publicity potential – especially if you have a newsworthy message you need to spread quickly (and you don’t have time to write and send a press release).

When a 7.8 earthquake struck China in 2008 - less than three months before the Olympic Games began - people updated on Twitter faster than the official news channels could keep up.

Some companies have already taken full advantage of Twitter’s publicity power. As I mentioned in a previous post, KFC awarded a $20,000 scholarship to high school student based on a SINGLE tweet. The chicken-chowing corporation generated newsworthy press for itself in mere seconds with their philanthropic venture.

At its longest, a tweet is 160 characters - just enough words to get your message across without rambling for days and accidentally mentioning your cat family. Less is more when it comes to Twitter, and sometimes that’s a good thing when it comes to promoting your company’s brand.

However, don’t be like the PR executive who publicly lambasted his client, FED EX, via Twitter. As a result, he lost FED EX as their client, and was fired for his insulting tweet. From a publicity standpoint, be very careful of what you tweet.  Twitter spreads news like wild fire, and you could be one tweet away from ruining your company’s reputation.

Even Heathrow Airport has jumped on the news bandwagon with their latest tweets - an effective way keep travelers updated on current storm conditions and closures. 

In 2006, the first post in Twitter history was “just setting up my twttr” by Jack Stone, one of Twitter’s co-founders. If you haven’t started using Twitter, you might want to reconsider. Maybe 2011 will be your time to shine in Twitter history.

Jack Stone may not have set the bar very high with his first Twitter post, but that doesn’t mean your first post can’t be memorable – and newsworthy!