Power In Twitter’s Main Stream
Today at approx. 12GMT @stephenfry re-tweeted a message, originally sent from @chrisroos, that read: “not sure if you’re aware but mps vote tomorrow to conceal their expenses (http://tinyurl.com/8lnht6). mysoc need publicity”.
Half an hour later the Guardian published an article: “Gordon Brown withdraws plan to keep details of MPs’ expenses secret” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jan/21/mps-expenses).
WIN.
But was this government retraction a direct result of public interaction, and especially due to Twitter interactions, including related messages from well respected people like Mr. Fry? And/or a wider reaction to a larger community rallied by Twitter users like @chrisroos that help to power websites such as mysoc?
BTW: @amyeee uses the word “Twactivism” in her twitter post regarding the above.
FYI: This morning the Guardian also published an article asking whether Twitter has reached a tipping point for the mainstream : http://xurl.jp/fmk
My thought on this is that we are still in a situation where, despite a growing awareness of Twitter, the ‘mainstream’, including some specific industries, are still struggling to justify their reasons for jumping on-board. This may be in part due to the new wave of product development processes that place ‘purpose’ [of product], after ‘release’ of product into the wild. Sprints of development for these products usually take place at regular intervals in reaction to recognised use-cases.In other words:
- developer releases process to user;
- user decides through trial, error, and discussion, best possible way to use process;
- developer then refines and expands elements of process, and re-releases;
This approach to development of products and processes, does not always fit with current mainstream business models, which in so many cases require that development follows use-case requirements, rather than the other way round – for insurance and proof of conversion (it drives traffic towards the brand / makes money for the brand).
How can a business legitimately justify development of new products and processes, working in conjunction with new products and services like Twitter, without first proving value?
Twitter may well be on the precipice of a tipping point for individuals using the service for personal reasons, but larger groups and organisations are still sitting on the fence watching the grass grow on pastures belonging to the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, networking tools.
Some interesting twitter related analytics and articles:
Thanks for reading. Now please help distribute this page: