I’ve been a strong advocate of Twitter for quite a while. There are significant benefits for users, but not everyone needs access to the “here and now web” for communication. I’m becoming more convinced that only a thin minority of people will use Twitter as a communication platform in the future.

Why Twitter isn’t for everyone

• “I don’t have the time” or “I don’t want to be connected all the time!”- Twitter requires a commitment to both sharing content and listening.
• “I don’t get it” – Twitter timeline is a stream and every tweet doesn’t need to be read, but many people who don’t use Twitter daily miss out on most of the relevance of time-sensitive information
• “I don’t need another thing to check!” or “I really don’t care about this stuff”- The value of access to relevant and timely information just isn’t there for many people.  If it’s important, they’ll hear about it on another channel, but they don’t need to know now.

Why Facebook is better for most mainstream people

• “I don’t have to think” – Facebook information is purely social in nature. It’s fun! It’s about family and friends. Twitter is very often about connecting with people with common interests and has more of a business information orientation.
• “I check it every few days and can see what everyone is up to” – Twitter users are more continuously connected (by computer or handheld), while Facebook users can drop in every three days and still feel like they are getting relevant information about their friends and family.
• “I know the people on Facebook” – Facebook is always relevant. These are people I know.

Curious People Use Twitter

• Twitter is for teachers and learners – People who are thirsty for information and knowledge. Twitter users stay on top of news, generate business ideas, monitor leads and are more actively engaged in distributing information, ideas, links, knowledge.
• Information spreads quickly across Twitter, while Facebook posts generally earn comments from people you know.

So, Do you Tweet? Why or why not?

Many people rely on others for their news. If you are a source of information for others, Twitter will  continue to be a very important part of your world.

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