Twitter celebrated 200 million tweeps signing up in 2011. It is estimated this number was over 500 million signups in 2012. There is some controversy in the industry as many estimate only one third of those are still active. Twitter was quiet about this “achievement”.
One thing that cannot be ignored is the power of the tweet. Each time you a tweet is sent out, all the people following that account receive it. Also re-tweets come into play which further amplify the reach.
Over 200 million tweets were being sent daily in 2011 resulting in an estimated 350 billion tweets delivered each day. On average, that would be 1750 tweets delivered for every tweet sent.
Unfortunately a lot of this results in “noise” and it becomes difficult to sift through it to find unique worthwhile content.
On a good note, anything relating breaking news around the world will be tweeted immediately. Other news outlets need time to digest and respond.
Do you get discouraged sifting through all the noise?
Unfortunately, the majority of tweets seem to be a wasteland of ignorance. However, it does have its strengths. It’s been vital in connecting people with breaking news, especially in countries who have had information and internet black outs. I wouldn’t trust it like it’s some sort of peer reviewed journal, but it does serve its purpose. You just have to realize most your friends aren’t going to be talking about anything important, rather just mundane things going on in their lives.
I don’t get too discouraged sifting through all the noise. Somehow, my brain learned to routinely block it out and only read the tweets I’m interested in. I’ve had a problem with a previous twitter account that generated mostly noise though. Somehow, my account got hacked and it posted all sorts of stupid advertisements. I’ve closed it down and just made a new one and learned to login enough to notice if my Twitter’s posting contents without my knowledge.
I find that of all the social media, Twitter is my favorite. I am fascinated to see how quickly it has come to have such an enormous impact on the way breaking news and hot topics are disseminated worldwide, instantly.
Events unfold in real time and those affected by those events not only can connect with each other, but they can simultaneously let the world know what is going on. We see this most dramatically with social unrest and uprisings — these days Egypt is front and center in this manner — and in natural disasters.
Thankfully such unfolding stories as these do break through the noise!
I get discouraged sometimes sifting through all those junks. I know it’s less likely to miss a breaking news, but it’s not easy when one is looking out for ‘special’ tweets. Most of the time I was trying to tweet, and I just wanted to take a peep into what other people were saying; I could use more than 20 minutes without seeing something remarkable.
Sometimes I just give up, as I find it too battery weakening. Those tweets coming-in in dozens every 1 second always drain the hell out of my smart phone battery. Now, I don’t even bother tweeting with my mobile if I’m not near a power outlet. I think twitter should slow things down a little, that way the contents would increase in quality.
I find it frustrating to when using a mobile device. It does indeed drain the battery and having to sift through all the pointless and irrelevant tweets is far more taxing on the eyes on a small screen.
Hi David, I did become very frustrated with the noise and constant sifting through my Twitter feed. That is why I started Brook (brookdaily.com). In fact, we specifically say that we’re designed for people who “love Twitter, but hate the noise.” It essentially emails you the best tweets each day from the people you select. Thanks for a great post, by the way. It really is impossible to keep up sometimes.
Twitter is a way to share information. That’s how I’ve decided to look at it. I rarely tweet but I do enjoy reading some tweets of other people. There’s not enough time to read all the tweets that I want to. Talk about information overload and you are talking about twitter. I am surprised that it has become such a success. Didn’t it debut in 2007 or so?
I spend a lot of time sifting through random and inane Tweets in an attempt to find that one nugget of awesome. I tend to share that one nugget like it was formed from gold and encrusted in diamonds. “See this! Look at this! OOOH, preety!”
That one awesome tweet can get a lot of attention though. The probably is slipping it through all the clutter and yes, noise.
Ha-ha. That is a great post right there. I’ll spend an hour a day or so reading through my twitter subscriptions and, honestly, I find about 5 tweets or so that are worth reading. Most of it is your run of the mill everyday nonsense that no one cares about. I often wonder why I bother reading so many twitter feeds. The comedians like Will Ferrel do provide some funny tweets, I must say.
There is a lot of noise on twitter but I still find it helpful. While most tweets may be wasted on people who aren’t interested or they’ll go ignored occasionally they’ll reach someone. I’ve found that twitter is a good way to open doors that wouldn’t necessarily be around otherwise. Tweeting with competitors can confuse them or open an opportunity to work with them and borrow some of their audience.
Twitter has become a large social media website that I actually utilized more than I do Facebook, but part of me is surprised that it hasn’t reached even close to the level that Facebook has reached. Sure, maybe it’s not as simple to use and limited in the amount of characters you can type in one post. Still, it gets a vast amount of buzz and mention on several media outlets and shows that it would only make sense that they were much bigger.