Servant of Chaos

Why Twitter Hasn't Cracked the Teen Market

I started this post back in February 2008 and left it for a while. I was never quite able to finish it -- and it didn't seem overly important. But in light of the recent problems with Twitter and the emergence of the shiny new Plurk, I thought I would resurrect this post and look again at the future, potential and challenges for services such as Twitter, Plurk, Jaiku and Pownce.

I remember how Twitter sped into my consciousness. It was like a freight train with a big Web 2.0 emblazoned on the locomotive. Hanging out the windows of the carriages were the smiling avatars of my marketing and social media friends. All were smiling and waving, beckoning me to climb aboard. It seemed like a no-brainer ... and, in fact, it was. There was very little thought process involved -- I climbed aboard because all my friends were already there.

As I explored Twitter, I started seeing my friends discussions. I realised that there were conversations going on that I wanted to be part of, that I at least wanted to LISTEN to. So I would begin to "follow" others. That meant that Twitter would notify them of my intention to eavesdrop or contribute to their discussions, and in effect this served as a virtual introduction. My pre-existing connection to others had opened the door for me.

This made me rethink my approach to Facebook and to LinkedIn. As you can probably see, up the top of my website is a badge that links to my LinkedIn profile. If you click it and want to add me to your network I don't generally decline (in fact, I don't think that I have ever). I am a little more selective about Facebook where I do feel that I need to know a little about you before "friending" you. But why? What was this all about ... and how did it relate to Twitter?

Gradually I realised that the folks on Twitter were a whole lot less guarded about their discussions than they may be about their profiles on Facebook. And the same applied to me. That meant that it was completely acceptable to "follow" a stranger on Twitter -- and in the process it opened up my personal social graph to a flood of chaos and random encounters. It felt a little dangerous ... but at the heart of it was the clear understanding of my role as a creator of content. Twitter was providing the space and as a dutiful "one percenter", I was filling it with the best content that I could muster in 140 characters. So were my one percenter colleagues. We had an unspoken contract with Twitter -- and it was symbiotic -- we soon needed each other, desperately.

Digging around in Twitter, however, it was clear that the user base was mature -- or should I say "adult". This seemed counter-intuitive to me, because I expected Twitter to be a walk up natural service for teens -- and Andy Beal seemed to think the same in this interesting post. But for my money, the reason that teens have not been attracted to Twitter is fundamental. Surprisingly it is not about the COMMUNITY ... it's about the INTENTION.

Twitter has been able to build a community around its technology. It started with a tech friendly audience at SXSW and grew from there. It was successful at positioning itself as an APPLICATION. That meant that we were overtly aware of Twitter as a piece of enabling technology -- we knew and understood that this would entail ups, downs, failures and disappointments. We were viewing Twitter as a technology -- we were co-creating the Twitter community. As David Cushman says, "It is built for communities of purpose to form in a networked conversation-driven way, not for an audience to consume what they are creating".

But such a position is anathema to a teenage audience. For them, the very act of connecting is, in itself, a creation of value. The resulting relationships and the experience that they engender is of intrinsic importance to a generation world-wise and weary of "markets", "brands" and the emptiness of promises. There is little surprise then, that Twitter holds no appeal.

Plurk, however, is different from its core. The Plurk team view their mission as a service. They want to go "Beyond FUBU" -- beyond the for us, by us mantra that permeates many start-ups. Now, whether this is true or not, it certainly appeals to Generation Y. And it seems to be something that is also tweaking the ears of an expectant Twitter community. After the recent outage furore and poor communication all round, perhaps the adults in the Twitter community are waking up to a new level of expectation and maturity -- technology as service. And this may be the very reason that Plurk (or its successor) wins out long term. It is not about the technology or even the utility. It's about the service and the experience -- something the kids got long ago.

The Socially Enabled Network

As part of the review of the Cluetrain Manifesto ten years on, Deb Schultz gave a talk at the SAP-sponsored There's a New Conversation series (celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Cluetrain Manifesto). In a neat twist, she claims that we are living in an age where it not the medium that is the message, but that the medium is the relationship. That is (as I would say) in the Age of Conversation, it is increasingly NOT about the technology but the results of engaging with and using those technologies in a socially-enabled network.

Now, this doesn't seem, on the surface, to be a shattering insight. After all, you are either reading this online or via RSS ... but step back from a moment. Literally. Get up from behind your computer screen and look at the person nearest you. Look across the room. Think about how you are connected to them online. What MORE do you know about them from the way that you connect. What have you seen or read? How has this given you a deeper sense of this person. Do you trust them more or less?

What we are seeing is not the technology itself, but the surfacing of our once private networks. This means that we have a whole lot more "play" in the workplace but also a deeper understanding of our colleagues and teams.

And yet, despite all of this connection -- despite the various etiquettes and common courtesies expected in the various communities to which we belong -- we are still at the very early stages of understanding the real impact of all this. After all, we spend much more time TRIALLING new applications, coercing our friends to sign-up or blogging about it all to gain any real insight into HOW this is transforming the way that we live or work. Sure there will be pockets of insight, but as the services like Twitter or Pownce or Jaiku or even Plurk begin to mainstream there is a potential to radically TRANSFORM our brands, businesses and our workplaces. It is only when we see the mass adoption of some of these technologies will we begin to see real and lasting change.

And when we do, I suggest it will be far more playful than anyone expects. Or as Leigh Himel says, we will eventually "realize we are only beginning to understand how any of these technologies are impacting our lives on a daily basis". Then we can get over ourselves ... and start having fun again.

That is the socially enabled network -- and it is the future of your brand.

Thinking in Pictures

As my regular readers will know, I am more of a storyteller than a visual artist. But I often find that one of the best ways of expressing my ideas will be in picture form. Unfortunately, my drawing skills are poor. Really poor. So this means finding an alternative way of working.

Where I always try to start is with the story. What is it that I am trying to get across to my audience? What is the starting point and where does the end point lie? What is the journey that we are going to take and what sights and sounds will we encounter along the way? I try to think of it as a train trip -- something that has an EXPERIENTIAL element to it.

An essential aspect for me is the metaphor. What is the key theme that I want to apply ... and what is the message? How do I build this up along the way? What are the rhythms I want to interject.

And once I have all this, I ask myself -- is there some visual that I can use? Where can I find it? How can I bring my story with its key themes together around the visual? Normally I start with a Google image search based around my key messages. If that does not result in a winning image, I often go to Flickr and do the same. But every so often both of these great tools fail me. That is when I take a breath and think about my friends and community. I think blogs and I think Twitter. But rarely do I think Facebook.

However, when I was thinking about this post, I knew that there was an image that I wanted. I just needed to think where it was. And sure enough, I remembered. David Armano generously setup a fan page on Facebook some time ago and saved many of his well-known (and well-used) diagrams to image albums. This is one of them. Be sure to check this great resource next time you get stuck!

Dip Your Hands into the Blogging Community Well

  All hands... 
  Originally uploaded by carf

When you first start blogging (or even reading blogs) it is hard to find a community where you feel you belong. After all, there are a couple of hundred MILLION blogs (more than half of which are written in Chinese!) -- so sometimes it can take a little bit of digging. This is why ongoing lists like Mack Collier's excellent Top 25 Marketing and Social Media Blogs and Meg Tsiamis' Top 100 Australian Blogs are important. For while those of us who have been using these lists for a couple of years may feel they are tired or outdated (or even too myopic), we are still on the margins of the mainstream -- and the real benefit is not for us, but for the thousands of people newly discovering the blogosphere each day.

Recently, Mack considered stopping his index, but after community input, decided upon a format change to include blogs that include "social media" as well as marketing and branding blogs. You can check out his latest list here. But Sean Moffitt points out that blogs come and go (and change focus). So finding currently active, thought provoking blogs that provide quality content is always a challenge. With that in mind, Sean has compiled a great list of blogs which focus on "community building, brand communities, citizen tribes and the intersection of social networks and marketing" -- and I am pleased to see the Servant of Chaos is included (check the full list here.

There are also a number of my personal favourites like Jeremiah Owyang's Web Strategist Blog and Chris Brogan. But I am most excited to begin reading Sami Viitimaki's Flirting with the Crowd and Rob Kozinets' Brandthroposophy which are completely new to me.

It's not the end of "conversation" ... it's just the beginning. Always.

I Really Am Going to Blogger Social 08 ...

If you are going to Blogger Social 08 ... tell me why and what you are most looking forward to ... add your video to this Kaltura!

M20 Goes Solo

Market Sign at Night
Originally uploaded by Trefrog66

A while ago Peter Kim setup a list monitoring the rankings of blogs written by client side marketers. He called it the M20. On the list are some of my favourite blogs -- along with a few that I am just getting to know.

1. ExperienceCurve :: 74 
2. Strategic Public Relations :: 70
3. Listen Up! :: 59
4. BeRelevant! :: 53
5. Conversation Agent :: 51
6. Todd And - The Power To Connect :: 48
7. Flooring The Consumer  :: 42
8. Decker Marketing :: 41
9. The Lonely Marketer :: 41
10. Marketing Nirvana :: 40
11. Consumer Generated Media :: 38
12. Churbuck.com :: 38
13. The Digital Mindset Blog :: 36
14. Bernaisesource :: 35
15. Biznology :: 34
16. Cross The Breeze :: 33
17. AttentionMax :: 33
18. Masiguy :: 32
19. Community Group Therapy :: 31
20. Buzz Marketing For Technology :: 31

As of this week, the M20 has moved to its own domain. Make sure to update your feeds!

Where Do You Belong?

Chubby Cheeks 2
Originally uploaded by servantofchaos

Mack has a great post on what makes a "successful" community. He focuses on the efforts of Pat Coyle who is asking the difficult marketing and business questions around social networking -- what does success look like? And perhaps, if it were to walk up and bite us, would we recognise it for what it is?

As I was reading Mack's post, it started to remind me of my early childhood and the sense of community that was in place around my Nanna's house. She as an old-fashioned Nanna ... she knew all the neighbours (and probably knew their business), she knew the streets and who lived where and how the families fitted together. She knew whose children my father played with, their mothers, fathers and grandparents. It was where she belonged.

When I would visit, everyone in the street would wave and look out for me. They knew who I was by who I was connected to.

Years later I visited my old school on the weekend to play basketball with my sister. In the distance I could hear my name being called. I thought I was hearing things ... I looked around but could see no one. We kept playing.

But the voice was persistent. G-a-a-a-v-i-i-n ...

Across the playground and way down the street there was a man yelling to me. He was older, much older, than I ... and I did not recognise him. Slowly I walked towards him wondering who he was and how he knew me. He could tell I was confused. Up close his face was still a blank canvas to me. "Sid Shannon", he said. "Ahh" ... he was a friend's father -- his daughter was born the day after me in the same ward.

"How did you know it was me?", I asked. "Oh, I would know you anywhere", he replied.

I looked like my family. And time and distance was not going to change that.

Do you know where you belong? How do you know? What are the pointers to this? And how do you own it?

Perhaps "old" is the new, new ... and social media is igniting not the desire for connection but ENABLING the reconnections between people.

Twitter Sixth Sense

In a true activation of this article's premise, I was reading through some Twitter messages for the first time in a long time and found this one from KG. Here I was stepping through the process that Clive Thompson was talking about -- re-extending my virtual limbs after an absence. And where did I find myself? In a shared space of old friends ...

There was Drew McLellan welcoming me back. Scott Monty was asking about Spock invites. Ariel Waldman was marvelling at her life as a quasi-sex-blogger. David Armano was being "supervenient".

Why is this all important? Why should anyone care? As Clive says, "because it's experiential" ... it fulfils the desire to connect but in a completely mediated way. It means you can reach out without effort. It provides you a space to play ... not EXACTLY private but certainly within earshot of others. You don't need to be geographically close, but you can still feel part of a community. A group.

It doesn't take a sixth sense to figure out that this sense of belonging is important.

Top 25 Makeover

Mr Community, Mack Collier, has had yet another busy week -- this time giving the Top 25 Marketing Blogs a makeover. From this week, Mack is rating marketing blogs based on Technorati's "authority" rank rather than the site ranking available through Alexa ... and this has drastically reshaped the face of the Top 25 (for example, Kim Klaver's excellent blog has dropped out of the list -- and Seth has finally been knocked from the top spot by Kathy Sierra).

There are SEVEN new entries, six of which are first time entrants. Amongst these are some of my personal favourites -- Sean Howard and Becky Carroll. Of course, when the Z-list booster shot runs out sometime around July, we may see yet another makeover. But that is what makes Mack's list so vitally important -- the Viral Garden is like the Viral Watercooler ... we all love to drop by for a chat and a gossip -- and no matter who is on the list, you can always be assured of good conversation and witty company.

Thanks to You

I have been resisting putting this little logo onto the site for a couple of weeks. When I first entered Mack Collier's Top 25 Marketing Blogs a few weeks ago, I thought it best to wait a month and see if I was still around. And, thanks to you all, it seems that I am. But it could all change again next week ... especially as Mack is now changing his ranking approach from next week onwards. He is switching from Alexa over to Technorati ... so it could be a very different looking list from here on in!

And if you are new to Mack's list, it comes out every Wednesday (my Thursday), and it provides links through to some of the most interesting and influential marketing blogs around. Be sure to check out the list and the blogs on it.