If you are a millennial, I need your help!
I just read a great article called “Why Isn’t Mainstream Gen Y Buying Into The New Web?” The article really got me thinking about why some of my friends chose to use Twitter and others are totally turned off by the platform.
If you are a millennial, please take a second to comment and let me know why you do or do not use Twitter.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I am not turned off by Twitter, once in a while i will look at my friends or celebreties if i am bored. but i dont find it necessary to know everything someone is doing or thinking about. I dont think i will ever be an avid twitter user
i use twitter as a form of entertainment, and a way to check up on friends and celebrities
I am a big fan of twitter. I don’t think of it as narcissistic, although I’m sure some tweet their every move. I think of it as an awesome venue for sharing cool links to articles, videos, blogs, etc. It’s a one-stop shop, a place for me to follow friends, celebrities, a good source of news, local happenings, etc. I’ve found coupons to my favorite restaurants and boutiques, interesting headlines, great new music recommendations, and lots more. I’m happy to spread the gospel: twitter is grand!
I joined because it was the latest “it” thing, but like Eric said, I don’t need to know every detail of someone’s life. It almost seems like- with Twitter- we’ve taken technology to an uncomfortable level.
It took me awhile to get into Twitter, but I use it as a tool to learn more about PR/social media, learn from professionals, and network. I actually wrote a blog post about it: http://sheemasiddiqi.com/2009/03/19/why-i-twitter-and-why-you-should-too/
Access is influence, Blake! : )
I use Twitter as a supplement to my RSS reader and to track trends in the industry. I follow publications that I’m interested in, and people who post about industry news or discuss trends in social media. Also, as a PR professional, it’s a great place to establish relationships with media professionals, and to follow HARO in order to connect with relevant journalists.
I use twitter but it took me a while to get used to it. I like it because I can keep up with news headlines and see what my friends are up to all at once.
I think part of the reason I don’t use twitter is because I don’t understand it’s purpose. Why do I need to follow people or have people follow me? I know what my close friends are doing all the time because I talk to them on a constant basis. At the same time, I have so many other ways to contact them be it facebook, gchat, or texting that I don’t feel the need to add another social network to my list. At this point, with all the stuff you hear in the news about employers not hiring a person because of something they saw on twitter or facebook and people getting scammed or kidnapped, my privacy is very important to me. So adding another site that would allow people to know what I’m doing all the time isn’t something I’m interested in. I also enjoy interacting with my friends in “real life” rather than online and I think the more social networks one subscribes to, the less personal it becomes. Everything today is so automated. You call a help line and talk to an answering machine for 20 min before you get a real person. The last thing I want to automate are my friendships.
I echo Molly, here.
I believe part of the problem is that people who have grown-up in the Myspace-Facebook generation view Twitter as an extension of that medium. My read of this interpretation is highlighted by a few comments above mine.
The real value of Twitter is gaining new information, whether it be industry specific or deals at local restaurants. I like it as an RSS supplement and may even be removing the necessity of RSS as tracking Tweets becomes more streamlined.
Another issue I find is the Twitter etiquette of the follow back. If Facebook-minded friends join Twitter and tell you about the toast they just made and you feel that it is trivial, you aren’t required to follow them back! Twitter is NOT a the new Facebook it serves a different function. If our generation can understand that then they appreciate it and probably adopt it.
P.S. I’m not sure how you disseminated an alert on your new entry, but I found it on Twitter and thought it was ironic.
Thanks, Blake!
Do I count as a millenial? I was born in 82′ but I have the resolution of a 50 year old. I like to eat dinner early and wear prescription shoes.
I joined twitter early 2007. I certainly wasn’t the first to get to the party but then again, I wasn’t late either. It started out just as a cool web app. Now a days, I think I use it a lot like Molly. It helps me track industry trends that I’m interested in. It’s an enhanced RSS feed because I can see what people are talking about in real time; not just what corporations are saying to the press.
I also think it’s a great way to start conversations with people I wouldn’t necessarily have the opportunity talk to. If there’s someone that’s been tweeting a lot about robots, I will probably tweet him/her next time I have a question about robots.
Perhaps I should be treated as an outlier though, as I am not on Facebook. I’m on twitter, LinkedIn and other online social communities. Facebook just ain’t my thing (it stopped being cool once everyone’s mom got on it, literally).
I use twitter to catch up on wine and marketing trends, which relates to my job. I have no desire to use it personally to tell everyone what I’m doing, but like to be up on what’s new and share bits of info that relate to the millennial wine drinkers.
I am late on commenting here, but it looks like from your commenters, we could make the general statement that people who read your blog use twitter.
Facebook started with the college market, then expanded down to the 14-18 age group, it has really just begun to expand into the 35-50 age range. Twitter began, open to the masses. It was something the 35-50 age group could latch onto because there was almost zero barrier to entry to it in the first place. You didn’t have to be in college, or high school, or be affiliated with a certain network – 35-50 year olds could adopt the platform and be the experts. I think they liked that.
I think it matters most who the initial audience is, because adoption will start there, and then branch out to those older or younger….that’s important information for any product platform.
Millennials have Facebook, and it’s still working for them.
There will always be late adopters (to Twitter, or whatever), and it’s fine if people don’t want to use Twitter, because it’s really not about the platform, it’s about the mindframe of real-time communication. I think millennials know that.
i use twitter for:
- news, updates (mets)
- keep in touch with contacts in more intimate/public setting
- share news
- grow audience / personal brand
- to learn the medium / become expert / innovate, etc..
- entertainment of course!
- real-time trends / buzz / thought-starters..