Friday, May 18, 2007

Short But Sweet: to Tweet or Not to Tweet?

As you probably know, I'm a fan of Twitter. I was skeptical at first, but I've found it incredibly useful and versatile as I've continued using it. I think I've been a member of the Twitterati for over 2 months now.

But it's days like Wednesday that really make me want to rethink my stance. Twitter had some serious issues that pretty much crippled it for the entire day. This was directly following a day of spotty service while I was on the road. It was frustrating, to say the least.

One competitor to Twitter, Jaiku, is continuing to attract a lot of attention. Evidently, there has been a wave of registrations as a direct result of yeseterday's Twitter-outage. Even TechCrunch has made the leap and has let its readers know.

This gets right at the heart of an important issue for all new media / Web 2.0 / whatever-you-want-to-call-them companies. They need to really ensure that they've got their technology figured out, because their audience will leave them for a competing application or service because of poor uptime. An entity such as Second Life is probably given a little more slack, simply because there are few virtual reality worlds that compare.

But Twitter can be replicated. There are a number of upstarts out there doing so. And it's fairly easy to drag your network along with you to another provider. Good marketers will try a variety of online communities and social networks and should be properly prepared for a mass shifting, should it occur.

Note to Twitter: please get your act together. You're really great when you work well. But if I have to see that cat much longer, I'll make sure he and the Bloglines plumber start hanging out.

Labels: , , ,

Posted by Scott Monty at 6:31 AM
 Comments |  LINKS TO THIS POST |



 Comments:

At 5/18/2007 11:17 AM, Blogger Chip Griffin said...

Good post. Two quick points. First, Mike Arrington of TechCrunch said in the comments on that post that he is actually sticking with Twitter. The headline on the post is a bit misleading, I think, in that it talks about alternatives to Twitter and doesn't really outline TechCrunch plans to abandon the platform.

Second, I had a post a couple of days ago asking "When Does Twitter's Free Pass on Poor Performance Expire?" The same question really applies to a lot of startups -- people are generally willing to cut such companies a lot of slack, but how much?

 
At 5/18/2007 11:27 AM, Blogger Scott said...

Thanks for the comment, Chip. I think your post sums it up nicely as well. At some point we begin to realize - even with Web 2.0 - that we get what we pay for.

Those entities that (a) have flawless technology (or as close to it as one can get) and (b) provide a lasting value for users are the ones that will find funding and be sustained int he long haul. What kind of revenue model they'll build is still up in the air.

 
At 5/18/2007 12:13 PM, Anonymous Cristian Mezei said...

Scott, please don't hotlink images from my blog :)

Use the post if you want to.

Thank you.

 
blog comments powered by Disqus

Home

About Scott

The best way to describe Scott is "Renaissance Man." Friends and colleagues that know Scott from one facet of his life are very frequently surprised to learn of his interests and talents in other areas.

Scott is a marketing and communications professional focused on the digital industry — specifically on social media. His career spans a number of industries such as healthcare, pharma, biotech, travel, automotive, tech, and communications, and includes a wide range of clients, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Currently on the staff of corporate communications in Ford Motor Company, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.


Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his consulting and agency background, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog, a literary undertaking. Scott has been featured in numerous news and business publications, on a variety of podcasts, and on national television. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of C.C. Chapman and a PDF version of Scott's bio here.


Disclosures/Relationships

Speaking Events

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please send an email to speaking [AT] scottmonty [DOT] com. Scott's bio and headshot can be found here.

Here are some of Scott's events from Upcoming.org:


Social Networking World Forum, Nov. 9-10, 2009
IZEA Fest Oct 1-4, 2009
Keynote at DMA Oct 18, 2009

What I like

TOOLS

  Trailfire
  MOO
  CrazyEgg
  AddThis
  StumbleUpon
  Twitter
  Jott
The Webware 100 for 2008

BLOGS

 

Podcasts

For Immediate Release
HBR IdeaCast
Knowledge@Wharton
Manager Tools
Managing the Gray
Marketing Edge
Marketing Over Coffee
Six Pixels of Separation
TrafCom News Podcast

Contact Scott





  Facebook

  Twitter


Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm currently the head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual.

Subscribe


BY RSS BY EMAIL

Search


Alltop, all the cool kids (and me)
 

Community



Where I'll Be


Need Voice Over Help?
I'm Not Just a Pretty Face


Sponsors





 


Scott's Shared Items




You Might be Interested In...


This plugin requires Adobe Flash 9.

Social Media as a Career


Jobs

Post a Job!
$25 for 7 days


Creative Commons License

Internet Marketing Blogs - Blogged Blog Directory