I get two comments from clients or seminar attendees when I mention Twitter: “I don’t get it!” and “It seems like a site for kids.”
The first comment is a problem. Not that I believe that Twitter will sustain itself as a stand-alone but its instant status updates have already become mainstream modes of communication for users of all ages. The format has already been adopted in Facebook and LinkedIN and the power of instant reaction and conversation can’t be under-estimated.
The second comment is just wrong. Ironically teenagers don’t use Twitter. Recent surveys are showing it’s the kids that don’t see it as a valuable mode of communication. In a very interersting interview, a teenager reveals what modes of media his peers use and how they use it. Here is a summary:
Internet Facebook is the most common, with nearly everyone with an internet connection registered. On the other hand, teenagers do not use Twitter.
Radio With online sites streaming music for free they do not bother, as services such as last.fm do this advert free and users can choose the songs they want instead of listening to what the radio presenter/DJ chooses
Newspapers No teenager that I know of regularly reads a newspaper, as most do not have the time and cannot be bothered to read pages and pages of text while they could watch the news summarised on the internet or on TV
Music They are very reluctant to pay for it (most having never bought a CD) Teenagers from higher income families use iPods and those from lower income families use mobile phones
Directories Real directories contain listings for builders and florists, which are services teenagers do not require. They can get the information free on the internet
Viral/Outdoor Marketing “Most teenagers enjoy and support viral marketing… Teenagers see adverts on websites (pop-ups, banner ads) as extremely annoying and pointless…they are portrayed in such a negative light that no one follows them.”
Cinema Teenagers visit the cinema more often when they are in the lower end of teendom but as they approach 15 they go to the cinema a lot less. This is because of the pricing; at 15 they have to pay the adult price. Also it is possible to buy a pirated DVD of the film at the time of release, and these cost much less than a cinema ticket
Mobile phones The general view is that Sony Ericsson phones are superior, because of their long list of features, built-in Walkman capacity and value
Read more – Twitter is for old people, work experience whiz-kid tells bankers
