Twitter, the Most Important Website Since Google? Answer: Probably.

You just don’t know it yet. ; )

Chris Bennet writes almost the same post I’ve been working on for a while now. I’ll just highlight his major points and then continue on with my thoughts.

In the Beginning: Google Killed the Phone Book

“I think it is safe to say most everyone believes Google is currently the most important website on the internet. When I say important I mean the one that has effected how we use the internet the most thus far. Before it came out we were all satisfied with Yahoo, DogPile and other engines and then Google came a long and it got some grass roots buzz, it was the cool new minimalistic search engine that had surprisingly good results with a clean interface. Soon everyone that was savvy enough to know they could choose the search engine they retrieved info from, chose Google. Google didn’t enhance search, Google popularized search. Yes search was around before Google but people didn’t stop using the Yellow Pages and the Phone book and every other method of finding information until Google.”

Twitter as The Google and SEO Killer.

“You can go to CitySearch or Amazon to see reviews on a product or company, but you can go to Twitter to see less biased reviews and you can talk to the person making those reviews and ask specific questions.”

Twitter as the Media.

“What takes Google minutes or hours to show you takes Twitter seconds.”

“I used to search through Google Blogsearch, Digg, Delicious, Youtube to get breaking news but now I am alerted to it so quick through someones update, and I can go to Twitter search and get hundreds if not thousands of snippets of info and links seconds/minutes after it is happening.”

“Twitter will replace a lot of media outlets or at least steal a lot of share from them. The way companies can communicate and react to customers via Twitter is Gods great gift to customer communication and loyalty. Before Twitter and partly due to sites like Digg Comcast was the Cable provider ran by Lucifer himself, now because of the outreach that Comcast has utilized via Twitter it is on its way to Saint Hood. Dell has similar experiences. Twitter is finally helping companies be agile who without it were stiff and slow.”

Why is Twitter worth your time?

“Twitter is mainstream, the nature of Twitter allows every user to utilize its power in their own way, if you are a stay at home mom, CNN, Ashton Kutcher, Jimmy Fallon, small business owner, or the President of the United States you can use Twitter to better your objectives no matter what they may be.”

“People that have influence on Twitter will have influence on the world especially in media. If I was hiring in any kind of business that needed media/marketing presence and I had two nearly identical resumes on my desk and one applicant had no twitter account and the other had 15,000 followers who do you think I am going to hire?”

Are you for real?

“There will be a new media darling in a year just as Digg was before Twitter, but Twitter will take on its own role and it isn’t going anywhere. Soon pretty much anyone with an internet connection will be using Twitter if not to tweet but to find Real Time information. In my opinion it is the most influential and important site since Google.”

My Thoughts on the Future.

Many don’t see Twitter replacing Google but I don’t know if I would count my chickens. Generic search will still be around in some fashion but as the Internet becomes not only a place for commerce, education and communication it will become a place where the almighty “Trust” is formed. Trust in your business and your product but more importantly, trust in you as a person.

Maybe Twitter won’t stand the test of time but the model will. Google, Digg and the like are being gamed by so-called search and social specialist. Facebook is trying to make money so hard it’s turning off users and Google’s algorithm can’t take into account real-time interest. Google Trends is a fun service but why don’t you think the majority of Google’s services are still in “beta”? Accountability. They don’t want you to base your livelihood on their services and therefore and not accountable for any incorrect information. Do no evil right? You can’t do any evil if you never promised anything in the first place.

Where do we go from here?

I recently turned off service to my landline. It’s the first time I haven’t had a “home phone” in my life. When I was 15 I begged my father to get a second line so I could use the local BBS service without interruption (it was REALLY expensive to have two lines then!). When I told my Mother I was not going to have a home phone anymore she was absolutely shocked. Her first question was “How are people going to find you in the White Pages if you don’t have a home number?” I answered “Well, if they find me in the White Pages I probably don’t want to talk with them.”

There it is. After years and years of mistrust in unsolicited phone calls and un-labeled Caller-ID phone not only me but we are all free of the phone book now. My mother had the same attitude as many do about Google. What happens when “I want to be on the first page of search results for my product or service on Google.” is replaced with “I want 500K followers”? How do you game that?

Many small businesses finally are realizing the power of the “front page” of Google. The problem is that their service or product will probably never show there unless they pay heavily for it or stick to confusing PPC campaign. This goes back to one of the first questions I ask a client. “Do you want a higher ranking or do you need more traffic?” Twitter can drive more traffic and will soon make RSS feeds look like VHS tapes.

My final argument. (At least for this post)

Look at the numbers! Twitter grew by 1,689% from February 2008 to February 2009. But don’t count Facebook out. Facebook could also be the most important website since Google. From WebProNews:

“…John Battelle tried to put Twitter’s growth into perspective by noting, “Google (officially) launched in Sept 1998.  Three years later it had nearly 18mm US uniques (comscore).  Facebook launched in mid 2004.  Three years later it had nearly 27mm US unique users (comscore).  Twitter launched in March 2006.  Three years later it has (roughly) 8 million US uniques users (compete).”"

The numbers are hard to argue with. It looks here as if it’s a slow growth but that’s if you put it up against at search engine and a social networking site. For something that is so hard to grasp the purpose of and to figure out what to do with I feel that the numbers are staggering. Also, add the fact that Twitter hasn’t added any major features or done any big re-designs to their interface. They must be feeling pretty secure unlike Facebook.

Twitter is growing REALLY fast and if your marketing through interactive means you had better be paying close attention.

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