Twitter on the Deathwatch

[Bouncing Soul]

@Andy Black I'm a dinosaur, I wish the main group I converse with on FB still had the forum.

I do like Mark Cuban's Cyber Dust which is sort of Snap-chatty.

 

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[LateStarter]

He still owns the wine stuff and VaynerMedia sounds like it's actually a big business. He certainly talks about it as being even bigger, and the wine biz was/is $65mil/yr.

My take is...he dabbles in the wine stuff. Wine Library blogs essentially stopped in March 2011 when he stated he was walking away from it.

I agree that VaynerMedia is getting big and growing, but to my point, is he using Snapchat to advertise VaynerMedia? No. He's not. He's on the platform to expand his personal brand, not to market the business. Sure he might mention VeynerMedia but really it's not his focus and talking about it occasionally really just validates him as being considered a social media guru. Behind the curtain it's his brother AJ (COO) that's being the puppet master.

 

[Mineralogic]

I think the problem with Twitter is that people are trying to use it as a push marketing/sales platform and for that it just plain sucks. Content creators also piss me off because they're flooding the feed X times a day with the same shitty stories. That's not leveraging the platform's strengths!

It's strengths are two fold: 1) they're a decent communication platform for brands to engage customers with (both one-on-one and in mass) and 2) the data they aggregate serves as a good heartbeat to social issues and market conditions as seen by customers. You can react and engage quickly with the people that matter to you.

I don't think Twitter will go the way of MySpace but I don't think it will be the darling that it's made out to be now. Marketers are presently ruining Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I don't think Snapchat will get enough traction with buying demographics to become a replacement platform. The next best thing is still to come. People are watchign Peach closely but...I'm not sold on that either.

I think these social media plays have PEAKED and people have been Saturated at a PEAK level and turning off. Its also so ubiqitous I know friends who post different messages on different social media platforms in an attempt to market and hit different niches. These are people even without a product to sell. The value of connecting has also peaked and in a very real way I can see how these platforms divide people as well and separate them from society- the exact opposite of its original intentions perhaps?

I wouldnt doubt if SOMEDAY a twitter or FB go bankrupt or sold for pennies on the dollar vs today

 

[Weaponize]

They're slashing fixed and variable expenses, with massive layoffs last quarter. All of that will still not make them profitable. It will hopefully shorten losses while they pray for a hail mary pass. Too bad Aaron Rodgers isn't their CEO.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey gives back $200 million in stock to employees

Apple Buys Topsy For Price Reportedly North Of $200M
(one of only a handful of companies with Twitter firehose access)

 

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[nickkenens]

Twitter is still going strong; personally, I don't see them dissappearing anytime soon.

Sent from my HUAWEI SCL-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[Vigilante]

That's exactly what twitter is: a news site.

It has replaced traditional news sources because it's 300MM people reporting the news. Now obviously you need to have your "channel" turned to the right station. ie. (following the people that provide news and not noise for whatever you are interested in.)

I don't use twitter, never have other than paying people to do my social for me.

But gone by 2018? Zero chance.

Twitter is as much about Chloe Kardashian as it is about breaking news from the middle east.

Right now trending on twitter, as I write this:

• [HASHTAG]#blizzard2016[/HASHTAG]
• [HASHTAG]#ChaseTheDay[/HASHTAG]
• [HASHTAG]#WelcomeBabyTomlinson[/HASHTAG]
• [HASHTAG]#Roe43[/HASHTAG]
• Charlotte Rampling
• [HASHTAG]#MyRoutineIn5Words[/HASHTAG]
• Josh Smith
• Macklemore
• Chingy
• Steve Harper

THATS Twitter.

 

[Greyson F]

Twitter is as much about Chloe Kardashian as it is about breaking news from the middle east.

Right now trending on twitter, as I write this:

• [HASHTAG]#blizzard2016[/HASHTAG]
• [HASHTAG]#ChaseTheDay[/HASHTAG]
• [HASHTAG]#WelcomeBabyTomlinson[/HASHTAG]
• [HASHTAG]#Roe43[/HASHTAG]
• Charlotte Rampling
• [HASHTAG]#MyRoutineIn5Words[/HASHTAG]
• Josh Smith
• Macklemore
• Chingy
• Steve Harper

THATS Twitter.

I honestly wish LinkedIn were a little bit more active than it is. I would rather enjoy social media time on a professional platform (like this one) and market to THAT instead of trying to market to a bunch of Swagbottoms.

 

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[IGP]

Twitter is as much about Chloe Kardashian as it is about breaking news from the middle east.

Right now trending on twitter, as I write this:

• [HASHTAG]#blizzard2016[/HASHTAG]
• [HASHTAG]#ChaseTheDay[/HASHTAG]
• [HASHTAG]#WelcomeBabyTomlinson[/HASHTAG]
• [HASHTAG]#Roe43[/HASHTAG]
• Charlotte Rampling
• [HASHTAG]#MyRoutineIn5Words[/HASHTAG]
• Josh Smith
• Macklemore
• Chingy
• Steve Harper

THATS Twitter.

Exactly why you have to be "tuned in" to the correct channel.

Trending right now on your TV are 43 reality TV shows, that doesn't mean you are watching them.

 

[Andy Black]

I honestly wish LinkedIn were a little bit more active than it is. I would rather enjoy social media time on a professional platform (like this one) and market to THAT instead of trying to market to a bunch of Swagbottoms.

LinkedIn is actually annoying me at the minute. Sorry, the LinkedIn experience is, not the platform. I like how they're becoming a media platform and not just a social network, but you know what they say about marketers... My feed is so full of content marketing and click-bait titles that bore me to tears.

It's like everyone suddenly learned about Article Marketing and list building and are now pummelling us with it. It seems even worse than Facebook for some reason.

I'm finding it harder than I thought to be a consumer...

EDIT: The closest analogy I can think of is that all the business owners seem to be speed networking like they're at a local chamber of commerce networking event. All volume and no depth. (Shudder)

 

[AllenCrawley]

@Vigilante stop hating and trying to kill off businesses. First BigCommerce now twitter. Geez.

 

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[Vigilante]

Exactly why you have to be "tuned in" to the correct channel.

Trending right now on your TV are 43 reality TV shows, that doesn't mean you are watching them.

Got it. So if you use it in a certain way (different than the way that the majority are trending things) than it works better.

 

[IGP]

Got it. So if you use it in a certain way (different than the way that the majority are trending things) than it works better.

Exactly. It doesn't matter what your "thing" is, find people you respect in that niche and follow them. Ignore everything else. Same for hashtags.

 

[Greyson F]

I'm finding it harder than I thought to be a consumer...

I think the value in LinkedIn is not LinkedIn itself, but rather their groups and network niches.

It's much deeper than Facebook, and it is resource rich, quite like Reddit, in the way that their groups interact and actually build on the industry.

different than the way that the majority are trending things

Arbitrage with pretty much anything in life will lead to value, actually. I'm reading a book on private lending the right way, and its incredible how much value is laying around in places that people trend-stomp over.

 

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[Vigilante]

LinkedIn has been profitable since 2006.

 

[MitchC]

I'd be impressed if anyone could use snapchat to market anything other than a personal brand. The key to winning at snapchat will be the same as Instagram, pay influencers.

Check out Dj Khalad and Kylie Jenner, they have mastered snapchat personal branding

As for Twitter, I signed up recently after reading a GSElevator post about "Join Twitter, become your own personal curator of news", that's a cool value proposition, I haven't logged in since and I was hooked and "got" Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat straight away so there's something wrong there.

 

[RHL]

They never had a superior value proposition to Facebook other than for stalking someone.

Twitter in a nutshell: Somebody made billions off making a network of people's AoL AIM away messages.

Proof that you don't need a great idea to hit it big.

You do, however, need one to stay big.

 

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[Greyson F]

I'd be impressed if anyone could use snapchat to market anything other than a personal brand. The key to winning at snapchat will be the same as Instagram, pay influencers.

I've heard Snapchat conversions are much higher. Your followers do as you say...

 

[LeftBench]

I think Twitch is going to blow up... its video game related now but I see it being more social media oriented in the next 2-3 years. Myspace started as music, Facebook started as college kids, Twitch started as a platform to watch others play video games. I think it will change, evolve, and possibly become some type of massive social media platform.

 

[hughjasle]

I don't personally know anyone still actually using Twitter.

Check out Dj Khalad and Kylie Jenner, they have mastered snapchat personal branding

They didn't master anything. They are celebrities with a following -On EVERY platform.

FWIW - from a marketers perspective, we know the type of idiots who follows certain celebs and do whatever they say (or at least what the sponsored posts/tweets/etc. say). THIS is independent of platform. Celebs like this can and do make money by selling out their followers everywhere.

What should be looked at is the return/engagement from each respective platform. That will tell you where the money is going and thus where the people really are and where the industry is heading.

Lastly, I am a fan of GaryV, but he was also a huge proponent of Twitter(and investor) and tried to push that hard for a long time. He has since given up and seen that unless something extraordinary happens, Twitter is going down.

 

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[redsfaithful]

I'm starting to think The Fastlane Forum predictions are akin to the magazine cover indicator. Funny to me that nobody in the thread has mentioned Vine (which they bought for $30 million and now has 200 million monthly users - something like 35% of teenagers use Vine and there are bonafide Vine celebrities) or Periscope. Twitter isn't going to be dead in two years. The stock price is actually getting to a price where I have been considering picking some up - I usually don't buy tech/growth stocks.

Are none of you sports fans? I can't imagine sports anymore without Twitter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magazine_cover_indicator

The Magazine cover indicator is a somewhat irreverent economic indicator, though sometimes taken seriously by technical analysts, which says that the cover story on the major business magazines, particularly BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fortune in the United States is often a contrary indicator.


A famous example is a 1979 cover of BusinessWeek titled "The Death of Equities". The '70s had been a generally bad decade for the stock market and at the time the article was written the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 800. However, 1979 roughly marked a turning point, and stocks went on to enjoy a bull market for the better part of two decades. Even after the financial crisis of 2007–2010, stocks remain far above their 1979 levels.[1] Using the Magazine Cover Indicator, Business Week's projection that equities were dead should have been a buy signal. By the time an idea has had time to make its way to the business press, particularly a trading idea, then the idea has likely run its course.[2] Similarly, good news on a cover can be taken as an ill omen. As Paul Krugman has joked, "Whom the Gods would destroy, they first put on the cover of Business Week."[3]

 

[redsfaithful]

I think Twitch is going to blow up... its video game related now but I see it being more social media oriented in the next 2-3 years. Myspace started as music, Facebook started as college kids, Twitch started as a platform to watch others play video games. I think it will change, evolve, and possibly become some type of massive social media platform.

Amazon owns it now, but I am also bullish on twitch long term.

 

[Vigilante]

I'm starting to think The Fastlane Forum predictions are akin to the magazine cover indicator. Funny to me that nobody in the thread has mentioned Vine (which they bought for $30 million and now has 200 million monthly users - something like 35% of teenagers use Vine and there are bonafide Vine celebrities) or Periscope. Twitter isn't going to be dead in two years. The stock price is actually getting to a price where I have been considering picking some up - I usually don't buy tech/growth stocks.

Are none of you sports fans? I can't imagine sports anymore without Twitter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magazine_cover_indicator

The Magazine cover indicator is a somewhat irreverent economic indicator, though sometimes taken seriously by technical analysts, which says that the cover story on the major business magazines, particularly BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fortune in the United States is often a contrary indicator.


A famous example is a 1979 cover of BusinessWeek titled "The Death of Equities". The '70s had been a generally bad decade for the stock market and at the time the article was written the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 800. However, 1979 roughly marked a turning point, and stocks went on to enjoy a bull market for the better part of two decades. Even after the financial crisis of 2007–2010, stocks remain far above their 1979 levels.[1] Using the Magazine Cover Indicator, Business Week's projection that equities were dead should have been a buy signal. By the time an idea has had time to make its way to the business press, particularly a trading idea, then the idea has likely run its course.[2] Similarly, good news on a cover can be taken as an ill omen. As Paul Krugman has joked, "Whom the Gods would destroy, they first put on the cover of Business Week."[3]

You can have an opposite opinion without being condescending. Take a look at how MJ did on the second post, and contrast that to your post.

I have been amazed through the years at the uncanny and unusual accuracy by which many of the predictions that emanated here, and MJ's predictions in particular but the regulars predictions overall, have come to pass. Way above average and I attribute it to above average intellect and above average knowledge quest of the posters here.

Contrarian opinions welcome and even encouraged by me as I can learn from anything and anyone. Yours might be taken with more interest next time if you leave the over-the-top, insulting junior high debate points at Reddit where they belong.

 

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[redsfaithful]

You can have an opposite opinion without being condescending.

I have been amazed through the years at the uncanny and unusual accuracy by which many of the predictions that emanated here, and MJ's predictions in particular but the regulars predictions overall, have come to pass. Way above average and I attribute it to above average intellect and above average knowledge quest of the posters here.

I have only been here a year and a half or so, and most of the predictions I have seen have been along the lines of the US economy is about to crash, the Fed is evil, bitcoin is the future, conspiracy theories galore and so on. The predictions I have read here (again, not comprehensive I'm sure) have been nearly uniformly wrong in the past year. However, I do not read every thread, of course.

Your thread here has more thought behind it than the threads I am referencing, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me think of the magazine indicator. I don't believe bringing that up was insulting, to be honest, but I did not intend condescension, and so I apologize for the offense.

 

[Vigilante]

I have only been here a year and a half or so, and most of the predictions I have seen have been along the lines of the US economy is about to crash, the Fed is evil, bitcoin is the future, conspiracy theories galore and so on. The predictions I have read here (again, not comprehensive I'm sure) have been nearly uniformly wrong in the past year. However, I do not read every thread, of course.

Your thread here has more thought behind it than the threads I am referencing, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me think of the magazine indicator. I don't believe bringing that up was insulting, to be honest, but I did not intend condescension, and so I apologize for the offense.

No worries. Your comments here over the past year plus have generally been spot on.

There used to be an awesome forum called F*ckedCompany. Contrarians there would post INSIDERS-esque predictions, many of which came to pass. That's where my concept of death watch prognostication and investment speculation based on market and societal trends and history vs. technicals comes from. Plus, it's fun.

Watch MJ's predictions if you want to see an aberration. Most of them come to pass, primarily because he generally doesn't comment unless he knows exactly what he is talking about. Uncanny.

 

[Veloce Grey]

Watch MJ's predictions if you want to see an aberration. Most of them come to pass, primarily because he generally doesn't comment unless he knows exactly what he is talking about. Uncanny.

He was at least two weeks ahead of the mainstream media with that "Be Like Bill" avatar.

 

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[Veloce Grey]

Twitter I've found useful for sports/business stuff but I'm very selective about who I follow. The reality is most people aren't going to be dazzling you with their insights. Because it's very much an "in the moment" thing you get the whole "wow, just wow" and "this just happened!" type posts breathlessly exploded online-x1000000 if anything that happened was watched by a heap of people. Or you get people ranting about their sports teams or political views like any social media. I make sure to use Tweetdeck where possible so I can stack the filters for basically every political or sporting term.

I've trialled Instagram the past few weeks and it really is a fleeting thing too. You see a nice pic, maybe you like it but generally you sort of swipe and scroll along and see another nice pic and that erases the memory of the one you saw 5 seconds ago. You also see the same pictures repeated a billion times, whether literally via reposts or "generic beach shot", "nice lake and mountains" or "here's todays lunch salad" which usually looks rather like every other salad.

I noticed a heap of lifestyle accounts with pictures of cars/houses/yachts mixed in with positive affirmations like "double tap if you're going to become a millionaire" etc. It seems like visual "cotton candy" not really leading anywhere. But I guess if you're having a dull day a few minutes break to look at someone else's holiday/gym workout/nice lunch may take your mind off of things.

There's just generally not much depth to either of them, compared to a Youtube video you can watch for 10+ minutes to actually learn something. Everything posted via Twitter or Instagram seems to get erased from the viewer's memory by something else very quickly.

 

[mikey3times]

I don't have any predictions but do have some observations:

Twitter: The only thing I use it for is local breaking news. Like if I see a bunch of fire or police vehicles and I want to know why or if I want to know what is going on with late trains on the subway.

Facebook: Useful for keeping up with friends I no longer live near. It is nice to see their kids grow up. Otherwise, it is a time suck.

LinkedIn: I wish it was more. I haven't figured out how to use it for me or my company. Some kind of curation would be great. Seems like a great place to stay up on professional related things, but lacks focus.

For me, Facebook is social and LinkedIn is professional. They both fill a need that people are willing to "pay" for. Twitter, Snapchat, and many others don't have a particular need that they are fulfilling.

 

[LibertyForMe]

A bit of relevant news... whether this is good or bad remains to be seen.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3055843/...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

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[Buickestate]

I'm one of many who have no concept of twitter, or how it can benefit my life. I always thought of it as a passing fad.

 

[hughjasle]

I'm one of many who have no concept of twitter

I fully understand this, but I also know the potential the Twitter CAN be. If revamped - or even creating a complimentary second brand that is fully integrated with twitter itself, they can become the go-to news platform.

Those of you who have read Gary V's book, "Crush it", know what I'm talking about as he laid out a plan for something like this. I just see Twitter as being a company perfectly positioned for such a feat.

If they don't see it, then yea they will always just be twitter, and never the massive FB-like company that they want to be (as stated in various articles today regarding the exits of many of their high level execs).