Twitter Fever: Why is it so popular?

Request overload causing Twitter over capacity.

(Source: Google Images, 2010)

"What? Twitter is over capacity AGAIN!"

Does this ring true in your ears? If you are a Twitter enthusiast, or even an active user of Twitter, you will be so familiar with the graphic above. Recently, many Tweeter (or Twitterer) would be directed to Twitter/ Over Capacity page whenever they attempt to sign in to their Twitter page. 

This phenomenon clearly reflects that there were too many Twitter users at present. There are too many tweets that the Twitter web sever is temporary unable to handle the request. This again indicates that how vastly Twitter's popularity has been expanded. In case you have not already know, Twitter is a micro-blog which also function as a social networking site that allows you to post a maximum of 140-character for each tweets (Twitter 2010). Nowadays, almost everybody tweet! No matter one is a 6-year-old kid, a teenager, an office lady, a manager of a company, a journalist, or even a celebrity, they have all taken up Twitter! And no, Twitter did not gain its popularity level without valid reasons.

More and more people are turning to Twitter.

by Hugh McLeod (via Tech Crunch)

People used to blog so much that they update everything to their blog everyday. As for now, people are so addicted to Twitter by updating their status anytime. This is most probably because they receive live updates and instant responses from Twitter whereas blogging can be considered a troublesome and painful task.

Let us look at some of the advantages of Twitter that I have analyzed:

1. 
   
   Twitter is quick and instant.
   All tweets (status updates) are short and simple as their length is restricted at 140-character maximum. Just type a few words and press the "tweet" button and you are done with one tweet! It is so user-friendly.
   
   
2. 
   
   Twitter can be accessed easily.
   This is an important factor contributed to the popularity of Twitter. You can tweet and receive tweets via many paths such as computers, instant messages, and cell phones.
   
   
3. 
   
   Twitter as a news source.
   O'Reilly and Milstein (2009) describe Twitter as the real-time newspaper. It has the power to update on the latest news and it allows real-time reporting. This is because a tweet can be uploaded to Twitter by anyone. Once news is posted up on Twitter, the followers will retweet it and other followers can see the news too. This action continues to multiply and the news will eventually reach the masses within a short period. For instance, the first snapshots of the Turkish Airlines jet after it crashed near Amsterdam on the 25th February 2009 were transmitted via Twitter (Stanley 2009). Besides that, Joanna Smith, a reporter from Toronto Star, made live reporting from earthquake-ravaged Haiti earlier this year via Twitter and her tweets has been widely praised (English 2010). This has also proven that Twitter and other new media tools can actually enhance journalism.
   
   
4. 
   
   Twitter creates ambient intimacy.
   Tweets like "I'm ordering a McValue meal from McDonald's for lunch", "I'm watching the last episode of Lost right now", and "I'm going to college now" may sound mundane to you, but a lot of Twitterers found it interesting. O'Reilly and Milstein (2009) claimed that people found that being aware of what their family, friends and colleagues are doing leads to a lightweight but meaningful connection. They are able keep up with friends and family. They feel a sense of connection with their family and friends. 
   
   
5. 
   
   Twitter is a mind-reading tool.
   You would be able to know what is the current trend or latest hot topics via Twitter. Twitter's site search service is an amazing mind-reading tool as it lets you see not only what an individual thinks, but what groupings are focusing as well (O'Reilly & Milstein 2009). Even corporates can find out what people think of their brands, services and products.
   
   
6. 
   
   Twitter is free.
   Just like any other social networking sites such as YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, Twitter is free!  You can enjoy the service without any charges. Furthermore, you can also cross-post your Twitter updates to your Facebook account (O'Reilly & Milstein 2009).

These could be some of the reasons why Twitter is the top among all social websites.

Before I end this post, here is something interesting to share with you all. 

Read them and have a good laugh!

Twitterers were so frustrated with the recent "Twitter is over capacity" issue. In fact, some of them were creative enough to design the graphics below which I thought are interesting!

The whale is wounded.

(source: www.pixiv.net)

A Twitter's over capacity page designed by Fabiorex.

(source: www.flickr.com)

Another Twitter's over capacity screen designed by Mylk Roventine.

(Source: www.flickr.com)

Lastly, I would like to share a quote here"

"Whale can only go one way, gotta get those birds going the same way." - Jeremiah Owyang

Did you had a good laugh? He was actually referring to the birds found in Twitter's over capacity page. The birds are flying in different directions.







Reference

English, K 2010, 'Will Twitter Transform Journalism?', Toronto Star 12 June, viewed 15June 2010.

O'Reilly, T & Milstein, S 2009, The Twitter Book, O'Reilly Media Inc., United States.

Owyang, J 2008, The Truth Why Twitter is Over Capacity, Web Strategy, viewed 15 June 2010, < http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-truth-why-twitter-is-over-capacity/ >

Stanley, A 2009, 'What Are You Doing? Media Twitterers Can't Stop Typing', New York Times 27 February, viewed 15 June 2010.

Twitter 2010, About Twitter, viewed 15 June 2010, < http://twitter.com/about >.