Thursday, April 2, 2009
Spam is good for Twitter
Before you start scratching your head on why I would suggest that spam is good, let me clarify. Spam, in its current stage on Twitter, is actually good. Let me try to explain my madness.
How can something defined as disruptive be thought of as beneficial? In its current stage on Twitter, spam actually confirms that Twitter is mainstream. It confirms that Twitter isn't just a useless fad. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying spam alone defines Twitter and proves it's effective - that is achieved by a successful marketing and communications plan. Spam usually follows where users are gathering. Again, another way to reassure that Twitter is growing and the potential to reach and engage with your audience is something that needs to be considered.
Like most SM tools, spam is easily ignored on Twitter. All spam can do right now via Twitter is follow you. That's pretty harmless. If it's a nuisance, simply block it. The only really problem, and it's more an annoyance than a threat, is the "auto-dm." Again, that's something easily treated by blocking the person who sent the auto-dm.
Think about it, all popular and effective communication channels have had spam at one point. Telephone? Yep. TV? Yep. E-mail? Definitely. Spam isn't usually associated with useless and deserted channels. MySpace had it's run with spam, Facebook has had its and now Twitter is finally getting blasted.
The point of this post was to show that with popularity comes spam. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing. For those who aren't "sold" on Twitter yet, the presence of spam is a clear indication that Twitter is just beginning to grow. If you haven't had a conversation about creating a presence on Twitter, you need to immediately. Not being on Twitter means potentially missing a huge segment of your audience that you could be engaging with.
Jeff Jarvis, author of What Would Google Do, states: "Amazon.com knows how we shop. Google knows what we're looking for. And Twitter is headed to knowing the most about what we’re doing and thinking." So come jump on the wagon and emerge yourself with a powerful and effective communication tool.
Labels: Cost of Social Media, Facebook, Spam, Twitter
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