Twitter in Trouble?

It seems that all is not well in the world of Twitter. That is, according to a recent cover story in Fortune that warns Twitter's usage appears to be flat lining.

The story says Twitter has garnered 200 million citizens from all over the world, but one hundred million of them are absent altogether, and Twitter.com has about 20 million fewer visitors per month than Myspace.

Twitter also seems to lack a visionary product leader while suffering from outages and not turning a profit. Finally, CNN reported on Wednesday that UberMedia is planning to build a rival micro-blogging network that could shun the the famous 140-character limit.

Now the question is does Twitter really have a problem on their hands? Should "tweeps" begin looking to another city with fewer rules?

Well, looking at the numbers Quantcast says there's been a 50% jump in usage in the past five months, Google Analytics says international traffic has risen 83% in the past year, and because so many people are tweeting on their mobile device or third party app, the Twitter.com numbers are incomplete.

Even without the numbers Twitter is the only service that actually immerses you in a global conversation, especially when there's a natural disaster, major sporting event, or revolution going on.

What about it's 140-character limit? This is, and will be, Twitter's greatest asset despite the little minority of people that protest against it. It's the stop-light system that keeps the traffic flowing smoothly and allows everyone to get a word in.

If something is worth saying, it's worth saying as short and brief as possible. Just ask Poets and screenwriters.

With that said, I believe the answer to "Is Twitter in trouble?" is simply, no. Twitter has accomplished something special and is far away from being outdone or repeated in any way.

Wouldn't you agree?

Photo Credit: money.cnn.com via Creative Commons

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Twitter Phone in the making?

Dick Costolo, Twitter CEO, went to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Monday to address how he believes the Twitter brand works best: when it's invisible and everywhere.

He didn't come to reveal his finances, despite saying Twitter is "making money", he coolly denied rumors that Google was going to buy Twitter for $10 billion, and he didn't come to launch a new product.

An analyst still responded by asking about if he could ever see a Twitter-branded smartphone after referencing the "Facebook phone." Costolo gave a quick and simple answer of "No."

"Twitter already works on every device you're going to hear about this week," said Costolo. "Tweets flow seamlessly across platforms; that's what we're trying to accomplish."

During the explanation, he ended up comparing Twitter to water -- a utility so useful and copious, we almost forget it's there. We don't need to learn new ways to use it in different contexts.

Amid the country-wide of Egypt, Twitter was lost as part of a wider Internet blackout. "People in the desert will always find a way to water." said Costolo. Google and Twitter did indeed provide a voice-to-tweet service that kept the protesters in touch.

So under the leadership of Costolo, there will be no such thing as a "Twitter phone." Water doesn't need branding because it's simply water. Everybody needs it everyday.

I think Costolo gave a fair explanation of the brand Twitter. The way Twitter has developed over the years it has become not only similar to water, but in my opinion like an addictive sugary drink with it's sweet, satisfying taste. Some of us just can't get enough of Twitter and use it everyday without much of a thought.

Photo Credit: nexus404.com via Creative Commons

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