Jumped the shark – A term to describe a moment when something that was once great has reached a point where it will now decline in quality and popularity.
March 21, 2006 is when the project work began for twitter, and I guess the rest is history, right? They just had their 7 year anniversary; what was your born on date in twitter?
Have you noticed in the past year how mainstream twitter has become? Almost every single personality, athlete, news, radio, and sports venue is driving you to their twitter handle. Almost every commercial, newscast, etc will have the twitter and Facebook logo displayed letting you know they really are social and they hear you.
Follow me…but I still won’t follow you back. At least that much hasn’t changed with twitter.
And for all those dick-nozzles who took the time to game the system to see how many followers they could get only to turn right around and dump unfollow them back; well, you weren’t socially acceptable back in high school either so why should now be any different.
That was pretty harsh, huh? Yes, and shame on me to judge; I just thought it was extremely boorish behavior.
In my opinion, twitter will always be the Pepsi to Facebook’s Coke, it’s just now they are now stuck doing this awkward dance together.
Facebook, all you have to do is show up; twitter still takes time to figure out. Because of this, there will still be too many people who never get it and won’t embrace it like Facebook.
But everybody is doing it
But reluctantly in some cases and only because it seems like everyone is doing it. Some of those personalities are only doing it because of their job and it’s required, not because they see the real benefit in it.
I don’t think the grand-parents are ready to jump in twitter like they have on Facebook either, but once these platforms become too mainstream, does it lose some of it’s allure? How long will it take for twitter to be so last year?
Or is it already there?
Most of my peer group does not tweet and my guess is, they probably never will. Of course, I am old as dirt and my peer group never figured out how to get the blinking 12:00 off the VCR either.
Twitter started making sense to me through the sharing of blogs. I still get many more direct responses from a Facebook post than I do a twitter post. And that could be just the way I’m using it however.
Do you think twitter will get all boogered up like Facebook now? Will it become too commercial and not fun to use anymore? Do you think the platform will stay relatively the same?
Is it a good thing so many more are using it?
Maybe those guru’s were right; maybe this online social thing is more than just a fad, huh?
How are you using twitter differently than when you first signed up? What is your follow/follow-back strategy now?
Will twitter ever surpass or equal Facebook?
How do you feel now that is seems like everyone is using it? For some it’s a boon, for others, it’s a turn-off. Will it’s popularity, or forced feeding be its death knell?
For the people using twitter as a business platform; do you feel justified now? And if it has worked for you, is it sustainable?
Are you famous enough that twitter has called you to verify your account; it’s actually you that is tweeting?
What are your thoughts, has twitter jumped the shark, or has it just scratched the surface and it’s ready to take it to the next level?
I know, too many questions so if you would just summarize your response, I would appreciate it.
Tweet on…while you can…
billdorman 
Hey Bill
I use Twitter more than I do Facebook for my blog and I get quite a lot of traffic from it.
I really need to take some time and do more with my Facebook Page as it’s going the way of my Google+ account. Nowhere!
I was on vacation for just over a week and a half until yesterday and I got an email from Twitter whilst I was away begging me (well, that’s what it felt like) to send another Tweet.
Now I have sent some more Tweets, I got a welcome back message. Would you get that from Facebook?
I think Twitter will stay relatively the same. You can’t really do much more with it because of the 140 character restriction in any case.
Awwww, twitter was missing you…:).
“Dick-nozzles” – a new term to add to my schtick – hehe
The real value of any social media platform are the relationships that develop as a result. If you don’t know anybody your connected to, they are useless. Nobody will even notice you. Social media with no relationships translates to little, or no value whatsoever.
Relationships drive the human experience and the social web provides unlimited opportunity to connect with like-minded people that will impact the quality of the rest of your life. Just like the relationships you have now that have shaped who you’ve become at this point of your life.
People who follow then don’t follow back are DICK-NOZZLES… (Oh, I like my new term!)
What the heck are these people thinking? “Dick nozzles” is perfect!
Okay, I suppose I’ve used my new term enough today, thanks, Bill : )
The relationships do make it happen.
Twitter is the platform that makes it easy to follow people you don’t know.
No more dick nozzles here…
Hey Bill, I respectfully disagree. I think Twitter is getting ever more powerful. Twitter can and has overthrown a government. When there is breaking news, Twitter is where I head to find out more information. If you’re following the right accounts, Twitter can be your first source for news.
Twitter also sends the most traffic to my blog, after Google. That’s because of Triberr, but Triberr does a great job harnessing the power of Twitter.
There are those who claim that Facebook has jumped the shark and that kids are headed to other sites now to share.
But don’t count on me to let you know what’s cool and what’s not. I’ve always loved the Fonz…
I’m happy w/ the way I use twitter, which is mostly to promote blogs; I just hope it doesn’t start getting wonky…
I’ve grown weary of throwing the pearls to the pigs. [grin] That’s how I’m feeling about me sharing deep insight in my comments, lately. But not here. Because I honor you, sir, and several of the people that come to this watering hole. Like Carolyn and Mark to name just a few.
Some years back, social media rang with a certain and exciting connotation of opportunity to discover, connect, share and friend new people and ideas. Facebook was problematic (and still can be for those who haven’t figured out how to ninja around the obstacles) and Twitter was the bomb. Twitter jumped that shark three years ago.
I like that expression – jump the shark. Thank you, sir.
That doesn’t mean Twitter is done. You know, they still use horse-drawn wagons in Romanian villages. And bear-size sheep dogs to herd sheep too. [grin] Just mentioning it, I now fondly recall the sweetness of a ricotta like cheese made by my favorite shepherd in the village of Clit. And I swear that is the name of that little village!
Although Twitter provides little or lesser value to the average social “hacker”, Carolyn rightly points out some of the continuing value: Triberr for example. Triberr is a great fire starter tool for the young and restless blogger. As much as I admire the service, I believe that the guys have failed to make Triberr truly effective for the ambitious blogger due to its present pricing and policy structure. And I don’t know if time is on their side being that their service depends on a platform (Twitter) that has been known to shut down successful third party developers.
Beyond Triberr, Twitter has little diminishing value to the blogger because for the most part, Twitter is irrelevant to search: Google or Bing. And that’s the gross and negligent error of Twitter’s C-Suite. They just don’t give much of a shizzle about their value/offer to the Twitter user. Facebook is the new ninja factor for driving traffic to your blog – if you know how to use it. Many, in fact, do not know how to use Facebook in this manner. But, again, the present opportunity provided by FB may not last long. Things change incredibly fast on the internets. It always has.
Yes, Twitter and Facebook were key to the Arab Spring. And Twitter was more key to building International support for the Egyptian revolution despite the initial reluctance and dis-sympathy of the American (and other) mainstream media. Shame on them – by the way. However, Twitter has been known to censor trending topics and the mainstream media increases its grip on the attention of Twitter uses – day by day.
As it must be.
The Twitter platform’s greatest weakness is that it cannot truly leverage the power of visual communication as Facebook, Pinterest, etc. and overcoming challenges like that are never easy. However, Twitter’s tiny data format is still useful for mobile markets.
There’s several other things that Twitter can do to enrich the platform but I’d have to get eight digits to disclose my 12 point list. [grin]
Recently on my blog:
What is love
Great response; very Stan-like…:)
Oh – Twitter is to blame for the “unfollow” and “not follow back” trend. Twitter limited the number of connections people can make. For the obvious cost factor of unlimited connections. The more connections a person has, the more processors and bandwidth, the more it costs Twitter.
I believe Twitter uses a half rack of servers just to process Justin Bieber’s stuff.
Man Stan, you’re a black-belt digital ninja. Awesomeness!
With a Kung-Fu grip…
Justin is cool, I think we should follow him…
I’m just trying to figure out if I’m as old as dirt 🙂 Cheers! Kaarina
I feel old as dirt because I still remember the bbs days of the internets. And I sit on a mountain of dirt – despite and because of that long experience. [grin]
Grandfather mountain…
I know I am because I can count my rings…:)
I still don’t understand Twitter. I mean its just a platform for super star people to tell the world what they are doing, what have they got on their nails and who they are with or to confirm, deny a rumor. And those are the kinds of tweets that get a million retweets and what not. I still like Facebook so much more. At least there I get to like stuff.
I haven’t found an interesting celebrity yet…
Do I get more than 140 signs for my reply? And will you follow me back? Apart from a fantastic lesson in social media (thanks Stan) my chin dropped with all the new words thrown at me. Am I blushing? No, I’m old as dirt! And probably old fashioned as well: still doing everything organically, I like to stay in control and quite frankly I have not figured out any other way yet!
That will keep it real for you too…
Hey Bill,
You’ve certainly got a point. My dad’s on Facebook (he is 72 years old), and I know for sure that he will never be on Twitter. Well, most of my “ordinary” friends in Norway will never be on Twitter. There’s no reason why they’ll start using it. For most people I know, except for the marketing people I know, Facebook is enough. If we want attention and more than one way to communicate with people, then we’ll start using Twitter, G+, LinkedIn etc.. but since, most people seems to be on Facebook, there’s not that many reasons why regular folks should use aynything else than Facebook.
Me, I love Twitter, and I use it way more than Facebook. But, that mostly because I find it so much easier to use, and I don’t feel any pressure, and I spend a lot less time looking at other peoples stuff 🙂
Twitter still allows a somewhat semi-anonymous presence; some people find comfort in that. I like it for what I use it for, it will be interesting to see how far it goes w/ just about everybody you see on TV and radio now having a twitter handle.
I tried following the celebrity/personality route and found that extremely boring; just like what someone else would say if they followed me.
Sorry about the spam; hopefully it didn’t get on your shoes.
I hate how Twitter STILL drops followers. Can they get that fixed yet!? Send me a tweet with a simple 🙂 if you think I unfollowed you.
I know people who unfollowed me because I know you…:)
Hi Bill
Oh my, old as dirt…does that make me as old as petrified wood? Yes, I never learned how to work the stupid VCR either. I have Twitter, Facebook and others, but I still have yet to figure out what I am really doing there! Got the blogging figured out and the commenting ritual. But then again I feel I have come a long way. Never grew up with TV. Would go visit my grandfather and watch his black and white. Then the darn peacock would come on and announce the next show would be broadcast in living color. Could not figure out what they were talking about, as it was still black and white! Didn’t see a colored TV until I was 18. So I guess the fact that I have even figured out how to work the darn computer is a miracle.
Mary
Oh, I remember the black & white TV w/ 3 stations…and having a party line for our phone…as in sharing, not partying…:)
Bill, I’m old as dirt too and I still love Twitter, its my fav of all the social networks. Not all my family tweets but I’ve developed wonderful friendships via Twitter. I hope the don’t change it much. I don’t get as much engagement on FB.
There is a uniqueness to it I like and I do like the fact it is not as ‘open’ as FB where some share their most intimate details. I just wonder when all these celebs/personalities that do it because of their job will hit that burn-out point and if so, what will it look like?
Twitter has been a good medium for generating some traffic and also easy sharing and easy to read feed for me. I think the potential will actually increase and may even surpass FB one day 🙂
I do use twitter often, and lately i have been a fan of Triberr, which has even more potential with a greater reach.
Twitter makes if very easy to share; the key is, who is actually seeing it. If you don’t know ‘lists’ in twitter then you are just a dinghy in the middle of the ocean. Because it’s takes some effort to ‘learn’ twitter, most people don’t want to spend the time to do that so I’d be surprised if it surpassed FB unless FB just implodes at some point.
I look at my twitter streams much more than I do FB.
Is that Henry Winkler on water ski’s? Does he have a twitter following? Check it…..https://twitter.com/hwinkler4real
Yes, that is the Fonz; I didn’t realize his show was where the term ‘jumping the shark’ came from.
I think our friends who went to Knoxville are having too much fun without us.
I disagree Bill. Twitter is the place where I have the most interactions both personal and business. I don’t think it has gone down. I hope they don’t change it much Bill and I am an old as dirt probably more than you 🙂
Hey, am I going to have to moderate your comments? Nobody is allowed to disagree with me in my house; do you want me to start talking louder?
I would say usage has probably gone up because you can’t see a newscast, sports show, or radio talk show without people telling you to follow them on twitter. How much some of these people are actually using it, I’m not sure. I just think when you kind of force mainstream into this platform, then wonky things might start to happen. I like it just the way it is too….
Dirt might be old, but it sure is resilient, huh? Good to see you…
Hi Bill,
I like Twitter but I find if I don’t work at making sure I integrate more comments in between Triberr links it becomes problematic for me.
I still like it for the way I’m using it; but it definitely is more ‘visible’ and the news & personalities all have twitter handles now. Just wonder if it will start getting wonky because of it…
Twitter is great for detailed and instant traffic reports. I’m not interested in the other type of traffic. Also for public transpot glitches and disasters such as bushfires, as you may guess, I live in Oz
Ah, the land of Oz; we aren’t in Kansas anymore, are we?
There are many ways to use it; it will be interesting to see what the next year will bring…
I still prefer twitter to Facebook. On the twitters I have actual conversations with people. I learned I could blog. I learned I could write silly stories and people would read them.
Though I’m a loner by nature, I found a network of people I’ve come to respect and really like.
I’ve be tweeting for three years, and it has changed a bit, but that’s partly due to the way I use it.
And I am one of those grandparents. But not quite older than dirt.
I use it like you do. I’m social by nature but like the semi-anonymity of twitter. You can reach out to others and because these streams are so massive, you just become one of many.
Thanks for your thoughts and stopping by.
Hey Bill,
I finally made it, sorry about that.
I love the photo of Fonz. I happened to watch that episode a few weeks ago so I got a real kick out of seeing that photo here.
I have to agree with Carolyn on this one. I also think Twitter is getting ever more powerful. Not that I run over there each time but she’s right. You’ll find all the breaking news on Twitter. People can’t help themselves because they know a tweet will get seen instantly by everyone if they’re paying attention. It’s a great sour for the news.
Twitter and Facebook are always vying for the #1 spot for my referral traffic. It seems like one week it’s Twitter and the next it’s Facebook which I find kind of funny because I’m really loving Twitter more these days. But I do have more interaction on Facebook still, it’s just easier. I do love Twitter though and that really helps a lot because of Triberr.
I very seriously doubt either of these sites are going anywhere in the near future. But it will interesting to see what happens next with them both.
Enjoy your week.
~Adrienne
Sometimes these platforms get too popular and then too commercial and then too wonky. It just seems recently a new wave of people who would have previously been non-users are jumping on now. Let’s see what kind of sustainability they have.
It is a great source for breaking news if you follow the ‘right’ people.
I first used the term “dick-nozzles” to refer to my former employer of 21 years ago. I’d show you proof but that was before the Internet even existed.
I hate to say this, only because it’s a recurring theme: I completely agree with Mark @GroTraffic Harai on this. Well, 99%, anyway. At first people were trying to figure out how to “win” on Twitter and Facebook, and few people really knew what they wanted (other than in the general sense of becoming sickeningly wealthy).
To me it’s all about relationships now. And I’m most likely to develop relationships from Twitter with people right here in my own town. Our weekly local Tweetup has been a God-send for me, especially as I’m not a native.
Still love the folks I’ve met in Costa Rica and Florida… maybe we’ll all take it further in person one day. 🙂
Love to meet you in IRL one day and hopefully that knucklehead Mark Harai too.
For me, it’s still two distinct different platforms, but when my Facebook started picking up all my social friends from twitter too it became interesting. People I ‘know,’ but have never met…:).
It just seems there has been a huge new wave from mainstream in the news, sports, and radio talk show venues who probably would have never been on board if it wasn’t for their job. It will be interesting to see what that looks like 2-3 years from now.
Only time will tell, huh?