Twitter is losing money. Improvements in the platform are rare and rarely make a splash. Somehow the pioneering public messaging service missed the huge private messaging market – and Facebook has the leadership position. Salesforce decided not to buy them.
In addition there are the stories of bullying on the platform. And much of the non-bullying activity seems to be by BOTs, Trolls, or brazen hawkers.
The founding team and management of Twitter is legendary: at least one book has been written about the dysfunction of management. Twitter’s pioneering in live streaming seems ready to be squashed by Facebook; they recently closed Vine which was eclipsed by a Facebook subsidiary, Instagram.
There has been a lot of speculation on the future of Twitter, as noted by my favorite tech and innovation cartoonist, Kiki, in her review of 2017 Social Media Trends.
How to make Twitter fun again!
A recent trending topic on Twitter was #How to make Twitter fun again:
#HowIdMakeTwitterFunAgain
Introduce work breaks specifically for Tweeting— Straw (@mcgurk42) December 27, 2016
Blocking Trolls #HowIdMakeTwitterFunAgain pic.twitter.com/0uQLiub7yH
— Lorein (@the_mrstouch) December 27, 2016
#HowIdMakeTwitterFunAgain Add a damn edit button
— emma (@emmaluv27) December 27, 2016
#HowIdMakeTwitterFunAgain add an edit button, troll blocker, and eliminate bots and fake profiles.
— Shamal Baby (@STAYFLYENT5) December 27, 2016
#HowIdMakeTwitterFunAgain it’s been fun since 2011, yall just boring
— 🌹Rev. Eric Dunn🌹 (@ericvdunn) December 27, 2016
My suggestions were to aggressively block BOTs, trolls, and haters; try an upgrade to make DM into a messaging platform; and post videos on “how to have fun on Twitter.”
Is Twitter truly at risk in 2017: What the press says
A sampling of what the business press says (with links):
Fortune: What Twitter Needs to Do in 2017 | Fortune.com
Why do some people think Twitter is shutting down in 2017? – BBC News
Bullying.
A thoughtful blog author was sited in several of the articles:
Here’s the short version of his article:
- Show you can consistently ship new features
- Directly handle abuse and tell the world what you’re doing
- Stop using meaningless metrics as your measure of success
- Provide specific tools for each of your types of users
- Decide if you give a damn about developers or not
[I RECOMMEND READING THIS FULL POST – hit the link above!]
What do you think about the future of Twitter?
I have already stated my recommendations for improvement above. I love Twitter and consider it irreplaceable. I have met so many interesting people on Twitter. If Twitter were to disappear I would still use LinkedIn for networking and my professional activities. And I would probably scan Facebook for baby pictures, pets, and vacation pics… But where would I meet the fascinating people I have befriended in Twitter?
Fight the BOTs, trolls and bullies. Test new features regularly. Hire a sane management team. Try to turn DMs into messaging. Add the edit button. Develop an easy Twitchat tool.
WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST?
Social Media Marketing 4 Business 