Soon Twitter Will Be Nothing But Endorsements
ADOTAS – This weekend some of my musician friends were lamenting the slow decline of MySpace — once a great way for bands to connect with venues and fans, now we can’t get a damn thing done with the wheezing has-been site. Instead my musician comrades have been moving over to Twitter — I joined the exodus the other day: @libeltheband.
But announcements such as the one I received from twtMob today make me wonder how long before Twitter gets bogged down with the same kind of crud that killed MySpace — or rather a new kind of crud: endorsements.
Similar to ad.ly, which employs Kim “Why do I care?” Kardashian to sell her millions of followers Carl’s Jr. burgers, twtMob pays users to plug products and brands. In addition, twtMob has a referral program in which you can make 10% off the revenue of celebs or heavily followed friends that you talk into signing up. “Celebrity Publishers” earn $1 per tweet for every thousand followers.
I can’t help thinking this is a path to no good. Just like MySpace got clogged with teeth-whitener display ads, I can imagine every other Tweet being some lame endorsement. The networking value of the site would drop to zero for everyone — just ’cause some people wanted to make a quick buck.
In a recent New Yorker piece, George Packer called Twitter crack for media addicts — the site is overwhelming as is, but if more and more tweeters sign endorsement deals, it’s bound to become infuriating. There’s a lot chatter about how to monetize social media, but this doesn’t seem like the right way.
Reader Comments.
It seems to me that the $1 per tweet per 1k followers automatically enforces a balance between maintaining the number of followers and monetizing this opportunity. If there’s nothing but spam put out via users tweets, those user’s followers will drop off, and revenue will decrease significantly. The ones who do this effectively will be able to provide value and will be careful how/when they pitch product.
I would offer a slight correction:
“The networking value of “Celebrity Publishers” would drop to zero for anyone following them”.
Result: lots of people do not follow the “Celebrity Publishers”.
Unsubscribe.
Spam 2.0
Leave a Comment
Article Sponsor
More News
-
Loading ...
Latest News
- Infographic: HootSuite Analyses Social Media Impact of Super Bowl Ads February 7th 2012 ADOTAS - So, it’s the Tuesday after the Super Bowl, [...] more »
- Facebook to Serve Mobile Ads in Coming Weeks February 6th 2012 ADOTAS – According to a Financial Times report, Facebook will [...] more »
- Survey: 39 Percent of Mobile Users Responded to Super Bowl Ads Via Mobile February 6th 2012 ADOTAS - During the Super Bowl yesterday, mobile ad network [...] more »
- Sponsormob Leads the Way Into RTB for Mobile February 3rd 2012 ADOTAS – For more than half a decade, Berlin-based tech [...] more »
- Weird Study: Mobile Purchasing While in the Bathroom on the Rise February 3rd 2012 DM CONFIDENTIAL - According to 11mark, three-quarters of Americans with mobile [...] more »
- This Week’s New Hires February 3rd 2012 ADOTAS – Another week, another round of new gigs. Here [...] more »
- Two Surveys: What Are We Doing with Mobile Devices During the Super Bowl? February 2nd 2012 ADOTAS - With the Super Bowl fast approaching and the [...] more »
Features
- Covering the Digital Buy: Super Bowl Winners and Losers February 8th 2012
- How Social Targeting Can Lead to Discovery February 7th 2012
- Video: “The Future of Engagement” Looks at Audi’s #solongvampires Campaign February 7th 2012
- Three Best Practices for Increasing Subscriber Engagement February 7th 2012
- Reaching the Multi-Tasker in 2012 February 6th 2012
Spotlight
Sponsormob Leads the Way Into RTB for MobileADOTAS – For more than half a decade, Berlin-based tech firm Sponsormob has remained relevant in an industry characterized by [...] more...
Reader Favorites
Classifieds
- PS Technical Writer - SEO Data Analyst
- Interactive Project Manager
- Media Buyer
- PHP Software Engineer (Facebook Platform/Social AP
- SEO/Marketing Internship at Green Education Startu
Recent Comments
- Bob: and just like that he got fired.
- 101 Best Twitter Apps Blog » Blog Archive » Social Networking: Without a Champion, Enterprise Social Tools Sputter – Formtek Blog (blog): [...] And Cons Of Social Media In Education …mediabistro.comMashable -Minnesota Daily -ADOTASall 97 news [...]
- The Rise of the Data-Driven CMO | ADMA Blog: [...] of information transparent to customers also stand to gain financially. According to a separate
- Tuesday, February 7 | Duncan/Day Advertising: [...] Messages Ever Work Online? [Econsultancy] 39% of Mobile Users Responded to Super Bowl Ads
