What’s trending now?
Twitter’s Economy
Why it’s important?
The newest asset that one may soon be able to own is one’s tweets – and the influence that one holds because of them. In a world in which privacy is more and more consistently neglected in lieu of open sharing and online stalking, we’re very close to what might be called Twitter’s economy. And people are beginning to make good money from this too!.
What’s the butterfly effect?
Imagine a world in which we’re constantly updated by what people are doing and seeing and who they’re meeting. OK, now stop imagining and come to the realization that we’re living in it already. So put on that imagination again and stretch it just a little further to a world in which we’re constantly updated about people’s choices of what to listen to, which places to shop, what tickets to buy and which cars to drive. Suddenly, living the exact lifestyle of a your favourite Tweeter just got a lot simpler to act out!
But the change is more substantial than that. What Twitter’s users are creating in this economy is doing three things:
Firstly, it’s monetizing people’s followers, by providing revenue streams for popular tweeters who are willing to market a company’s product. At this moment it is through either Sponsored Tweets or adverts via a status update.
Secondly, and more importantly in terms of the trend, Twitter is preparing the world for the ultimate personalization of all adverts. Soon you’ll be able to follow brands not as the brands themselves, but through the people you most want to be like! People who you follow shall be affiliated with a company simply through their everyday decisions to buy and tweet/ interact with it.
Thirdly, and almost coincidentally, Twitter’s economy is going a long way in abolishing personal privacy. This is because as we become more social we also become more socially dependent on others; which shall create a demand for others’ reviews about brands to be shared. This already has research to prove itself credible.
The pioneers
Twitter users are onto this already. Companies such as www.SponsoredTweet.com utilize Twitter users’ followers in order to get their messages across. Tweets can cost an advertiser anything from 50 US cents upwards. According to www.blogofzoso.com, bloggers with over 100 000 followers make over $350 per tweet!http://klout.com/home
Klout has gamified social media influence for all, and in the business model found atwww.paywithatweet.com, we see the world’s first social payment system in action.
The growing group of tech-savvy social media users will pioneer the new online economy forward as we become more dependent on information from people whom we trust online… and not just about the field that they’re experts in, but also their recommendations and lifestyle choices.
The global hotspots
Companies such as pay4tweet.com and SponsoredTweet.com have made it easy for anyone to get involved in selling one’s own personal advertising channel, and we see that this has caught on in countries in which Twitter penetration is in the double digits. South Africa does not even make the top 20 countries in terms of penetration, according to www.webanalyticsworld.net, which means that we’re yet to fully utilize the platform. But since Twitter’s growing at almost 200% per year , it won’t be long before our marketing and social landscape begins to change too.
By: Benjamin Shaw
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About Benjamin
Benjamin is a broad-thinker, fast learner and passionate trend spotter.
He particularly loves reading about the integration of technology into society, and the role that entrepreneurs have to play in new South Africa.
Image credit: Pay with a tweet
