Getting the gist of Twitter lists November 5, 2009
Posted by James Ainsworth in Social Media, Twitter.Tags: functionalitypopular, Grader, lists, Social Media, Twitter, Twitter Lists
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The additional functionality of Twitter lists now means the rules and currency of the Twitter platform have changed. To be a follower or be followed is no longer enough.
Sentiment
Ranking systems such as Twitter Grader will no doubt be adjusting their algorithm to accommodate the lists feature. It stands to reason that the more lists you are in the higher ranking you will achieve. Of course this will not account for sentiment. You could be Nick Griffin, and undoubtedly find yourself in many lists, but how many of those masses of lists Nick Griffin might find himself in be positive in nature? Exactly.
Clawing the traffic back
Let us explore why the functionality of lists has been added to Twitter.com. For me, the killer factor and fuel to the social media haters fiery bellies was the revelation back in May that Twitter.com traffic had dropped rapidly. Sure people were registering but 60% weren’t coming back for more. What the survey didn’t bank on was the open API and the fact that once registered on Twitter.com there isn’t much need to go back should you choose to run your Twitter activity from an additional application such as Tweetdeck or Brizzly etc. With increased functionality accessible through your Twitter profile, the traffic comes back to the target of Twitter.com who want to claw back some of the share which sees Tweetdeck a close second to Twitter itself for publishing tweets.
So are lists a practical, necessary piece of functionality?
Is it the golden egg that will monetise Twitter? No. What it is indicative of is Twitter’s desire to bolt on the functionality already offered by the likes of Tweetdeck et al. If you have customised groups in Tweetdeck already it is hard to make a case for Twitter lists adding much more value.
Always last picked…
For many or the more casual user, lists will be to highlight, organise and maintain a following. I fully expect lists to be predominantly used to cream off the followers you wish to actively follow and monitor and I also anticipate, by extension, the new functionality to manifest itself as a further online popularity contest. Breaching an inner circle online is harder than it is in the school playground and certain online communities are hamstrung by cliques. Time will tell with Twitter lists…If your name isn’t down you’re not coming in.
Personal
As a blogger (by no means a Pro with ideas above the station) and someone with a Twitter profile with an intended purpose of sharing and creating great engaging stuff, it is nice to see which categories my followers group me in and confirms I am on track with where I want to be, the online circles in which I wish to move.
What do Twitter lists mean to you?
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