Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

Is Twitter Becoming An Echo Chamber of Marketers?

December 21, 2009 | Social Media

I’ve heard this claim before. The idea that Twitter is really only useful for people trying to sell things online. Do you think it is true?

I posed the question to my Twitter followers a few days ago. Here are some of the responses.

frankangelone
@davidrisley I’d say to some degree that Twitter is becoming that. I’ve heard many say that 2 years ago Twitter was used differently.

JRGriggs
@davidrisley I know it is not what it was 6 months ago for me

MarcEglon
@davidrisley Absolutely – it’s all links, retweets and quotes. There’s much more room for engagement and value…

djsartin
@davidrisley re: echo chamber…all depends on who one chooses to follow…me thinks. (or unfollow)

imjustagoyle
@davidrisley I think Twitter is still what you make it. I’m still having plenty of conversation but that’s the kind of peeps I follow.

djsartin
@davidrisley Do feel tho, internet has gone beyond saturation point as far as Internet Marketing and Social Media Experts/Gurus/Coaches…

ShotOfCoffee
@davidrisley I think that twitter has never been better…unless the marketer is trying to market directly on twitter

HowToMakeMyBlog
@davidrisley i thought it always was an echo chamber! but twitter lists do help a lot to remove the clutter…

What’s My Take?

I agree with @imjustagoyle. Twitter is what you make of it. If you follow all internet marketers, it’ll look like everybody on Twitter markets things online. If you auto-follow or go after sheer numbers, you’ll just be a magnet for the dumb marketers who also think huge Twitter follower counts mean they can spam people and make money without doing any actual work. Either way you slice it, you are in the driver seat in what Twitter looks like for you.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the very nature of Twitter makes it so that those with the most useful Twitter profiles are probably going to be in internet business in some fashion. Think about it, who has time to tweet that often unless they are online most of the day? And who is online most of the day? People who are online for work. And when new people come to Twitter looking for interesting people to follow, the people who are most active look the most interesting. So, essentially, it is human nature which fuels this – not the setup of Twitter as a platform.

So, that’s my take. What’s your’s?

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  • This post is right on time. I think you're absolutely correct. Twitter has been bombarded with marketers trying to sell each other something.

    That notwithstanding there is still quite a bit of utility in Twitter. Especially, if you are someone that uses it more for genuine 2-way conversations.
  • I use twitter too though not too its full potential I admit. But I do believe that twitter is as twitterer do... if that makes sense. lol
  • I think Twitter is still just what you make it. It's all about what you put in, who you follow, and what you want to get out of it. If you only follow people who are strictly marketers, that may be all you get out of it. If you follow more of a cross section you'll have a different experience.

    For example, I posted on my site today about how I was able to use twitter to help resolve an issue that I had with an online order. I was able to find the VP of one of the companies, twitter with him and then get the issue resolved. If you want it to be, Twitter can be a powerful medium for customer service, brand building, networking and marketing. It can be all those things and more!
  • Twitter is what someone sees. If John sees links, retweets, and quotes all the time and is unsatisfied with it, then it's time to unfollow those people and follow new people; or suck folks into lists and follow and engage with people on lists.
  • I totally agree. Twitter is just a platform. It's a tool. You can use it however you want. In fact, if it's true most people on Twitter are using it to just blast out links (i'm not convinced that's even really the case), it just makes your real communication and engagement that much more valuable.
  • The problem with answering this question is . . . the question itself.

    Let's be frank: we're all selling ourselves, every minute of every day. The real question is/should be whether Twitter is being used for spammy sales, or sales with some sort of value-add.

    To my point: much (not all, but much) of what I tweet points back to content on my web site. That content is there to be consumed, and Twitter is a great way to drive the consumption. I don't post off-topic or out of my expertise, and I honestly believe that telling those who hear me that I have something to say is . . . truly fine.

    And again: this isn't "buy stuff from me"; it's "read this, maybe you'll benefit from it" (and then buy stuff from me if I strike a chord and you need what I sell).

    Is that marketing, or furthering conversation?

    Oh: and the answer is "yes".

    Jeff Yablon
    President & CEO
    Answer Guy and Virtual VIP Business Change Coaching

    Answer Guy and Virtual VIP on Twitter
  • To answer your question, I think it is both marketing and conversation. I checked out your Twitter account and I think you do it right - you bring people to your site and you also interact. That's a good use of Twitter.
  • I love Twitter more and more every day. It comes from having a targeted following and constantly weeding out the bad ones and keeping out the wastes of space from my Twitter stream. The people that are following me and that I interact with have done more than just visited my site. They've bough products from me, given me products to review and even given me guidance on my blog.
  • Yeah you hit the nail on the head with this one, It can be the most influential and unique meeting place, IF it's used correctly.

    It's interesting that MarcElgon said it's full of links and there's no room for engagement, as that is what links and re-tweets provide, well initially anyway. I like to think of re-tweets as the first handshake. From there I build an eReleationship with the re-tweeter.

    Just my take on it, great post and well worth a re-tweet
  • David, I agree with you and imjustagoyle. This is a classic case of garbage in, garbage out.

    Every Twitter user controls what goes in by choosing who to follow. Pick producers of garbage, don't be surprised at what lands on your screen.
  • I feel that in some ways Twitter has oversaturated; although I do agree that, as with anything, Twitter is what you yourself make of it, in Line with what David said.

    There appear to be a lot of internet marketers selling products that supposedly tell you how to use Twitter to boost your income... Hence all the marketing attempts which detract from the intended purpose of Twitter as a social network. Personally I feel that, while advertising on Twitter can ensure that the tweet is read by one's intended audience a large number of times; since it is by definition a social network rather than an advertising platform, there is a fine line between advertising and spamming. - Unfortunately a rather imprecise and not-well-defined line: Therefore some people could be, by their overzealous marketing attempts, unintentionally spamming without knowing it, and others losing out by erring too far on the side of caution.
  • I think it is like anything else on the internet. Most people use any kind of platform for making money.

    I think its just the way people survive. People look for any avenue to do business, sell thing, connect to people...etc But mainly I find that internet is one big platform for making money.
  • Twitter has changed for me in the last 2 years, but I'm getting more out of it now because I'm putting more into it.

    I'm also learning to screen.

    And I don't follow very many people either. I'll follow more as I learn how to use it effectively.
  • I've had more of an issue with this on Facebook. I just do what has already been said, get rid of them. You may want to recommend that they read Trust Agents. This is an excellent book that talks to this issue. Bottom line up front, it's not the way product/services are sold today period. This will eventually go away as people learn the new Web. Earley on and still at times it's the farmville type stuff that bothers me more. Great topic.
  • Yah, "Trust Agents" is a good read. Recommended by me.
  • I agree with the comment made about lists. Lists allow you to centralize value and remove clutter. I still find Twitter to be a place of value, because I have created that atmosphere for myself.
  • Twitter is just like everything else, you'll get out of it what you put into it.I've always viewed and used Twitter as a great networking tool. Sure there is some marketing going on and why not? But for those spammy types that continue to hammer you with attempts to sell all the time, we have that unfollow feature.

    I agree, it's all about how you use it.
  • I think Twitter is fine for meeting new people, but I seriously need more than 140 characters to communicate properly. That's why I take my new Twitter friendship over to Facebook, email or Skype.
  • I'm with you on this one, David - 100%. I find a lot of value in twitter but that's based on my specific use and who I choose to interact with. Speaking of value, this is a great blog :-)
  • Thanks. :)
  • Sign me up for "twitter is what you make of it". I mainly look at twitter as a tool for getting my name out there, so people can go to my website and subscribe, comment, hang around or whatever they want. I also enjoy the conversation.
  • I also agree that it's largely what you make it. Anyone who irritates me by sell, sell selling simply gets unfollowed.

    I think your point about those of us who are online because it's our work all day is a good one - I hadn't thought about that.

    I also think we all need to realise that to SOME extent, we are pretty much all selling something some of the time while we're on Twitter - even if it's just an attempt to get traffic to our sites. As long as we recognise that and balance it with non selling stuff, then there should be no problem.
  • MIke, Good point. Most professional bloggers, most bloggers actually are selling something. Themselves and or their blogs. Yet that is still a bit different than selling a product. BTW I'm selling my ebook worth $2000 for $999. Great buy.

    LOL, i'm joking you know that.
  • I agree with you. It's the way people use it. You will always get those who find ways to abuse the system to make it work for their own personal needs.

    I could just say a big YES. But that needs to be qualified. I see that a lot of Twitterers are using twitter to sell sell and sell some more. It is becoming one big free ad network.

    For me, Twitter is supposed to be a Social Network, not a Marketing Network.

    One would hope that the guys at Twitter can do something about it. But I have mu doubts as to whether they can or want to.
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