How "@aplusk" and "@ev" Getting Sucked into Oprah will Change Twitter Forever, for Better or Worse
Get ready Tweeters your microblogging world is about to bust open wide to a size yet to be measured. Ashton Kutcher ("@aplusk") and Twitter co-founder Evan Williams ("@ev") are set to get their Oprah on Friday in Chicago. Hold on to your Crackberries.
The minute I read the "@ev" posting today: "Tomorrow just became a very big day. (Sorry for the teaser -- more later.)" It had mother of media written all over it. Did he forget how many publicists are on Twitter? They see right through that whole "tomorrow is the biggest day of my life " thing.
That's right, "aplusk" and "@ev" got sucked into the Oprah. And I have to say I am a little disappointed. Visionaries don't fold this easy, do they?
I'll be honest; it took a lot of urging from my friend "@valerotti" to join the Twitter tribe. He loved it so much he sent a text along these lines: "is it wrong that I kinda want to make out with Twitter?" To which I responded "Wow, that good huh?" I was a pretty solid non-believer, maybe even a hater.
Seeing that media is my industry, I really had no business not playing, so, I signed on with the intention to educate and inform myself about this underground world of tweets, twats and twerds; all along secretly hoping I could turn around and become an informed hater versus just a hater.
Well folks, I became a joiner. I've been tweeting now for sometime and truthfully the sweet simple little morsels of information and news I can give and receive in 140 characters, is quite lovely and also very useful. My Twittering has helped generate business. I tweet industry tips and media leads for fashion, beauty and lifestyle based companies which directs them from my tweets to my website (thebungalowpr.com) and brings a lot of interesting traffic my way. I've also gained a lot of support for my See + Sprout project (seeandsprout.com) so Twitter is definitely yummy.
But like a light bite of delicious dark chocolate soufflé, a little bite is nice, too much is nauseating. And "@aplusk" somehow slid into slight ad nauseum.
Initially, I chose to follow Ashton for a very simple peek into his entrepreneur activity, because I think he is a smart businessman. I've also found him to be warm, sappy and overall a pretty regular guy. I also followed his lady Demi Moore ("@mrskutcher") just for the heck of it. I got a kick out of the banter between the two of them, as they flirted from across the room via tweets or twit pic for the world to see. It's weirdly interesting to know what they're up to, but in petite doses. I still feel the need to respect their privacy in some ways. I've learned she's got a thing for American Idol, while he works out to P90X. It's like the tabloids streaming live. It's a splash of good and balanced guilty pleasure placed between more useful, informative tweets like breaking news and industry tips.
I've been pretty down with "@aplusk's" general Twittering activity, up until he started this whole "me me me to a million" campaign against CNN this week to see who could hit one million followers first. His begging and prodding and manipulating for followers via goods from EA (Entertainment Arts) and promises of charitable malaria net donations just started to feel a bit icky. In one fell swoop he went from humble and intriguing guy to typical narcissist celebrity.
Basically Ashton took the Twitter follow count concept and turned it into another version of Hollywood's same old obsession and chase for box office numbers. He was already a solid success and favorite for showing up and participating amongst the people in the environment-- but that wasn't enough and that's kind of a bummer.
I personally love when a business kicks some ass without the power of Oprah. Hey, she is the mother of all media make no mistake about that. We all get that she can change a life or a small company in about 60 minutes. But, I also think now and then for Oprah to hear "no thanks" from a brilliant visionary, is good for business and a challenge for her too.
That's what I would have loved to see "@ev" do. I think saying no to Oprah would have created an even bigger and certainly more interesting public relations movement for Twitter. You guys were that good, you didn't really need Oprah.
The infestation of Oprah viewers will I'm sure crash the site for Tweeters everywhere, and bring up that sassy cute Fail Whale (which by the way I adore the design), but once that is fixed, Twitter will just evolve into something else, something perhaps less appealing to the unique breed of early joiners.
My next Tweet is posted here; I think even "@aplusk" and "@mrskutcher" will appreciate.
Go ahead and RT it live on Oprah guys,its 124 characters.
@thebungalowpr 1938media.com's "@Home With @Aplusk And @Mrskutcher'
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I think it's a great thing celebrities can use their power to influence people. Lets hope Ashton can start motivating people to do great things for the world and their bodies. It says he does P90X lets hope he sticks with it and America will get into shape too!
"will change Twitter for better or worse."
For worse.
Gosh, you know. I hate to say this, because not only do I have a facebook page AND a blog so I'm going to kind of come across as a hypocritical a$$, but...I refuse to tweet. I just refuse to.
Just like facebook status updates, it seems so superficial--for example: so many of my facebook contacts (I personally know are NOT superb in the least) use their status updates to show how superb they are: "XXX just got back from her Habitat for Humanity volunteer job, read War and Peace with her 3 year old, and now she's whipping up a French gourmet meal for her wonderful husband! It's date night, hooray!" Riiiight..
Twitter seems to be all about that kind of posing. Not for everyone on Twitter. Just 3/4 of all tweeters.
I'm not sure how driving attention towards Malaria No More is a narcissistic act?
I watched Kutcher's King interview, and he seems to be a real evangelist when it comes to this specific form of collaborative content. I think he's in it for the format, rather than any particular Kutcher-related enterprise. So more than anything, this struck me as actual geeky enthusiasm for a new mode of communication that Kutcher then parlayed into a force for -- good. (I know, shocking!)
So I'm willing to cut him some slack and for once take part in a Twitter trend. Check out the site and donate: http://www
Stacie, the beauty of Twitter is that you can "unfollow" at any time. If you didn't want to participate in the Kutcher/CNN or even Oprah tweet why not just click the button - or are you ashamed that you got sucked in and you like it??
What could the corporate entities of this world (including individuals like Ashton Kucher who are selling themselves as a product) appreciate more than another way to advertise virtually for free? Twitter is an additional communications platform tweaking ones we already have. Like it if you want to, hate it if you want to. It's just a Volkswagen in a world of Fords and Chevrolets; it's a fad, it's not a revolution.
Tweet away, Ms. Krajchir, and if it helps your business, fine. But if you think you're learning anything real about Ashton Kucher, you're incredibly naive. He's editing his life to promote himself as the "warm, sappy and overall a pretty regular guy" that he needs to seem like to get the contracts he wants to sign. He's using you to make money. If that's OK with you, then enjoy wasting your time helping some guy, who might not be who you think he is, even richer than he already is.
Unfortunately it seems that you have taken to Twitter like the indie rock kidz who claim some kind of ownership of a new and unknown band, then cop 'tude when its popularity grows. You are naive to think that the creators of Twitter - like the musicians in that band - aren't in it for the money. No huge conglomerate is going to make "@ev" et. al multimillionaires until they see the dollar signs themselves, and in the case of an internet company, those dollar signs start with number of users. Given this very un-indie kid fact, going on Oprah is a no-brainer.
The message I get after reading your blog is: There is a lot to be said for ACCEPTANCE. Say the Serenity Prayer. ..."...the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."
You're looking at this from some strange perspective.
It reminds me of that old punctuation puzzle: "That that is is that that is not is not therefore that that is is not that that is not."
Its OK for both Ashton and Oprah to be on Twitter...
I can understand what this blog is saying, but I have to say that to me, social media is about being inclusive. If we deny anyone from using these tools we love, we're recreating the reasons as to why many of us don't like mainstream media, which has made a killing off being exclusive.
Well said, lizgrover. What I love about Twitter is that with its low mental transaction cost anyone can play. The next hot platform will be even simpler to use, and become ubiquitous even faster.
Back in 1993, I heard people say, "man, usenet is really going to change now that all these universities are letting kids get on the internet free."
Back in 1998, I heard people say, "the web is really going to change once our moms and grandmas get on it."
snooooooooooore
McCain is pretty much the same: "I'm going into a meeting with President so-and-so, of Vietnam"-etc. boring.
Add on that Newt tweets that 'gone shopping for the grandkids' -- Who cares.
Do tweeter's have any real friends?
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