It seems that everyone these days is tweeting, either on Twitter or about Twitter. Twitter is the top and without a doubt, fastest growing social networking site on the web. Twitter allows members to post tweets, which are update messages of up to 140 characters. Followers, or people who are signed up on a particular user’s profile, receive these updates in their e-mail. Of course, this leaves some potential for abuse, and some followers have had to ask people in their network group to stop tweeting what they’re having for lunch.

Users can send or receive tweets via Twitters SMS (short message service). There is no charge for the service, but some users are charged by their mobile phone providers, if they receive messages through their smart phones. The higher phone bills have upset users who receive a lot of tweets. Some have found they are staying a little too connected to their cyberspace buddies. Twitter has only been around since 2006, but it is the third most popular social networking site, after Facebook and My Space.

Over Crowding on Twitter?
One problem Twitter has encountered has been its retention rate. Although more people are joining it than any other social networking site, it has only about a 40% retention rate for new customers. Other sites which are growing more slowly have higher retention rates. Twitter has had some problems with outages. Users encountering an outage get the fail whale image, red birds holding a net trying to lift a whale. The message reads “Too many tweets, wait a moment and try again.” Even with the overcrowding on Twitter, people from all over the world are still flocking over to tweet! That is the power of Twitter and with the number of visits each day; you are bound to increase your business visibility by leaps and bounds just by extolling your merits there!

Twitter Going Global!
There are over 41/2 million Twitter users and the site receives visits of about 6 million unique or new visitors a month. About 55 million messages pass through the site in an average month. Last year there was a long term outage of the IM capabilities that required major software changes. The site is very popular among business people and young professionals who want to stay in touch throughout the day. Since the messages can be sent via cellphone, they don’t have to be at a laptop or PC to stay in touch.

Social networking sites have been phenomena since My Space became the first international social networking site. Facebook has since surpassed My Space in users. Given the growth of Twitter in just three years, it may become the most popular social networking site on the web. So, make sure you stay connected!

Author: Jason C. Smithe
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Excise Tax

Be Sociable, Share!

•