by Katrina Walter, Senior Consultant
Let’s face it, technology is fun. When a new tech toy proliferates, we inquisitive humans want to grab it, look at it and play with it.
When mobile phones arrived, I remember calling my flatmate at the other end of the breakfast table. Then there was email – I would flip to my account every 10 minutes to make sure I had not missed something really important.
And now there’s Twitter. Plenty of people are spending lots of time using it – getting recommendations on services, expressing political views, making social commentary, gossiping – but is anyone actually making money from the phenomenon? The answer is starting to be ‘yes’. I know one great example where Twitter is used for a collective brainstorming process that underpins a successful business model. Others use Twitter as a marketing tool to promote their product, service or, indeed, their person.
If you haven’t yet received your first pay cheque for mastering the art of thinking in 140 characters or 15 word sound extensions, don’t despair. You too can become a ‘Twilebrity’.
I recently read about a freelance travel journalist in America who has 1.5 million followers. This is more than Rudd and close to Obama (whom I am sure have never personally sent a tweet in their entire time in office). Previously this journalist was unemployed but now she travels the world tweeting under the name of Adventure Girl and appearing on TV. She’s got a website, sponsors and a book of travel tips focussed on how to have adventures without breaking a nail – so it seems her Twitter fame has led to lucrative employment.
Apparently the secret of Adventure Girl’s success was to harrass all the founders of Twitter via loads of emails which earned her the status of a suggested user. Now she is touted to any new person who signs up to the service. Twitter acts as her virtual agent.
But does the fame and recognition guarantee credibility?
As a lover of travel I decided to start following Adventure Girl. Some of her insightful tips include “Brussels is cheaper than Paris” and “Brussels has yummy chocolate” and don’t forget to “Support local communities in Rwanda by buying hand-made goods.”
The message is that with more than 16 million users worldwide, Twitter does represent a wide market with all sorts of interests and preferences.
Personlly, I’d prefer to get my travel tips from someone less sponsored and less interested in perfect nails, but Adventure Girl’s other 1,509,507 million followers might not agree.
