Twitter Is Down. Again.
I am not piling on. I'm not. I am frustrated that Twitter is down, again, yes. But I love the company enough I won't defect. And really, is it the end of the world if it's down? It's not as important to your day-to-day life as email right?
If you're a blogger, it might be.
Increasingly, bloggers I follow seem to really rely on Twitter to get their post out to readers fast. As a (part time) blogger, I love it. I have just over 3,000 followers and when I Twitter a post, my page views go up by about 20%. What's more followers have repeatedly asked me to Twitter Yahoo videos and BusinessWeek columns because they don't have Sarah-specific RSS readers. (I still don't Twitter everything because I feel spammy.)
As a blog reader, I love it even more. I simply do not have time to go to a dozen blogs all day seeing what's new. I'd guess my reading of TechCrunch has gone up 50% since Michael Arrington started Twittering his posts, and my reading CNET and Mashable is up 100%. And as we know, in blog land, page views equal cash. As Arrington blogged today he missed out of food poisoning sympathy with Twitter being doing. I'm betting he missed out on more than that...
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I find that the most frustrating thing about it going down is that your natural reaction is to tweet that its down - which of course you can't do!
Posted by: Grumblemouse | May 20, 2008 at 03:49 PM
I know!!!! it's like when the power goes out and you're like, "oh no internet? ok i'll watch TV. d'oh!"
Posted by: sarah lacy | May 20, 2008 at 04:14 PM
Tomorrow should be a day to catch up reading with the Twit-Out in effect. Like you, I may have to seek out blogs to read.
Posted by: adventureran | May 20, 2008 at 05:25 PM
Considering that I was a Twitter skeptic a year ago, it's amazing how much I've turned into a Twitter junkie. :~)
I think you're right, Sarah. Twitter is the new push technology.
Posted by: JD Lasica | May 20, 2008 at 06:05 PM
here are some new ideas for when twitter is down:
http://www.centernetworks.com/twitter-down-may-15
there's a link in the story to my original "top 10" things to do when twitter is down.
And you can always watch my brand new music video "twitter come back" - just go to youtube and type in twitter come back - i can't link to it as mt says youtube is spam :)
As you suggest Sarah, for many of us, Twitter is a marketing vehicle to some percentage.
Posted by: Allen Stern | May 20, 2008 at 06:38 PM
The Washington Post slogan is perfect for those who don't understand the value (and addictive qualities) of being in the Twitter stream: "If you don't get it, you don't get it".
Once I took the plunge, there was no going back. Twitter HAS to get itself technically up to snuff soon. I prefer it over Facebook a thousand to one. Facebook could go away, and I would not blink. Twitter? Gotta have it.
Posted by: Jeff C | May 20, 2008 at 07:35 PM