Twitter the sensational social network could be on the verge of destroying itself, could the end of twitter be near? I don’t often write bold prediction posts, but my experience with twitter over the past while has led me to suspect that unless something dramatic is done users could begin to abandon the social network in alarming numbers.
Image from infekted.it
The End of Twitter, what could possibly cause it?
What could possibly contribute to its demise and signify the beginning of the end of twitter? In my opinion it is one thing, SPAM. Twitter seems to have become the place to be for spammers of all kinds (even YOU may be a spammer, find out what I mean.) Spammers have taken to harvesting human avatars from sites on the web, and they seem especially fond of hot girl avatars (many of which come from sites like this and this.) It’s not uncommon to be followed by accounts with thousands of followers and zero tweets, accounts with no avatars, or the most annoying those that do nothing but spam out advertising, product links and sales pages.
Twitter reported in 2010 to have over 190 million users who tweet 65 million times a day. While those numbers may sound impressive, they’re not in fact only 8% of Americans are using twitter which is certainly not enough to classify it as mainstream. 190 million unique users or accounts? Certainly not 190 million unique individuals, rather a LARGE percentage of twitter accounts are automated, are spam bots or are single individuals holding multiple accounts. A surprisingly large percentage of people I interact with on twitter have more than one twitter account (I myself recently had as many as three active twitter accounts), and I know someone with nine accounts.
The End of Twitter, is it near?
Twitter has done a surprisingly poor job at dealing with spammers, while facebook is not completely rid of spammers either it has done a far better job (by utilizing stronger privacy and permission settings), at holding spammers at bay. In addition not all spammers on twitter are bots, and somehow it has become the premiere social network for flaunting your product and thinking people are just going to ignorantly click your links. Spam mentions are ever increasing, with spammers dropping my twitter username into their tweets hoping for a quick click on an increasingly regular and annoying basis. Though twitter still drives a lot of traffic to this blog, the spam within it makes using the service frustrating at times. Even popular twitter trends like #FollowFriday are now virtually considered nothing but spam (#FollowFriday is dead).
The possibilities for spam on twitter are endless, and as long as the trend to follow large numbers of people continues and the majority of engaged twitter users are selective about who they are paying attention to by utilizing lists (though I may follow 10,000 people I only monitor a small percentage of those individuals tweets if you make it onto one of my lists, yeah I don’t even SEE the tweets of over 9,000 of those people, EVER).
Do I really think Twitter could be nearing its end and declining in popularity? Well, I’m uncertain. I suspect that the smart guys behind twitter know well enough the issues that they are having with spam on their network, and are going to launch some sort of action to deal with this problem. Weeding out the spammers from the real humans could be the problem, and what is holding them back. What solutions can you think of? Perhaps limiting users to a single account (verified by SMS or some other method)? In any case, Twitter needs to do something about the SPAM or the end is near.
If Twitter could be on it’s way out perhaps now is the time to scoop up some twitter clothing? I would suspect some of these shirts could be very cool retro items in a few years, especially if this is the beginning of the end of twitter.
Your Response
What do you think? Could the beginning of the end of twitter be on the horizon? Do you use the service at all? Are you frustrated with the amount of spam on twitter, and could that have an impact on whether you continue to use the network? Share your thoughts, maybe you disagree… this may not be the end of twitter but only the beginning.
38 comments
BizSugar.com says:
Jan 3, 2011
The End of Twitter? What will happen to twitter in 2011?…
Twitter the sensational social network could be on the verge of destroying itself, could the end of twitter be near? I don’t often write bold prediction posts, but my experience with twitter over the past while has led me to suspect that unless somethi…
[BLOCKED BY STBV] Zoomit.ca says:
Jan 3, 2011
The End of Twitter? What will happen to twitter in 2011?…
Twitter the sensational social network could be on the verge of destroying itself, could the end of twitter be near? I don’t often write bold prediction posts, but my experience with twitter over the past while has led me to suspect that unless somethi…
Looking4 Purpose says:
Jan 3, 2011
just me but i don’t believe it will go, someone will make it better and the competition between FB and Twitter, well, that’s what it’s all about right? great post. thanks
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 3, 2011
Well I’m suspecting you are right, however Twitter must make some adjustments to deal with the spam. Of course, they’re not ignorant to this issue – so it will probably be something they deal with this year.
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Jan 3, 2011
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John says:
Jan 3, 2011
Hey Daniel Happy New Year!
Glad to see you taking such a bold stance on this one. While I think you definitely do have some ground to stand on with your claims, I think that Twitter is backed by too much money to fold quietly.
They do need an answer to the sudden surge of spam on the site, but like you’ve said in this post, many active users are able to avoid the majority of spam by using lists.
I do see Facebook being a huge problem for Twitter down the line, so far FB has by far done a better job with spam, their fan pages are more interactive and they have a larger user base. (It is slightly harder to tap into this user base though due to the lack of being able to spam your way into it!)
Twitter will survive. It may not be what it is today, but it’s definitely not dead or dying. Though making the wrong moves in 2011 and we could see your predications come true towards the middle of 2012.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 3, 2011
John, what you’re saying is true – and I know though my post title and premise is outlandish, Twitter is not going to go quietly. They have the money and the brains to do what they need to do and stay awhile. The competition with Facebook is fierce, but the two also provide unique services which is why I think both are needed. I agree twitter must make some serious changes (especially with the way they are handling (or not handling) spammers), or this could be a year of decline for them.
Chris Nash says:
Jan 3, 2011
It seems every time I think of doing some interaction on Twitter, the experience gets worse and worse. It’s astonishingly easy to develop automation tools, and the web is rife with Twitter applications that manage to turn a social network into a very anti-social place.
I shouldn’t expect every tweet I send to be keyword-scanned by robots just waiting to message me their links, but sadly, that’s the way things are going.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 3, 2011
Chris, thanks for your feedback. Exactly what you’re talking about having your tweets keyword scanned is the ultimate annoyance on twitter these days, somehow twitter must do something to resolve and prevent this kind of spamming. Nice to see you here at info carnivore and glad to engage with you on twitter as well! 🙂
Brankica says:
Jan 3, 2011
I think people will slowly stop using it. I have been using it to connect with people alike but I have changed the way I use Twitter so much lately.
I am sick of people spamming me so I am even blocking them now.
But what is new…?… spammers and bots always ruin it for the normal people.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 3, 2011
We’ll see what happens – with the power of lists, and the ability to network quickly and easily twitter does have a lot going for it. Some good executive moves to handle spammers will improve the site significantly. I too block many people and report others for spam regularly.
Brankica says:
Jan 3, 2011
I know how to block them but how do you report them for spam?
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 3, 2011
Brankica, from within new twitter if you click on a user profile you can use the drop down menu on the right (the mechanical wheely looking thing) to select block & report for spam. Tweetdeck also provides this option when looking at a user.
Jolly Princess says:
Jan 4, 2011
Oh, no.. I hope not. Twitter had been part of my blogging network from the time I started to publish my blog.
Happy New Year!
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 4, 2011
Hi Jolly Princess! We will see if twitter can make the adjustments necessary to stay afloat and continue to grow. There’s money there, so it is worth it for them to adjust.
Gabriele Maidecchi says:
Jan 4, 2011
Although I wrote a post, a while back, about the supposed demise of Twitter (more of a provocation, I admit), I don’t think it’s anywhere near, nor spam would be a cause for it.
There’s spam in every social service out there, even if some fight it back better than some other.
It’s something people have learnt to live with, and I am sure that as soon as it becomes intolerable, something drastic will be done against it.
It’s not a generic, decentralized system like the email. It’s something specific, owner by a private company with all interests and powers to limit the phenomenon.
I guess I am just being overconfident, but I hope I am not wrong in this.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 5, 2011
Gabriele, I too was sensationalizing this post a bit – I’m just hoping twitter really does do something to show they are fighting the spam. Right now, for the most part it looks like they simply tolerate it and are not actively working to reduce it. I too hope you are right! 🙂 Thanks for visiting man.
Jim Rudnick says:
Jan 4, 2011
Dunno Daniel why anyone would think anything BUT yes, Twitter is the new home for spammers!
Just yesterday, I noted that the ”how to” to report a spam tweet had changed too….sigh….
Best bet? dont be a Tweeter, I’d suppose….but there are some pretty good SEO practitioners on same…so I can’t quit cold-turkey….sigh….
🙁
Jim
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 5, 2011
Thanks for your comment Jim, nice to meet you here! Yeah, Twitter needs to show us they are being proactive about dealing with spammers. It will make a difference to many people knowing that a solution is being worked on. Hope to see you here at info carnivore more! 🙂
The End of Twitter? What will happen to twitter in 2011? | twittersRus.info says:
Jan 4, 2011
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TJ McDowell says:
Jan 4, 2011
Do you think there’s any chance of Twitter tracking down spammers and taking them to court? If they started with taking down the big spammers, maybe the people who are small-time spammers would get the message and stop the spam voluntarily.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 5, 2011
I would be surprised if this would ever happen – someone would have to be pretty big time to deserve that much money and energy… though it may make an example of someone – the court process and the chance of prosecution are so long drawn out and slim that it is probably something we’d never see happen. Stop voluntarily? I doubt it… after all, don’t the bad guys always believe they’ll never be caught!?
Justin Germino says:
Jan 4, 2011
Spammers won’t kill Twitter anymore than they stopped people from using email. Facebook games with all the *ville gifts, invitations are what really PEEVE me. I imagine Twitter we be used with more filtering like lists and options for security will be available like blocking people from @reply or DM you if they aren’t in an approved list. Twitter team does need better robot blocking, somebody who spams the same tweet to a thousand people should be found and account banned instantly. It wouldn’t be hard to find all those bots that tweet based on finding keywords with a promotion.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 5, 2011
Justin, I think you’re probably right – Twitter will adjust and deal with the spammers, and people will keep on using it – we just tolerate it. And when it comes to FB *ville gifts, I’m with you – there must be a perma block option, but there just doesn’t seem to be… Yes, some of the spam stopping options for twitter would not be hard to implement, don’t know why they haven’t shown us they are doing something about it.
SERPD says:
Jan 5, 2011
The End of Twitter? What will happen to twitter in 2011?…
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Patricia@lavenderuses says:
Jan 5, 2011
Hi Daniel
Firstly Happy New Year. Don’t know how I missed this post on Twitter! I am a regular Tweetheart and love Twitter 🙂
Sorry but I do. I block spammers and I am very selective who I follow. Go through my account and delete as necessary. At one point there seemed to be more spammers, but since I blocked them not getting so many now.
Will be interesting to see if anything proactive is done with banning these spammers and bots!!! I hope so cos I interact and connect with people there. And also that’s where I find good posts to read 🙂
Patricia Perth Australia
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 5, 2011
Hi Patricia. Thanks, and Happy New Year to you too! I think the way you are managing your twitter is the only way to go, blocking and being selective is important. I’m selective with my lists which is where my focus is on. Thanks for your comments! 🙂
Alvin Lim Fong Yee says:
Jan 5, 2011
What I don’t like about Twitter user is they use it just for marketing or networking purpose. They follow you for fun and if you are not following back, they will just stop following you. So, it has become the mindset of marketing people.
I think Twitter need to change this kind of interaction to get more real human to use it instead of blocking the spammers.
I like Facebook page. At least it has move interaction with user and give better user experience. Twitter is just too many of spam.
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 6, 2011
Well networking is very important, that’s where we make our connections! But exclusively using twitter just to market stuff is painfully annoying – I agree with you. People using twitter in that manner don’t even pay attention to anyone they are following, they may put up big numbers – but they are not actually engaged with anyone. Glad you like facebook pages, are you a fan of info carnivore yet? http://www.facebook.com/infocarnivore
Jeevanjacobjohn says:
Jan 8, 2011
Interesting Post !
It might be the end of Twitter unless they come up with some other action plan to work it all out. Nowadays, Twitter is just not awesome as it was. Twitter is dominated by bots and HUMAN BOTS (worse!). If you look at Twitter (for 5 minutes – at timeline), you can see many spam related tweets. Anyway, I do hope that Twitter will find a solution for it. (Note : Twitter will end if there is going to be a new player on deck – new product – which I am sure that its going to happen.
Anyway, thank you for writing this article, Daniel !
Jeevan Jacob John
Have a great day !
Alice says:
Jan 19, 2011
I haven’t heard anyone mention identi.ca, which is virtually identical (no pun intended) to Twitter in all end-user respects, but not crawling with spammers.
Right now it’s not very well-known and mostly used by the open-source programming community, but if Twitter does fall out of favor, will people switch (like many did from Myspace to Facebook,) or just forsake the whole microblogging enterprise altogether?
SEO services says:
Jan 19, 2011
i don’t think that twitter is going to end anytime soon!!..
Jean says:
Feb 7, 2011
I don’t really get all the fuss, I’m afraid. I look at my new followers a couple times a day — follow back those that interest me, leave the harmless looking ones alone & block the marketing & spam-crap ones. They can’t DM if I’m not following, can’t tweet me if blocked. If I don’t follow back, most of the “harmless” ones leave on their own. It keeps my numbers low, but who’s counting?
Brad Harmon @ Big Feet Marketing says:
Feb 9, 2011
Hey, Daniel. Okay, so you hooked me with the title.
With the invention of lists on Twitter, it is no longer necessary to follow someone to get their tweets. Twitter could easily impose a follow limit of 5,000 like Facebook has done. It’s more than enough for anyone to follow.
They could also auto-delete accounts with no tweets in more than a year.
I don’t think they will do either because high follower counts improves the impression that you have a larger reach with Twitter than other social networking sites. I think Twitter secretly likes these spam bots that auto-follow tons of people.
Either way, I don’t think Twitter is in danger of disappearing this year.
Daniel Snyder says:
Feb 10, 2011
Brad, I appreciate your response – you’ve got some good views here. I too agree that twitter will not do either of those things that you mention though they are options… I can’t understand why twitter would like bots though, if they are leaving a bad taste in the mouths of their human clients wouldn’t it be in there best interest to do something about it. Yeah I think twitter will be alright for 2011. 🙂
A. Tatum says:
Feb 18, 2011
You would think that they would have a better handle on spam considering it is 2011. It’s not like spam is new. I would like to see filters in place. I get follow sometimes from bots I guess following 500 people, but 4 tweets. That should be a real tip off right there. On the flip side I will say when I go to check some of these spam accounts they have been disabled already, but it should never happen in the first place. Super Bowl Sunday was really bad. A lot of bots with spam links that said”Watch the Game Live”.
Daniel Snyder says:
Feb 19, 2011
I’m with you Alvin – why they are ignoring this issue (it would seem) is beyond me, there are systems that exist to make spamming far more difficult, but twitter seems to like the numbers. I think when they shout out we have “this many hundreds of millions of users” they love to say it, even though half of them are robots. Stupid.
Stu says:
Dec 7, 2011
I think Twitter need to change this kind of interaction to get more real human to use it instead of blocking the spammers. I don’t like about Twitter user is they use it just for marketing or networking purpose. They follow you for fun and if you are not following back, they will just stop following you. So, it has become the mindset of marketing people. Thank you.