Todd Pinkerton

I hate talking about Twitter. Everyone has their opinion — “Twitter will be such a hit it will absorb Google”, or “Twitter is a flash in the pan only used by web 2.0-type techies”. So to blog about Twitter really doesn’t make me very happy.

But.

I think there is a bigger conversation to be had. A conversation which is only a little bit about Twitter. Bear with me.

Twitter is often referred to as ‘a micro-blogging platform’. Users are asked the simple question, “What are you doing right now?”. The answers are as varied as the people that use it. From the mundane (“eating lunch”) to the useful (“eating lunch at http://localcafe.com ; try the reuben!”) Users ‘follow’ other users, whether they are friends or just good tweeters who post interesting content.

Now, why is twitter so popular? And here is where it gets interesting:

Twitter is popular precisely because it asks so little of its users.

To maintain this blog (which I do a terrible job of, even when I’m trying) takes quite an effort. I need to host my blog somewhere, I need to choose a layout and title, categories etc. And then I need to think of something interesting to write about, and write an article. I usually have to research links to related content I want to include in my post. I’d say I spend about 30 minutes on every entry I write — which is probably why I don’t write too many.

But Twitter…

Twitter users contribute because they don’t have to do too much. Participating in Twitter takes next to no effort — just write one line. In fact, that’s about all you can do. But over time, you get better at creating interesting content because you see other people do it (those people you follow). And you can respond to other tweets, which is much more direct than commenting on a blog.

So what is the bigger picture here? If you have a web property — a ’social network’, say, or a dating site, or any app that asks users to contribute anything at all — find ways to let your users participate with as little effort as possible. Facebook does this with the status message, which is probably the thing I update more than anything else — simply because it takes 2 seconds and little thought or effort to say what I’m up to. Its big bang for little effort.
There’s an old saw about “2% of the users create all of the content for the other 98%”.  If you have any interest in getting more users to participate, think about how to make it as easy as Twitter. Let them ask a simple question. Take a poll, post a comment. The less effort involved, the more likely you users are to create something.