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Twitter Is Just a Fad

Social networking site has no long-term viability: Friedman

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 29, 2009 5:27 PM CDT

(Newser) – Jon Friedman doesn’t really like Twitter, he writes for MarketWatch. He thinks the 140-character cap keeps Tweets superficial—which is why Ashton Kutcher loves it. It proved useful for Iranian protesters, but for those of us in relatively stable countries, Friedman agrees with blogger Jon Taplin: "Twitter has no business model," Taplin said. "It's a fad. They come and go."

Taplin, a digital media professor at USC, says Twitter reminds him of the dot.com boom, when firms pointed to huge customer bases—but had no way to monetize them. Such companies “end up being roadkill” Taplin says. Judging by the sampling of millenials in his classroom at USC, young people "don't care about Twitter at all. It's a time-waster for them," Taplin says.

Ashton Kutcher's Twitter feed.
Ashton Kutcher's Twitter feed.   (Twitter)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 3 comments
Jojo
Jul 30, 2009 12:30 PM CDT
This is true for a couple of reasons. First of all, like every other website, the owners will continue to change it, thinking they are "upgrading" or updating it, which will take away from its simplicity, which was the draw to begin with. And secondly, because I believe all hot websites eventually die because people get over them - Myspace is considered lame and old fashioned now, and Facebook is losing ground quick. I don't think there will ever be a website that lasts for generations, at least not with the same popularity.
kokuaguy
Jul 29, 2009 11:53 AM CDT
; ^ )
Spudsy
Jul 29, 2009 11:29 AM CDT
The Ashton Kutcher line is killer. What is that guy famous for?
 

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