Has Twitter Peaked?
 

(CNN) -- It was the upstart rock star of the Internet in early 2009, roaring out of relative obscurity to become one of the most exposed -- some would say overexposed -- services on the Web.

But since the middle of last year, the number of Twitter users has flatlined.

Compete, a Web analytics firm, says the microblogging site's number of visitors hasn't changed much since June and that its roughly 22 million visitors in December was about 770,000 fewer than its highest number, which was in August.

Multiple other analysts paint the same picture, raising the question: Has Twitter peaked?

Read the rest... http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/26/h...ex.html?hpt=C1

i do think it's at its peak. then again, 770,000 or so fewer out of 22million users is not a huge decrease.

ive personally been a little over it lately - i still partake but i wont be surprised if 6 months from now we'll be saying "T_witter is soooooo 2009."

I don't use it. I don't see any real reason especially when so many FB users use their status updates like tweets.

My accounting prof actually uses Twitter and strongly suggested that we sign up for it. He makes extra credit available only via Twitter. It kind annoyed me especially considering all the software and programs he requires for this course, but whatever. It'd be more foolish to not take advantage of easy EC because I think Twitter is useless.

But don't you have to provide personal information to Twitter when you sign up? No one should feel pressured into doing that. He is WAY out of line asking that of students.

I maybe wrong, but I think I just gave them an e-mail address and some very basic info like name, city & state.... I'm terrible at remembering :o

I can't speak for my classmates, but I didn't feel pressured. It was completely optional extra credit. However, when totaling all the possible extra credit points, it equaled a letter grade (almost). It was hard to say no to it even though I disagreed with it.

ETA: You know, after further consideration, I agree with you. I'm going to make it a point to tell him and Dean. Not to get anyone in trouble, but there are better, more effective ways to distribute EC points.

I just noticed that some random from my school is following me. WTH? Can't you choose who follows you, like FB friend requests?

you can block them from being able to see you.

Ehh, I don't see the big deal about this.

How this is different from an art professor telling his students they'll receive extra credit for attending a museum exhibit on the other side of town? If it's something you really want, you'll make an effort to do it.

There's a big difference between attending an exhibit at an art museum and registering private information with a social website that ultimately serves no purpose.

It is something I really want, that's why I signed up for it. I just think it's unnecessary in a class that utilizes 3 different programs (separate from Twitter) to complete required coursework.

I'm not looking to make a big stink on campus about it, but I will voice my opinion to the prof and the Dean of the College. I'd do the same thing if I felt the prof was doing an amazing job.

unless the prof has protected tweets (a private page), you needn't sign up for twitter to be able to see the updates.

It's protected.

Didn't mean to hijack the thread guys :o I think this is an interesting topic and I look forward to hearing more opinions.

Name and e-mail (hell, you could create a new e-mail specifically for the T w i t t e r account) aren't as private as you'd think.

And to the bolded -- this is my point. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to. That's why it's extra credit.

If you're (general you) against T w i t t e r THAT much, make your A without the EC.

I think at this point, we are just agreeing with each other. You're saying if you want EC, you'll suck it up and do it. I'm saying I want EC and I sucked it up and did it. :D

I tweet more now than I have in the past, I also check my page several times a day.

I don't remember giving specifically "personal" information to twitter. Your "name" doesn't have to be your actual name. People create twitter accounts for their dogs, for crying out loud. You give far less personal information to twitter than you do to facebook, and it's far less an invasion of privacy.

That was my question in my OP. I didn't know if you had to give your real name like you do on FB.

As I've said before the terminology (tweets, etc) is just so ridiculous and sounds like something a 10 year old girl made up.

I don't see the big deal about T witter reaching a critical mass. It's like any other new technology or product - at some point, pretty much everyone who wants it will acquire it (not talking about expensive luxuries). User disinterest is expected after a period of time. The novelty wears off, and the loyalists maintain a certain level of usage.

The only issue I see as important is if usage drops enough to negatively effect monetization, which in T witter's case, isn't an issue yet. Then again, people who do T witter regularly tend to do so frequently (does that make sense?). An acquaintance of mine has 3 accounts, and updates each one at least 10 times a day. Amazingly, at least half of his updates contain interesting information, compared to the drivel that a lot of people post. Once they figure out how to monetize the product, I don't think that they will have a problem. As I said, the loyalists will keep it going.