BR Video: Twitter provokes mixed response from the public
LONDON - Only about half the people interviewed in Brand Republic's latest video had heard of micro-blogging service Twitter, while those that had were split over its merits -- watch the video now.
Twitter now counts celebrities including Stephen Fry, Boris Johnson and Jonathan Ross as fans and was used by Barack Obama as part of his successful digital campaign to secure the presidency.
With so many headlines talking about Twitter Brand Republic took to the streets to find out what the public think about it.
Despite the avalanche of recent publicity almost half of the people interviewed had not heard of Twitter and out of those that had only around half were keen to use the service.
Some people said that they were too busy to use any social networking sites and preferred personal contact while others thought it was "more for young people".
A few members of the public were more enthusiastic and keen to give it a go as a means of keeping in touch with friends.
Last week Twitter secured $35m in new capital in a funding round led by Benchmark Capital and Institutional Venture Partners, with Benchmark partner Peter Fenton joining the Twitter board.
Two previous rounds raised a total of $20m.
The new funding follows a 900% increase in active users in a year.
The company has yet to secure a realistic revenue stream. It has been openly discussing the idea of charging businesses and brands to use the service.
Twitter: public still unsure of its merits
Comments
Carl Martin - 18/02/2009
A pretty poor example demographic interviewed there me thinks. I would bet that 90% of Twitter users are keen internet users and industry enthusiasts. A more accurate representation could be gathered somewhere such as central Bristol or Manchester.
AwallafaShagba - 18/02/2009
Central Bristol you say ? *scratches head
Nikita - 18/02/2009
Maybe using a selection from BR's avid Twitter followers would have been better?
Ian MacDonald - 18/02/2009
I agree with Carl the demographic interviewed swayed too much to old people. 50+ retired people are not the demographic you would hope to engage via social networking. You do not find many early adopters in this demographic, which is the category of consumer I would guess 90% of Twitterers \(Twits?) are in.
A D Crosthwaite - 18/02/2009
I'm amazed awareness is as high as it is claimed
Barbara Duvoisin - 19/02/2009
Most importantly, though, remember this is an evolutionary product. At the current stage, in regards to dissemination of information or branding, its power lies with those twitterers who take the info from this platform and inject it into other channels that ARE more widely read/viewed/heard - word-of-mouth, newspapers, blogs, speeches, television interviews, etc. The fact that the ultimate listener doesn't absorb that Twitter was involved, isn't important at this stage - just the success of info from beg point to end point. The middle can remain a muddle for now.