I could just stop following Jim Kukral on Twitter, but I think it's important to keep the conversation open. If there's enough interest in this, I'm planning on interviewing Kukral. I'd like to see his side of this. Perhaps there's something I'm missing, or maybe I'm misreading his intentions. I would certainly hate to paint a bad picture of someone who other than this, seems okay. I do follow him on Twitter after all, and I'd have no problem chatting with him over coffee and a doughnut if I ever met him in the real world.
Twitter is an example of what the Internet can do right. I remember the Internet before the September that never ended. There were micro-communities all over the net, especially on IRC and Usenet. There was little commercial activity then. Twitter is like getting a bit of that back, and I don't want to lose it. The only way this can be stopped is for the citizens of Twitter to unite as one and say "No." If you're on Twitter and you agree, spread the word. If you don't agree, tell me why. Let's do what Twitter does best: Open the door of discussion. Twitter is a community, and the community should decide what's appropriate conduct and what's not. What's your decision Twitterers?
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Article comments
1 - Wayne Sutton
Good post on twitter and the twittermethis project.
Someone was telling me about it yesterday. You're on point by saying that twitter is about the conversations and community. I'll be glad when twitter does start to monetize itself but in the mean time I think people should use twitter in anyway possible they can think of.
I'm @waynesutton on twitter and I approve of this marketing on twitter.
2 - Jim Kukral
It's not a bot. Would love to do the interview. Contact me anytime and we'll do it.
3 - dOgBOi
And I owe Jim Kukral an apology. I made the assumption that this was a bot, and it's not. I am going to contact him for the interview. Just want to wait a bit to get some community input, so the questions can be a little more focused on what people might or might not want to know.
4 - Lea Charlton
Yes, I came across the project a few months ago. It is interesting, though sometimes I think it is all Twitter hoopla, and I guess necessary for those who still do not understand Twitter; meanwhile they go to Facebook and post their action without a second thought. The concept is not difficult and the strategy is dependent upon whether you would like to appease the business or social emotions of your follower or prospective followers. Just not sure the project is on point with saying follow all of these people and they will follow you ... just as with any other link campaign, you then need an outside resource to track and quite frankly, I do not like the clutter or sifting through the "I just took a nap" and / or "I am doing ..." comments when I am using a Twitter for business. We will see what the final results will be.
5 - Chris Vendilli
I agree with your points. Twitter is real.
It shouldn't be used necessarily as a direct marketing tool, but more or less, as a "connecting" tool.
There's no ethical dilemmas or shame in finding other like-minded people on Twitter.
I think where you see this happening most is with marketers marketing to other marketers.
Great post. I thoroughly enjoyed it and while you may disagree with the content I'm sharing at my site at first glance, I think if you dig under the hood a little bit you'll see we're basically on the same page.
-Chris
6 - Rett
Twitter is a great tool...if used correctly.
7 - AaronZ
Responsible marketing on Twitter is not only possible but inevitable. Jack Dorsey, a Twitter co-founder was recently on the show Press:Here (a weekly technology show on the Bay Area's NBC affiliate). He didn't deny it, but it's a great interview for a couple of reasons. First, he made it crystal clear that they aren't going to just take money for the sake of revenue (and at the expense of the user experience). Second, he made a key distinction between 'search' and 'discovery'. It's a very interesting positioning move. Twitter does 'discovery' WAY better than Google. These principles / ethics of Twitter don't preclude third parties from trying to capitalize and abuse the system, but they won't make it easy and neither will the Twitter community.
8 - John
Twitter will have to be aggressive about spam. Otherwise, it will become odious.
But keep in mind that marketing is the science and art of persuading people to use a product that the marketer believes will add value to your life. People who sell crap don't last long and they typically resort to spam-like techniques. Professional marketers sell quality products that people want without using tasteless or coercive techniques.