Does anybody hear me? Alone on Twitter

Take your smartphone, open Twitter, think about a really intelligent text, think again, think, type, delete, change again, don’t forget tags and hashtags to reach more people and maybe add a GIF at least. Excellent, publish now!Wait…wait…nothing happens…Hello? Is there anybody out there?

Tweet out loud.
(Source: http://www.sexysocialmedia.com/5-ways-to-get-people-to-tweet-about-your-business/)

A commentary

Twitter has got 310 million active monthly users (Statista 2016). Each wants to tweet. All of them want to have their say and wants to be heard. At least this is the ideal idea of the communication service that wants us to talk to each other with only 140 characters. When you take a look at a typical Twitter-Profile and compare it with a Facebook- or an Instagram-Profile, you may figure out one thing pretty fast: Not the narcissistic own presentation is the most focused thing, but rather the discourse on variable topics and news. The main aspect shall be the elements of communication.

The idea of participating, being a part of something, of a community, of a happening, of a topic which is highly important in a current situation, seems to be even more important than the self-presentation like we know it from other Social-Media-Platforms like Instagram. Thirst for appreciation and the approval of it through the “Likes” we earn of a complete digital stranger seems not to be what you’ll find on Twitter.

But, does the social network work like Jack Dorsey (CEO of Twitter) and all his employees wants to have it? Actually, I don’t know exactly what they want. And please don’t ask me what they want us to do. The only thing I know is their companies’ mission: “The power of now” with what the Silicon Valley company tries to pride itself on. This mission contains one of the main USP’s of Twitter – The aspect of “now”. It seems that Dorsey doesn’t want to give his users the possibility to use a social network to substitute their old-fashioned 90’s homepages that includes all pictures and video clips of our last vacation or birthday. He want’s to offer the global location-independent speaking tube for everyone, every time on every and especially specific topics.

To be even more special, it has to be the most efficient way of communicating, which is declared by the aspect of the “Now”. Highspeed communication of the 21 century around the whole globe. Be always involved – Directly and now.

The thing is, whoever raises his own digital voice wants some people to listen to him. Get reactions: Likes, Retweets, Shares, Replies… And that’s the point where my problem with Twitter starts.

The big amount of people discussing about one topic, tweeting all the time, leads to the “Top-Tweets” function that should help the reading users to see just these Tweets which might perform best. All this kind of users who have enough strategic digital skills to use social media and especially Twitter in the right way, have the biggest chance to be top ranked. All the other ones will get lost in the mass and prove unworthy in the discussion – Sorry guys, no one will hear you.

It’s at least a smart function to entertain the passive, reading users and help them to blank out “irrelevant” stuff. Don’t be angry. Don’t feel controlled. At least, no one out there can read all 140-character comments of one Top-Trending-Topic. Not unusual that it can be about 800.000 Tweets. So would you know any efficient way to filter by your own? Probably not.

So when there is a trending topic and you want to take part in the digital conversation, you add the specific hashtag to your Tweet and tag relevant persons to address them directly. The consumer becomes a producer. He is really pleased with the chance to give his thoughts a platform and is now a part of it, of the trending topic – of the now.

And then nothing happens.

(Source: http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/359syd)

The embedding of the micro-participation (Twitter is known as a Micro-Blogging-Platform)  in the right topical area  is done, but the Tweet you spread to the world seems to be classified worst and can be found in the group of the whiners. Despite of the meticulously intellectual game you had for finding an intelligent literarily expression of your own thoughts. Your Tweet belongs to them, which are not liked, or retweetet and not a Top-Performer at all.

When you think about this a bit more detailed, it’s actually like in the “real” world, the offline, not digitalized, world. When you’re not a Big-Player, not an Opinion Leader, your voice is drown out by others, who seem to be more important – Offline and online.

Whoever want’s to be on the Top-Trends speaker’s podium has to have a remarkable number of followers, pretty exclusive content or just a little bit of luck.

In case you finally are one of the Tops, your eventual fame also stays in Twitter’s typical “Now”. (Unless  your Tweet performs so good, that an amount of users start to follow you.) Cos the participation in the exchange of ideas is always just as long contemporary like the topic itself. With the remove of the topic out of the virtual focus of currency, the user-participation and relevance walk hand in hand directly to archives.

That’s it.

Discussion closed.

In was of your digital voice wasn’t loud enough during the micro-conversation, you have still the chance to say something now. But please, don’t expect an answer. You might be too late.

However, who want’s to increase his or her digital influence in Micro-Blogging, has the chance to try another highly touted advantage of Twitter. Contacting every other Twitter-User directly – no matter how famous or untouchable a person is.

That this highly considered advantage and strength is less “wow”, seems obvious.

Discourses of really high significance occurs in elites. Whoever uses the tag @BarackObama, to criticize the foreign policy or whatever, can definitely do that. Chances of getting a reply of the most powerful man on earth are unsurprisingly low. Even if he looks cool and relaxed enough to reply. 

Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/image_file/p051815lj-0085.jpg

But this is not the fault of Twitter as well as Obama himself. When you enjoy a well-earned closing time beer with your colleagues in the pub or have really deep conversation about the last quarterly figures during the Business-Lunch, you may take rarely advice of a stranger in the same location, who is trying to join your talk.

It’s not only a Twitter-thing. You can always put in your two cents to a discussion, but you don’t have to. Know your place in society and you know who you are, if your voice has got a chance to be heard and your say in things.

That one’s who have not the privilege of a big number of follower or supporters, and are not called Opinion-Leaders, may see low chances in the appreciation of their statements.

Out of the perspective of a usual user, it seems that the unique selling proposition “On Twitter you can text/talk to everyone around the world. Even to your Stars, Heroes and powerful people” is nothing more than an empirical unfounded marketing-gag. So it’s not surprising that users, after their first self-created Tweets and paying fussy attention to all promising communication-strategies, tend to loose their motivation to be part of it and to participate. And they may forget the revolutionary Social-Media aspect that no one is excluded and everyone can raise their voice.

When you want to increase the your own volume and influence of your digital voice, you may keep an eye on creating a fanbase that helps to get big. Those who just want to be part of it, passively, escape from this strategic task.

In 2014 there were approximately 391 million Twitter accounts that haven't had at least one Follower (Source: Socialmediatimes.com, 2014) The power of “Now”, which Twitter wants to prove, may be significant, but it’s still doubtful, in what way it is enough to offer the chance of participating in a discourse when no one listens to you. ‘Cause those who speak, want to have an audience which listens to them.