Twitter was all a-buzz yesterday about Mr. Tweet, a personal networking assistant that algorithmically scans your network and the entire twitter network to recommend you people that you should be following. It makes recommendations based on how many connections you share and the # of followers the person has. And because of that, it sways heavily to the twitter superstars, the people that have 10K+ followers.
While some found the technology to be incredibly useful, there were a few of us looking for more. In a world where social media experts are a dime a dozen, where we are overcome by social noise… it shouldn’t be about connecting to people because they are the “popular kids”, it should be about something more meaningful.
“Main prob w/ @mrtweet is using a grading system that scores ‘influencers’ by #of followers when most of my best tweeps have less than 200.” acclimedia
“while a good start @mrtweet isn’t a marriage-worthy ‘matchmaker’ yet… more like People magazine 40 sexiest celebs for now” martastrickland
“@martastrickland: But wouldn’t a ‘matchmaker’ service be cool? Not talking dating, talking interests. Let us ponder and innovate.” ckEpiphany
“@martastrickland @ckEpiphany Fantastic discussion! Will try very best 2 be a gd matchmaker- current penchant 4 twitterati will be improved!” mrtweet
In Mr. Tweet’s defense, the company launched with GetSatisfaction already in place and spent a good portion of yesterday following up with the flurry of suggestions from opinionated tweeters. So while I still don’t have my good web party host yet, it might not be far off.
Remember how cool it was when you as the art club chick found out that the soccer player in your class was also a fan of David Bowie. I look forward to the day where we move out of the high school cliches and into the real social web.
Marta Strickland
Comments
Connections
Great post, Marta. I think you effectively captured all of the points we raised in our Twitter discussion. The only thing I would add is that while I’m against grading systems and algorithms that rank users based on meaningless data points like number of followers et al, I am in favor of opening up ways to connect like-minded people and facilitating introductions with those who will mesh with your interests, enrich your tweetstream and increase the value of your Twitter experience.
Unfortunately, the line “High school is never over” holds true and those seeking popularity vs. quality sharing hinder the path to authenticity, and stand in the way of organic growth, clogging up the pipes with their shallow attempts to hang out with the “cool kids,” ironically making the need for a service like Mr. Tweet all the more necessary to weed through the junk. But until an accurate way to measure substantive variables is developed, these services only continue to perpetuate the same stereotypes that create cliques instead of communities.
Thanks Marta! Yes, it does always seem to come back to high school. In the end though, it really is the quality of content that keeps people following you, subscribing to your blogs, and visiting your site. We measure quantitatively, but the reality of 2.0 is really qualitative in the end. (That’s why people follow threeminds!)
In terms of Mr. Tweet, it is a little disappointing right now, but there are definite possibilities there. At the very least, it gives some Tweeters a little direction in terms of finding those to follow that post the content and quality they need.
We’ll see where they take it next. If it’s not Mr. Tweet, it will be someone else soon. 3.0 is around the corner…