Last Thursday was a milestone day. For the first time since I’ve started using Twitter, the number of Twitter followers exceeded the number of people who are subscribed to my blog.
What’s amazing about that is how quickly Twitter useage has caught up with and then surpassed blogging. I’ve been blogging for 4 years now. I’ve only been on Twitter for about 18 months. Most of the growth on Twitter has happened within just the last 3 months.
The big question is why? Why is Twitter growing so rapidly? Here are a few theories I have:
- Twitter is easier to scan. Less is more. People gravitate to shorter messages.
- Twitter is more social. It’s easier to engage the crowd around a brief shot of wisdom or a story or a question.
- Twitter is more viral. It’s easy to grab an insight and share it with friends.
- Twitter is more intuitive. To follow someone, I just click “follow.” Blogs still require a bit of an understanding of RSS feeds.
I love to blog because I enjoy writing. Honestly, though, I’d rather Twitter. Part of the reason is that it’s more of a natural flow of what I’m experiencing, learning and processing. Part of the reason I prefer it is because the haters haven’t figured it out yet. People are friendlier and less divisive on Twitter than they are with my blog. I’m not sure why, but that’s currently the case.
What are your thoughts? Why do you think Twitter is growing so much faster than blogging?
because it’s the newest kid on the block. he gets all the chicks.
I agree… Twitter is easier to use and follow, although many “normal” people are still skeptical. I think that once Twitter gets over its newness, and the whole “here’s what I had for lunch today” thing dies down, we’ll find that Twitter really excels at helping us find INTERESTING people more easily.
Blogs are still good for longer-form reading, but since Twitter has so many great desktop and mobile clients, it’s just easier to keep track of people using that medium.
I think twitter is more accesible and quicker to read. It’s easy – and isn’t that we Americans are looking for (sarcasm implied)? Really though, Twitter is a great gateway back to your blog right?
I think blogs will resurface with twitter. It got me here today didn’t it?
I’ve found that Twitter provides much more immediacy, and makes it easier for folks to engage in dialogue – which is what I was interested in when I began blogging in the first place.
Unless you really invest the time to create a community like you have on your blog, blogs can be nothing more than a monologue…
I will twitter you my comment.
Good insight.
To go along with your first bullet of people can scan a shorter message.. With the ability to link they can connect to the larger thought at a blog if they want also.
Your not necessarily choosing one over the other, it can be a compliment.
I see a great parody coming, “Twitter killed the blog star.”
you couldn’t have twittered all that. For that reason alone, I think blogging will stay.
I’ve been on Twitter for about 3 weeks now. I have already found resources and connected to people through Twitter that I have spent months trying to find on the web.
twitter is like “Headline News” or the Top 10 on the news programs – our blogs are like USA Today. I’ll go to the Headlines to see what’s up – I’ll check the article for a deeper understanding of the subject. I read this post because you tweeted my curiousity…
I love them both.
Tweating shows your brain better, blogging can show your heart better.
thanks Tony for the interesting post… seams to me twitter is a great way to express yourself, ideas, and thoughts in a short burst..where blogging is the longer version of the story..
though i agree my tweeple followers has far surpassed my blog readers maybe because it’s more viral.. where there so many tools to “get new followers” there are not as many “get new readers” for blogs.. but who knows..
i learned of this post and blog for that matter through twitter.. i many have never found your blog if i didn’t meet you on twitter 1st…
anyhow.. thanks for the post..
Tim
http://twitter.com/goldeneye
Twitter has fluidity and constant change. Blogs are stagnant and best archived.
On Twitter, I follow so many people that I miss many, many posts just because they get pushed back by new posts all the time. So unless I’m following Twitter each hour (which I’m not) I miss a lot of great content.
With blogs, I can always check out my top 10 and see what they have written about, not missing anything along the way.
That said, I see a value in both mediums and see staying power in both as well.
A simple (yet getting outdated) example is Twitter=TV news, whereas blogs=newspapers/magazines. Twitter is now, quickly update-able. Blogs are unilateral in communication (even with comment sections).
The jump from texting to twittering isn’t a large one, so it’s more comfortable and informal. And the experience is multi-platform: phone, web, or app.
Blogging, on the other hand, is daunting for some who think they have to be Hemingway, or think they have to have something to say. To access blogs you have to have Internet access. To comment on different blogs sometimes requires log-ins, which is frustrating for a user who is visiting blogs on Blogger, then to TypePad, then WordPress, to FaceBook, and on and on.
Twitter has been great for me b/c it has connected me to great blogs. It also has exposed me to new, fresh faces & voices out there in ministry & leadership
i also think advertising hasn’t really found a way in to personal twittering yet. for instance, i like reading your blog, but i don’t like the advertisements. i want to hear what you have to say and not bothered by the periphery (i.e. clover, f1, integrity)
People want to feel connected. Reading a blog is much like reading a book. The author is providing great insite and you can line up perfectly with his/her line of thinking but in the end there is no personal connection. Where as, twittering gives me a personal connection in that not only do we know what is going on in your life but Twitter provides a direct path of communication to the person being followed. This feeling of acceptance can be addicting.
Twitter is immediately interactive. Its attraction comes from the interactive nature. Its on my phone so I can interact anytime, anywhere.
[...] an interesting article I read at tonymorganlive.com about twitter and blogging: Last Thursday was a milestone day. For the [...]
I totally agree with your comments. I do think that both will have a place for some time. I think twitter captures quick, candid moments and for that reason it’s going to require blogs to have more substance in order to be worth taking the time to check out.
I think my favorite line was “the haters haven’t figured it out yet”. You may just inspire some “haters” to find their way there.
Twitter is enjoyable because I can connect to a lot more people then just following tons of blogs. There is also, imo, an aspect of connection that can be tough to get in the blogosphere.
One of the biggest reasons from a tech stand point that Twitter is getting more popular is it’s use on mobile devices. People are using it with phones and that lends it to being available anytime any where.
[...] Tony Morgan discusses how Twitter is overtaking blogging. [...]
Tony…yeah, I think blogs are going to have to morph in their purpose. Twitter allows real time glimpses into the lives of those we love and follow. I think the blog of the past is over…the arrival of a new form of blogging is around the bend.
Also…just to rant…I think the day of the “Lesson” driven blogs are over. Twitter put a heart into our e-connections with others. Again, with it’s real time glimpse. Now, when I go to a blog and it is just “lessons on leadership” type thing, I just pass…b\c it feels devoid of the purpose of social connection.
[...] there! If you are new here, you should subscribe to the RSS feed for updates! // My brother Tony blogged the other day about his thoughts on Twitter in comparison to [...]
not sure I can express myself in less than 140 words,
but there is always http://shriink.org; I even tried it by expressing my thoughts about blogging vs tweeting (micro blogging) : http://twitter.com/phillipgibb/statuses/1375410987
[...] I have been mocked by some and celebrated by others for joining Twitter. Tony Morgan compares Blogs and Twitter and why he likes Twitter HERE. [...]