Our Problems with Twitter Explained

Twitter is not your average social network. One study shows that the average Twitter user is a female in her late teens. She follows 20 – 50 people, with the same number of Twitterers following her back. Another study found that 10% of active users account for 90% of all tweets. And yet another study concluded that 24% of tweets are created by bots. Clearly, Twitter has an engagement and identity crisis on their hands.

Thus far, Twitter would encourage new user participation via a hand picked list of recommended Twitterers (often referred to as the Suggested User List or SUL). Now, however, Twitter is ready to kill the SUL and provide something of even greater value: user-curated Twitter Lists.

As we’ve detailed before, Twitter Lists, which are live for some users, enable users to create and name their own curated lists of Twitterers. Your lists are public by default, which means that anyone can check out who you’ve added to your topical lists, and the feature also makes it easy to see which lists you’ve been added to by other Twitter users. As our Editor in Chief, Adam Ostrow wrote, “This is essentially taking the whole concept of “Follow Friday” and building a killer feature around it.”

As any addicted Twitterer knows, the key to Twitter becoming an integral part of your online life is reaching a threshold where you’re consuming interesting tweets and getting responses from others who read your 140 character opinions. Without that push and pull exchange, Twitter is absolutely meaningless.

That’s why Twitter Lists will prove to be the key engagement tool. Lists will ensure that new users can immediately find other Twitterers who appeal to their tastes. Right now, seasoned Twitter users can create communities of their own, so engagement isn’t a problem, but Lists will brings the crafted community element to new users who may be initially trepidatious or confused about the point of Twitter.