I recently heard from a newspaper man that Twitter is definitely a fad but one which cannot be ignored. It kind of reminded me the old Nielsen study (back in April) which was much touted as a ‘twitter is a fad’ research (even though it was nothing of the kind).
What experience has taught me so far is that it is definitely not about the tool. Whether Twitter is a fad or not is irrelevant. If it dies something else will replace it. Another tool. Until that one dies to be replaced by the next one and so on.
The real question here – the important question – is about the NEED that makes people use tools / social media.
If Twitter died tomorrow would people stop communicating, reporting, connecting, debating? I very much doubt it.
It’s all about the conversation - and that’s what brands should care about, not whether the tool is a fad or not.
So, underestimate the tool as much as you want. Just don’t underestimate the real need.
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