Twitter-based ad networks: a different perspective

An ongoing conversation about the viability and credibility of Twitter-based ad network Magpie led Brandon J. Mendolson to come up with a nifty idea: republish our perspectives on the issue (I don’t have a problem with it as I see “sponsored tweets” as being a close cousin to sponsored blog posts, as I get into here, and Brandon is firmly against) on our respective blogs. Here’s Sponsor Tweets: Your Unwelcome Twitter Uncle
From: Brandon J. Mendelson

Before media ownership limits were reduced, print newspapers were plentiful and profitable. The loss of competition and cost cutting to please shareholders caused newspapers to grow stagnant and lose readership. As print readership declined, so did advertising dollars.

Blogs allowed individuals to report news, provide commentary, and serve as a community resource. As they grew in readership, advertisers focused their financial resources on blogs over papers. Will those advertising dollars find themselves budgeted for Twitter? No.

Twitter is blowing up as a source for headlines, not content. Blogs that regurgitate news have been replaced. Why bother reading a blog that makes brief, pithy comments before linking out when you can get the same thing on Twitter? Here’s the catch: Twitter has only changed the way some blogs operate, not replaced all of them the way newspapers are being replaced.

The attraction to Twitter is that it operates like a conversation. Blogs, even personal ones, do not update in real time the way Twitter does. They shouldn’t. It’s social media gospel that too many blog posts or tweets turn readers off. Do you think throwing in an extra tweet, an advertisement, would hurt or help your chances of building influence on Twitter? Trust the gospel on this one.

Read the rest of this post on Online Media Cultist.

part post syndicated with permission of the site owner