Twitter’s ease of use is a double-edged sword for businesses

by Mitch Joel,  MontrealGazette.com

It was another week of Twitter getting mainstream media accolades as news of bin Laden killed by Navy SEALs lit the social media channel afire with chatter. Twitter’s role in breaking the story amplified when it was revealed Abbottabad, Pakistan, resident and IT consultant Sohaib Athar (Twitter name: @ ReallyVirtual), unknowingly busted the SEALs’ cover when he tweeted: “Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)” as the dramatic military operation was happening.

Twitter is not a centralized media channel vetting news for both accuracy and journalistic integrity. Twitter is an agnostic publishing platform. It’s a publishing platform that allows anyone (for free) to publish a thought in 140-characters (or less) instantly to the world via any type of connected device (computer, smartphone, etc.). Twitter didn’t break the news about bin Laden. It also didn’t break the news in 2009 when US Airways Flight 1549 crash-landed in New York’s Hudson River. …..

…..

There are lessons within these stories every business must be attuned to. In a world that is shifting from mass media to mass content, it’s the effortless and simple platforms that will win – the ones that remove the friction for people to share with others. The content within these channels must be relevant – not just to what a business is selling, but to the consumers (first and foremost). The content must be worth talking about and worth sharing.