Do we rely too much on Twitter for Events??
Pick up your Messages in an Hour
This week is one of the most active weeks in technology all year. CES and MacWord are both going on and the lag in the popular service Twitter is getting deep. There has been increased popularity in twitter this year that has brought everyone from the hardcore early adopters to the mainstream journalists to use what is essentially a messaging service. Twitter allows you to use an SMS short code to message from your mobile phone as well as use the service with a laptop, smartphone app, or a netbook.
In the past year twitter has become the most popular backchannel application for conferences and has been a popular way people communicate. Here are some tweets from Macworld and CES that are indicative of the way people use twitter.
The Data Flow
On top of the use of twitter as a popular messaging service, the API or data that flows from twitter is constantly being tapped by people who are using the instant flow of message to gain information for everything from marketing to creating custom applications that track certain individuals or keywords. Think of this data stream like the water pressure in your neighborhood. If everyone on your street was outside watering the lawn on full blast, running the dishwasher, and washing their clothes, all at exactly the same time the water pressure would come to a halt. This is the same thing that is going on with twitter. They just don’t have the server power to crank up the flow of data to serve all of the people, desktop and mobile applications, SMS messages, and heavy use that is going on simultaneously.
So what is our reliance on twitter when we go to conferences?
I know that in the past I have used twitter as a mode of instant communication at Podcamps and other events. I never really worried about where everyone would be heading for dinner post-conference because I’d get multiple messages telling me where everyone was heading. I never really worried about being out of touch with a friend that I was traveling with because twitter made it easy to send an SMS. Twitter not only helped me stay in touch with current friends but also to meet people that I knew I would like to meet. A simple message and a meeting place were always very easy to set up via a tweet.
Will this be possible anymore? Do we rely to heavily on this technology?
I am heading to SXSW this year with Best Buy Remix,the company I am acting social media community manager. SXSW is massive! The amount of people there looking to use twitter and it’s services is going to be huge! From live blogging to setting up lunch plans people will rely on twitter to service their needs.
This weeks twitter slowdown under the MacWorld and CES load has proven that if Twitter doesn’t make improvements to it’s infrastructure the service we once all relied on as an instantaneous conference back-channel will basically render itself useless. I predict that the flow of messages coming ou of SXSW will dwarf that of MacWorld and CES. In speculation, this heavy load has potential to put twitter messages up to two hours behind!
What do you do?
I would suggest planning ahead if at all possible. Connect with folks you want to meet up with ahead of time and plan an itinerary for your next event. If you have a core group of people that you want to communicate via a twitter like service try out Identi.ca. A similar messaging network with lower popularity and much less likely to be heavily strained.
I am glad that twitter backed up this week and that I didn’t go to SXSW relying on the service for instant communications. Hopefully, this post will open your eyes to alternative possibilities for communications at your next big event.
Keith Burtis is a social media and digital marketing professional. If you or your company are looking to REV THE ENGINE on your digital efforts contact Keith today! Specialties include: Blog design/Integration, Custom Facebook Pages, Social, Digital and Interactive Content strategies.
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