In what has emerged as Web 2.0’s latest phenom, Twitter’s membership is growing by leaps and bounds. According to comScore Media Metrix, Twitter saw 9.3 million visitors in March. That’s an increase of more than five million visitors, or 131 percent, from February.
What’s causing Twitter’s exponential growth? Is it the media attention? The Google acquisition rumors? The viral nature of Web 2.0 technologies? All of the above?
“One interesting theory alluded to by several people in last week’s discussion was that the mainstream media attention on Twitter is really helping fuel its growth. And there may certainly be some merit to that,” said Andrew Lipsman, a senior industry analyst at comScore. “It seems you can’t get through a typical newscast anymore without some mention of Twitter.”
Twitter’s Media Spin
Lipsman offers some examples of the media attention. If you watched the news this past week, he noted, you might have heard that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich leveled criticism of President Obama’s response to the Somali pirate standoff over Twitter. In this case, a micro-blogging site was used as a politician’s primary media outlet.
“It just goes to show you how much social media, and specifically a site like Twitter, have become woven into the fabric of our daily media lives,” Lipsman said. “News broadcasters like CNN’s Rick Sanchez have actually incorporated Twitter into their live broadcasts, and it seems like just about every other journo these days has a presence on Twitter.”
Lipsman also noted how Twitter is turning average citizens into journalists, such as when news and pictures of Flight 1549 landing in the Hudson River broke on Twitter. Like it or not, he said, Twitter is quickly revolutionizing the way our news ecosystem operates, from journalist to consumer, and blurring the lines in between.
The Twitter Overlap
“Given the natural synergies between Twittering…