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The implications for PR if Twitter goes away

The reports of Twitter’s death have been greatly exaggerated — but what if they’re not?  Personally, I feel like PR people might be happy when Twitter finally gives up its ghost or falls into disuse.  To many brands, twitter is an uncontrollable firehose that can easily get away from you and turn from a promotional campaign to extreme crisis management.

One of the reasons why there’s even a fear that Twitter might die on the vine is because it’s not pulling its weight in revenue. The truth is, everyone does advertising better than Twitter.  Every time Twitter pushes for new revenue channels, the twitterverse pushes back and the Twitter overlords fold and retreat. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, reddit, YouTube and even Snapchat have integrated ads so thoroughly and shamelessly for so long that there’s not fight left in any of their ‘verses.

The transition has already begun. PR agencies are already doing an amazing job engaging on Instagram and Facebook — but I would focus my energy on Snapchat and YouTube stars as well. The same kind of high-profile publicity — and controversy — that used to find its home on Twitter now finds itself on YouTube and Twitch. Over the last couple of years, even mainstream news channels have been using Instagram as a source for soft news, not just TMZ.

If I can remember far enough back, Twitter started off being a news source for celebrities. From the latest @justinbieber news to what the kids are doing to a local news staple do mandatory byline-fodder to the go-to communications platform for @POTUS (all your tapps belong to us).

There’s a limitation to Instagram and the others, though, because Twitter’s the only by-default public social sharing platform that is quick enough to fuel the real time web. Private and encrypted chat programs might be fueling intelligence but open source intelligence — the kind that fuels PR and crisis shops — damands public and persistent social media sharing.

Instagram can surely be open and public, but there are a lot more protected Instagram profiles than there are Twitter profiles. And Facebook is a walled garden, requiring extra effort to make each profile public, though it does have excellent brand pages.  And while so many platforms cross-publish and cross-share their Instagram and Facebook content real-time with Twitter, it rarely goes the other way. So, while that will be a pity — losing the OSINT firehose — there will be adaptations.  Still, to this day, YouTube is the least understood and least appreciated online community ever and also happens to be the number-two most-used search engines online, just under Google Search.

Twitter is more alive and vibrant today than ever before. It’s become as essential to real-time communication as amateur radio, broadcast radio and television, the cellular spectrum, POTS dial tone, water, sewage, electricity, and the internet. But it’s not uniquely essential to public relations, marketing, or advertising any more.

Do you have all your eggs in your Twitter basket? It’s time to diversify. Who knows when @realDonaldTrump will jump the shark and bring Twitter down with it? Don’t let that happen.

Feel free to own the yacht but hire a crew if you’re not yet seaworthy. If you get my drift and want to adopt the yachting lifestyle yourself but either don’t have the mad sailing skills yourself, don’t yet posses a world-class crew, and don’t know yet where to go, then you should give me a call or reach out me by email — so I can help you pilot your vessel now, in the tranquil blue-green shallows of the Caribbean, as well as in the roughest seas and into — as well as out of — the storm.

If you’d like to chat more, call me at +1 (202) 869-3210 Ext 0001  email me, or feel free to self-schedule a 15-minute call, a 30-minute call, or a 60-minute call with me.

It’s now or never.

Chris Abraham

Chris Abraham, digital strategist and technologist, is a leading expert in digital: search engine optimization (SEO), online relationship management (ORM), Internet privacy, Wikipedia curationsocial media strategy, and online public relations with a focus on blogger outreachinfluencer engagement, and Internet crisis response, with the digital PR and social media marketing agency Gerris digital. [Feel free to self-schedule a 15-minute call, a 30-minute call, or a 60-minute call with me] A pioneer in online social networks and publishing, with a natural facility for anticipating the next big thing, Chris is an Internet analyst, web strategy consultant and adviser to the industries' leading firms. Chris Abraham specializes in web technologies, including content marketing, online collaboration, blogging, and consumer generated media.  Chris Abraham was named a Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer by Forbes, #1 PR2.0 Influencer by Traackr, and top-10 social media influencers by Marketwire; and, for what it’s worth, Chris has a Klout of 79 the last time he looked. Chris Abraham started doing web development back in 1994, SEO in 1998, blogging in 1999, influencer engagement in 2003, social media strategy in 2005, blogger outreach in 2006, and Wikipedia curation in 2007. Feel free to self-schedule a 15-minute call, a 30-minute call, or a 60-minute call. If you want to know the services that Chris offers check out Services If you want to work with Chris use the Contact Form You're welcome to follow me via Social Media You can learn more about Chris over in About Chris writes a lot so check out the Blog Chris offers webinars so check Events

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