Twitter’s much anticipated launch on to the New York Stock Exchange created even more of a buzz than had been predicted. Twitter’s pre-float price was $26 per share; this immediately rose to $50 when they floated the company, up a full 92%. Though the share price eventually settled at $44.90 it still enjoyed a 73% increase on their price.
Twitter’s chief executive, Dick Costello commented: “We’ve had consistent tremendous growth across the globe for the past few years,” adding that they would be following a “clean, methodical” process. This was presumably a reference to Facebook’s own floatation on the New York Stock Exchange last year which suffered a series of setbacks at the outset.
So will Twitter enjoy the same successes that Facebook has? I suppose that’s all to do with where it goes next. Personally I feel that it has to offer its users something else if it’s going to stay as one of the mainstream social media channels. Despite its proliferation in the market it still has not managed to reach anywhere near the levels of users that Facebook has worldwide.
Despite criticism over Facebook, where it differs from Twitter is in its ties to its users. Not only is it a history of article links, inane witterings and heated conversations, unlike Twitter it doesn’t stop there but also serves as a giant, online photo album and diary. Many of its users won’t even have copies of all Facebook photos either backed up or in cloud storage. As a result I think that this would leave many more reticent to leave Facebook than they would be about leaving Twitter.
And when comparing Twitter to the up and coming social media apps it’s obvious that Twitter’s offerings are behind the times. Users want more content, more ways to communicate and engage and they need new ways to grab and keep their attention. With mini-videos, content sharing in the form of Snapchat etc, Twitter really needs to up its game.
The future of Twitter as it stands lies not to be in its original concept but in new products such as Vine. This app that offers users the chance to post and view speedy 6 second videos has attention deficit Generation Y by storm. As a result, new apps are looking to this type of model to emulate, rather than copying Twitter.
If they do continue to invest in new social media that is engaging, and they do stick to the clean and strategic process they suggest then there is the chance of their ongoing success as a public company. What they will do, if anything, to Twitter itself remains to be seen.