How much would Americans pay for Twitter?
Zero. Zip. Nada.
At least that is one of the findings in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism’s (USC) annual report on our Digital Future.
Just under half of Americans report that they have used Twitter, but not one of the people surveyed said they would be willing to pay. As hated as online advertising is, people said they would rather put up with ads than have to pay out of pocket.
I have long suspected that much of the appeal of Twitter, and other similar programs, comes from being free. That explains the inanity of many tweets: you get what you pay for. With a free program, people almost feel compelled to use it, usually badly.
Frankly, I think there is a wearing off of the thrill as the average person finds out that he or she has to keep on tweeting if one is going to be a true tweeter. I have noted on my Twitter feeds that fewer and fewer tweets are coming from individuals; most come from organizations or from independent consultants trying to get work.
Now it could be that it is just the summer doldrums and that the numbers will pick up again in September.
But I wonder if some people are tiring of the pressure to tweet. Time will tell.
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