Twitter's death knell

CRN's Doug Woodburn's entry into the Twittersphere shows it has gone mass market

By Doug Woodburn, CRN

When I adopt any technology it is a sure-fire sign it has peaked.

So 21 April may turn out to be a key date tomorrow's historians focus on as they attempt to trace Twitter's demise.

Yes, after enduring months of stick from my colleagues, I finally bit the bullet and joined the 140-characters-or-fewer social networking blog last month - @DougWoodburn

And since Twitter may not have long to go, I'm keen to make the most of it while it's still here.

A distribution exec welcomed me to Twitter yesterday. Noticing he had exactly the same number of followers, I challenged him to a race to the 100 mark, which he accepted with relish.

I joined Facebook just as my early-adopter friends had begun cursing it as old hat and were moving onto the next big thing. Based on my form to date, it will be at least
2030 before I invest in my first tablet PC.

While Twitter is still growing rapidly with over 200 million registered users globally, my arrival into the Twittersphere signals it has entered mass-adopter phase. Four years after its launch, it is beginning to reach the technology laggards.

Are we now nearing the top of the curve? Will Twitter be rapidly superseded by the next social media tool? Will the worries over celebrities' right to privacy - such as we have seen with super-injunction debacle - bring the whole thing crashing down before I've even re-tweeted my first hash tag?

Or does Twitter have the staying power to prove me wrong? Let us know what you think.

One thing that's clear is that firms in the channel have seized Twitter with both hands as they look for new ways to communicate with partners. With that in mind, look out for our list of the top channel tweeters next week.

More importantly, can I beat this other fella into three figures?