Last September the NY Times did a terrific job of explaining microblogging,
including the key elements of Facebook and Twitter. However, one thing
has always bothered me about Twitter and Facebook status updates.
I believe that there is nothing new under the sun. Consumer behavior
is typically consistent, and usually when you find a very fast growing
online phenomena, you can find a popular real world analogue to that
behavior. I think that there needs to be a familiar cognitive “hook”
for any new online activity to really grab consumer mindshare. If the
online activity parallels a familiar offline activity, or a familiar
activity in another online medium, then you can see very rapid growth.
Examples include MySpace’s profile customization (analogous to buddy
icons in instant messaging, .sig files in email and even stickers on
highschool lockers), Stardolls (analogous to real world dolls) and Digg
(analogous to forwarding viral emails).
I’ve never been able to pinpoint a real world analogue to
microblogging. However, I think I may have thought of a candidate –
Holiday letters.
Sending holiday cards is very widespread. Almost every family sends
them. Many people include a letter with their holiday cards that tells
the recipients what they have been doing all year. Holiday mailing
lists are often fairly broad and include close friends, business
associates, and people who were once close friends that have since
faded into the background. In particular, old classmates, colleagues
from past jobs, friends from cities you once lived in but don’t any
more are all prominent categories of holiday card recipient.
A holiday letter’s primary purpose is to share what is going on in
your life, and through that to maintain closeness. These days, the
cards often include family photos. The letter is part bragging, part
travelogue, but always carefully constructed to show the writer in the
best light. A good holiday letter is a little bit funny, a little bit
personal, but it manages to catalogue achievements. We vacationed in
Hawaii. Little Timmy made the football team. Dad got a promotion. Jane
got into law school. You’ve read them before.
Twitterers and Facebook status junkies, does this sound familiar?
Similar audience, similar objectives, just smaller scale. It isn’t
getting into law school that you tweet, it’s eating at French Laundry,
or being at SXSW. It still burnishes your image. Microblogging is a
more continuous, lighter weight online version of holiday letters.
What do readers think? Can they think of a better real world analogy? I’m all ears.
(For more from Jeremy, visit his blog)
(Image source: jolly-holiday-letters.com)
