Connecting to the Creative Geek

By Ethan Lyon, Senior Writer

The rise in Twitter users has been nothing short of remarkable. It has captured world-wide media attention and consequently sparked an explosion of users — from approximately 2 million monthly visits a year ago to 27 million today.

In our exploration of social media, we have draw several parallels to our pop culture trends. We’ve found Twitter is in-line with our Creative Geek trend. The Creative Geek trend is about creating tech geeks by infusing creativity into technology. In Twitter’s case, the microblogging site was discovered by and for techies, and is extending to appeal to non-techies. Twitter is riding this new trend in pop culture by offering an accessible, manageable platform that allows users to express themselves:

Accessible
To cross the chasm from early adopters to early majority, it’s essential to develop a product that is accessible. Twitter is a highly accessible web service. The premise revolves around one key element: short, 140 character messages. What you do with those messages is completely up to you.

Apple was built on a similar premise: cut the fat. A cell phone doesn’t need dozens of buttons. No, five would do. Overcomplicating a product can create a barrier-to-entry for many users.

Self-Expression

Self-expression puts the creative in the creative geek. Just as Apple apps or Wii Mii’s allow for personal expression, hashtag games, other platforms that use the Twitter API and tweets follow a similar concept. #HesNotThatIntoYou is an example of a Twitter-type game. He’s not into you because… Twitter games allow for users to get creative and show an edgy side.

Twitter is also a platform to share opinions, favorite links and industry insights to shape your personal or company brand. Mypict.me is the #1 most visited site by Twitter users, according to Quantcast.com. The photo sharing site illustrates the creative personality of Twitter users.

Manageable
Though Twitter is not inherently complicated — it’s very stripped down in fact — it can be re-purposed and customized based on your objective. As Twitter is an API, it can be re-purposed into many different formats to create a unique user experience. HooteSuite, TweetDeck, TwitPic, WeFollow and TweetPhoto are several uses of the Twitter API. The latter websites are the top sites Twitter users follow according to Quantcast.

Twitter is riding the crest of a very large wave. Part of that wave is comprised of creative geeks that might not be tech-savvy, but enjoy using sites like Twitter because it helps them express opinions and perspective. As the Creative Geek trend picks up momentum, we should expect Twitter’s user-base continue to expand.

Image by firoz11 from Stock.Xchng

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