Tweeps, Kid Rock Just Called Us Gay
Could Twitter be peaking? It seemed that just a month or so ago our little 140 character club was growing rapidly. It was all the rage on the night time talk show circuit and was even peppering sitcom banter. Maybe it is just my perception that the Twitter buzz is cooling or it is just settling in to a steady rhythm. By simply looking at the available numbers it seems impossible that Twitter could even be scratching the surface. Oh, but then there is Kid Rock.
Robert James Ritchey (AKA Kid Rock), said just this week in an interview with Rolling Stone that Twitter is gay. The mere mention of Twitter sent ‘Kid’ into a rant that seems to indicate the question has come up before.
“If one more person asks me if I have a Twitter, I’m going to tell them, ‘Twitter this sh**, mother ****er. I don’t have anything to say and what I do have to say is not that relevant. Anything that is relevant, I’m going to bottle it up and then squeeze it onto a record somewhere,” Kid Rock said in an interview with Rolling Stone.
When Kid Rock uses the words ‘bottle’ and ’squeeze’ I’m compelled to scrub my hands with hot water and anti-bacterial soap. But I’m very pleased to see that Bob Ritchey took some time away from his busy schedule of receiving lap dances and skank-chasing to acknowledge to the media that he has nothing relevant to say. It is shocking, however, that the lyrical genius that brought us such life-altering prose as “Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy” and “Bitch talk your s*** just never let me get that ass cuz… I’ll f*** u blind bitch,” does not believe that he has anything relevant to add to the great electronic human consciousness. Oh yeah, you won’t tweet but your tour does.
It is a sad but true reality that the vapid and moronic have the right to express themselves in a public forum just as much as anyone else. After all, Kid Rock has been doing it for years. But are ‘Mr. Rock’s’ sentiments symptomatic of a larger cooling of the Twitter fever?
It is well known that Twitter is very popular with Kid’s celebrity brethren. Just this morning P. Diddy tweeted “Its Friday people let’s get it!!!! Let’s go!!!!!” Two days ago Shaquille O’Neal said “Peter Max , I’m just sending you a shout out I’m honored to be working with you.”
Hey guys, Kid Rock said you’re gay. Let’s go kick his ass or at least wash his hair.
Actual Twitter user statistics are hard to come by. In June @DanZarella compiled the most recent State of the Twittersphere report. Using the data collected from the 4.5 million Twitter Grader users, Hub Spot found high numbers of people that do not use Twitter to its fullest potential.
The HubSpot report found that 79.79 percent of users do not provide a home page URL, 75.86 percent do not have a bio on their profile, 55.5 percent are not following anyone, 54.88 percent have never tweeted and 52.71 percent have no followers. The previous report found the opposite to be true. For example in the prior report HubSpot found that 80 percent of users had a bio on their profile. These numbers and their dramatic shift are not surprising.
In technology, adoption and usage comes in cycles. The early adopters are the people that try everything first and are eager to find new technologies. Over time more and more people join in and the adoption curve begins to look like a hockey stick. In January, Adam Ostrow reported in Mashable that Twitter grew 752 percent in 2008. Just three months later Ostrow reported that Twitters growth had reached 1,382 percent.
Companies and individuals are figuring out new and better ways to integrate Twitter into their daily lives. As the numbers of new users increases so do the numbers of those that are still figuring out how to best use its various features. The executives at Twitter probably still don’t know how to completely leverage, promote and use it to its fullest potential. This happens with every tool. Microsoft Excel has been around for many years. It is hard to imagine that there is a single seasoned computer user that has never heard of Excel. But how many people know how to use every feature? Just like every other tool, Twitter users will become more adept with time and experience.
It is highly doubtful that Twitter is peaking. The user base grows dramatically every month. The growth curve may level off but it is unlikely that it will stall. Nothing can sustain growth of over 1000 percent forever. Twitter is going to be a part of our daily lives for a very long time.
And then there is Kid Rock. This whole story reminds me of an illiterate adult being taught to read. They get frustrated and even lash out at the teacher or the book. Kid, no one is saying you are illiterate. After all you wrote “Cruisin’ thru town in my jacked up truck eyes open cuz I’m scopin’ for a big butt slut.” This is nothing short of sheer brilliance straight from the lips of angels. But come on now pimp, don’t hate the playa, hate the game. You don’t have to hate on Twitter, just ask for a little help. It shouldn’t be too hard. Your tour is tweeting for you mister hypocrite, just ask someone on the bus.
Everyone else you know is tweeting every day. Wow, you sure do know a lot of “gay” people.
