Few weeks ago, a programmer at Twitter accidentally accessed something new. He discovered that when he held down the heart icon, he was given a number of emoji from which to select. Because he of course has access to the developer iOS, he is able to view what developers are working on and see things that regular users cannot. And the developers at Twitter are obviously working on expanding emoji responses, so that Twitter users have many more options when they respond to tweets, 36 in all. Right now, users have the heart, which replaced the star, in order to signify that they “like” something. What the programmer discovered were the following emoji:
The revelation that developers at Twitter are working on a new response tool was met with mixed reactions. Some are accusing Twitter of simply copying Facebook, which is right now testing new response emoji’s in Spain and Ireland. Mark Zuckerberg, when asked about the testing in the two countries, stated that for years, Facebook users have been asking for a “dislike” button, so that when something is posted on their walls that is objectionable or with which they disagree, they have more options than just to delete the post. The emojis being tested on Facebook include the following:
Others, who don’t care whether the emoji response tool is an attempt to copy Facebook or not, state that this is exactly what Twitter should be doing, and that the time has come for users to have far more options than the heart – options that are much more specific to show reactions and levels of reactions.
Twitter and Research-Based Decisions
It may just be possible that Twitter is using the results of its own research to make decisions about changes it makes. Recently, it began to allow images based upon such research; it changed the star to a heart permanently based upon research showing that the heart was being used far more than the star was before. Taking a research-driven approach to what it does is just smart, and all indications, from its own data blog last week, are that the emoji changes being considered are research-based as well. The idea is to provide users many more options to express themselves – something that social media is supposed to encourage.
Data Collected by Twitter
Twitter has been tracking the use of emoji in tweets since 2014, specifically account holders’ use of emoji in the 140-character posts about TV shows. Their data shows that the use of emoji’s in tweets has increased from 9.8% when they were first introduced in 2014 to about 14% in July of this year. Twitter assumes that this increase crosses over into other areas of tweeting as well. Here is just one example from Twitter’s research. These are the most commonly used emoji’s in tweets about TV drama.
Using emoji in tweets tells the reader a lot without using any words, and allows Twitter users to convey more than they could with 140 characters. And Twitter is not alone in its belief that emoji’s are really important. The Oxford Dictionary “word of the year” is not a word at all. It is an emoji that means “crying from laughter.”
When emoji are all lined up, as they are above, it’s easy to see why Twitter may want to introduce its response tool to encourage more discussion without having to change its character limit.
Demographic Information Makes the Emoji Response Tool a Smart Idea
Toward the end of its data blog post on TV emoji research, Twitter also pitched some other very interesting information – the demographics of who is using emoji’s the most. Here is the infographic that Twitter posted.
The important information is not so much the percentage of male and female use of emoji in tweets. The really important data is in the pie graph that shows the age brackets of the Twitter users who use emoji in their tweets. Clearly, younger account holders are using far more than are older users.
The logical conclusion that Twitter has obviously reached is that it needs to meet the needs and desires of the two age groups who use emoji the most. These are the Twitter users they want to keep “within the fold,” as they are the users who will stay for many years, if they are satisfied with how they can use Twitter as a social media platform. Meeting these needs and desires will continue to attract new users from those age brackets as well. The following is being embraced by Twitter as a strategy, and rightly so:
- It has to continue to offer tools that appeal to the younger two demographics on the pie chart, who are increasingly using Twitter as a part of their daily lives
- The habits of the two demographics are to present and respond to tweets quickly and move on. They want the ability to demonstrate their responses in a matter of seconds. Emoji allow this to happen.
- The research will obviously continue. Twitter has a strong mission to continue to evaluate social trends and to find ways to accommodate them on its platform.
- While others may see these accommodations and adaptations as “copying,” who cares? The goal is to consistently improve the functionality of the channel for those who use it most. If they do not keep on top of this, users will simply go elsewhere.
- Success for any social media platform is that it offers products and services that will keep users attentive and engaged. In short, their relevance of purpose will determine their success or lack thereof.
Conclusion
Twitter is doing the smart thing. It is looking at what other social platforms are doing; it is conducting its own research; and it is responding to that research by taking initiatives that will keep and grow its popularity. It is what any business would do.
from Darlene Milligan http://ift.tt/1lunAUQ via transformational marketing
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1SP3xek
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