Twitter lags behind Facebook as the largest social networking site. However, the unique format of Twitter allows people to gain millions of followers by sharing their activities, thoughts and opinions with only 140 characters. According to We Follow (http://www.wefollow.com) actor, Ashton Kutcher, @aplusk has 3.9 million followers and counting. Twitter’s system expands one-to-one communication so that one individual tweet can reach millions of people.
Twitter has not only created a new communication avenue for users, but also increase their online popularity. Both celebrities and “Average Joes” have found that Twitter has helped create and extend their “fifteen minutes of fame.”
Kutcher can be labeled as the unofficial celebrity endorser of Twitter. This past spring, Kutcher was the first Twitter user to reach one million followers. Since then, Kutcher has spoken at a variety of social media and advertising conferences during Advertising Week. He also helped Oprah with her firs tweet.
“We’re at a place now with social media where a single person’s voice can be as powerful as an entire news network — that is the power of the social web,” said Kutcher in a videoconference with Oprah.
Twitter users such as Stefanie Michaels @AdventureGirl and Pete Cashmore, @Mashable have also found fame in Twitterwood. @AdventureGir has gained 1.2 million followers by tweeting travel and adventure. Cashmore is founder of the social networking news blog Mashable. His knowledge and expertise in the social-sphere has made him the #1 social media tweeter according to We Follow. Although Cashmore is providing a service to the social community, he has inadvertently gained a celebrity status in this community.
“Twitter delivers more engaged traffic than other social networks, and the key effect is the way they get involved on the blog, talking about issues and commenting on posts to a greater extent,” said Cashmore in an interview with the blog Econsultancy.
Although some people use Twitter to elevate their social status, there are millions of others that use the service to connect with friends, read news and research. Twitter is still in the early adaptor stage, and most of the people who have adapted are trying to find their own niche on Twitter. The early users of Twitter who have found their niche are the ones that become celeb Tweeters.
