“Why won’t people shut up about Twitter?”

I’ve heard this question a lot over the last 2 years. I’ve even said it a time or two. So why do we obsess about Twitter?

Remember the good old days (3-4 yrs ago)? Before Social Media it was just New Media (Chris Garrett‘s still holding on to that one). Then EVERYTHING was 2.0. Remember last year, or even two years ago, when everyday TechCrunch or ReadWriteWeb would write about 10 new cool startups or Web apps that really made you stop in amazement or got you excited about the space? It was Nirvana for those of us with Shiny Object-Syndrome.

Better Faster Monetizable

Now most of the stuff we see is itterative innovation on what someone else did 2+ years ago (how many buzz monitoring tools do we need?). People are making things better, with better UI and faster. It’s the old better-faster-cheaper scenario, except they can’t do cheaper because it’s all already free. I guess now it’s Better Faster Monetizable.

The 3 things that still get people talking daily are Facebook, the iPhone and Twitter. Why? 3rd party apps. Facebook less so these days and even the iPhone is loosing some buzz, but Twitter app buzz is still going strong and we’re just getting started. I think Facebook and the iPhone are loosing steam because how exciting is throwing sheep and iFarting? Temporarily amusing, yes but there’s no business advantage to be had there.

When will it end?

People are just now starting to realize the power of Twitter (honestly I don’t think anyone, including the founders have totally realized this). But with each new Twitter app that comes out we start to see a glimpse into the ecosystem that will someday be realized. Whether you believe Twitter will be the next Ma’ Bell or not there is no denying now that the Twitterverse will be huge.

Don’t get me wrong there are still some other cool products/apps out there: FriendFeed is the what Twitter was 2 years ago, Zemanta continues to amaze me every week and I’m sure we’ll see more in the months/years to come. But right here, right now and for at least the rest of 09 Twitter is the Prom Queen.  You’ll notice that my reference to Twitter has graduated from the crazy girlfriend to the Prom Queen (not mutually exclusive BTW).

Right now Twitter doesn’t have a business model. In fact they are quick to dispell rumors that they are even working on one. Right now it’s all about what’s possible. And NOTHING get’s innovators going like possibilities without thought of monetization.

And honestly, while I’m all about business models, it’s still fun to not think about that and just marvel at how cool something is.

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