Microbloggers are having trouble being interesting, a new study says. So they write more often, just to have something to say. The top 5 most frequent postings on microblogging sites like Twitter, Jaiku and Mobile Facebook are “working,” “home,” “work,” “lunch,” and “sleeping”. Hardly the stuff that would seem enchanting to most - and it isn't. Most newcomers drop out soon after registering.
Like in any form of media, microbloggers want to keep their audience interested so anything that will lead to a comment is worth a try. Volume matters, according to an analysis by researchers from Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT), Google and Elisa which also showed that microbloggers sometimes put in teasers to postings or highlight aspects of their everyday experiences but, perhaps due to publicity of the postings, generally avoid actually revealing intimate emotions or experiences.
Researchers Antti Oulasvirta, Esko Lehtonen, Esko Kurvinen ja Mika Raento wanted to understand the essence of everyday use and analyzed a dataset of 400,000 messages in Jaiku.
Microblogging works because of the total control users have over their postings but it is a hobby that seems to require a significant investment of time which many users cannot devote. Users who are willing to post daily and gather around them a large group of followers are the most successful microbloggers.
In fact, a small supercore of the Jaiku population received over 50% of all comments in the system, while a large part of newcomers found it hard to build and keep an audience and dropped out quite soon after registering.
The results are going to be published in an upcoming special issue of the Personal and Ubiquitous Computing journal.
