Business may be more cautious to jump on the Twitter bandwagon thanks to the recent hacking, says a Computerworld article. The attack from earlier this week caused pandemonium when a bug was revealed that caused messages and even pornographic material to be sent around the site’s users’ accounts. Besides the bug itself, companies are worried about the way that Twitter handled the situation. “Everyone had it figured out before Twitter issued its announcement…They need to behave a little bit more like an enterprise player would,” says Brad Shimmin, an analyst at Current Analysis (“Will Twitter attack drive off IT interest?”).
Apparently Twitter is trying to develop itself into an enterprise player. As of May 2010 “business oriented features” are being tested to make the site more business friendly. These new features would turn Twitter into a fantastic IT tool as well as communications channel for businesses. Companies will be able to see which tweets are receiving the most views, as well as who is looking at them. Maybe this means a new type of marketing will have to arise where the market segments are different types of Twitter users.
Until then, businesses should not treat themselves as any other Twitter user. Though using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook is an innovative tool, more development needs to be made to properly execute promotion and communication. Without this development companies are making themselves and their images vulnerable to the same hacks, viruses, and worms that we have all been thwarted by before. The difference for us is that if a virus sends around a ridiculous email we can just tell our couple hundred friends that it was a mistake; but for a company, hundreds of thousands of current and potential customers are now questioning the integrity of the company.
Twitter could become the greatest customer relations tool available if it plays its cards right. Companies like Zappos and JetBlue have already begun to utilize it as a way to keep their customer’s up-to-date with the most current information possible. It allows an intimate customer to business relationship even with large corporations. But hacks such as this week’s affect the image of the business, not just Twitter. When using third party outlets such as Twitter or Facebook, the company runs the risk of allowing the outlet to represent them through good and through bad. I think companies should practice caution until Twitter can prove that instances like this week’s won’t become a pattern.
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