Twitter Reaching Saturation Point?

If there’s one constant in the world of Twitter, it’s that there will always be something new to try, and the past few weeks have been no exception.

Agents making use of the micro-blogging network will probably already be aware of tools such as Twitter browser TweetDeck and professional client HootSuite to keep everything organised.

Now, HootSuite has added the ability to update your Facebook and LinkedIn status through its interface, allowing users to schedule status updates in advance.

mashable.com is excited about the new version of the Tweetie iPhone application, which not only includes support for Twitter Lists and the new retweet feature, but also has geolocation built in. According to cnet.com, the TweetDeck application has just followed suit, with the release of a new version incorporating Lists, retweets and geolocation.

Geolocation seems to be the next big thing for Twitter. Its geotagging API, officially launched on 19 November, is integrated into a number of applications that allow users to show where their tweets have come from if they opt in. There won’t be any changes on the twitter.com website “yet”, Twitter says, but it’s safe to assume the option will be added soon.

There has also been talk of Twitter and the M word – monetisation. techcrunch.com recently reported the news that Twitter Japan was planning to move to a paid premium content model, however this later turned out to be a “misunderstanding”, according to the company.

Meanwhile, Twitter chief operating officer Dick Costolo told the audience at techcrunch.com’s RealTime CrunchUp that the company has an advertising business in the works, and that it will be “fascinating. Non-Traditional. And people will love it. It’s going to be really cool.”

In amongst all the new developments and speculation, there’s a question mark hanging over Twitter: online statistics seem to be pointing towards flattening, or even dwindling, user numbers. techcrunch.com quotes comScore figures from October that show the twitter.com website had 58.3 million visitors worldwide, down from 58.4 million in September.

According to venturebeat.com, US-based figures from Hitwise had twitter.com accounting for a mere 0.14 percent of all US Internet visits at the end of October, which is down from a high point just above 0.20 percent seen in the middle of the year.

But as techcrunch.com points out, Twitter clients like Seesmic and TweetDeck are still growing. venturebeat.com also concedes that around 80 percent of Twitter users do not access it through the twitter.com website. So the other possibility is that, rather than losing visitors, Twitter is just seeing them via different sources.

propertyadguru.com would love to hear your views on Twitter’s new features and the issues of its user numbers and monetisation. And, of course, we always want to know the answer to that eternal question: is your Twitter use paying off for your business?

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