Twitter can rebound from the blow Google has delivered and still keep their ecosystem, however, they do have a lot to account for. Let's look at Circles...
Circles seem very similar to Lists on Twitter. The primary difference is audiences. It's trivial to post on G+ to a particular audience. However on Twitter, it's black and white. You either tweet it public or you don't. I propose a different skew on the Retweet button. Wouldn't it be nice if you could Retweet to a particular list and the followers of that list would be the only people that could see that tweet? Sound familiar? I'm sure it does... Sounds like a G+ Circle to me. I'm sure there is something in the works over on Twitter as we speak to offer some of these capabilities BUT...
The inherent problem with doing so would mean an architectural change within Twitter. There in lies a major hurdle. Twitter relies for the most part, 3rd party applications to handle it's interface. I know this to be true because 99% of the tweets I read are from TweetDeck, HootSuite, SilverBird, Seesmic, to name a few... Most of the tweets are not from the web.
If Twitter changed it's API, then you will only be able to use the new features from the web. Rest assured, the applications would race to add in these new features, but that's another issue altogether: Application Cohesiveness. Why am I offered, as a user, a new capability but only able to use it via the web? I remember not too long ago, the API changed on Twitter to handle DM's in a different manner. That forced me to deal with an error in Silver Bird for several days until it was fixed. You can only imagine the disconnect I felt with Twitter over that period of time.
G+ has the upper hand in this arena. There's one point of contact, the web. There are mobile apps for the Droid and iPhone, but updates for these apps are pushed automatically by none other than Google themselves. How can you beat that? For right now, G+ is keeping the API closed and I agree with the decision. The masses must now how to use the system before 3rd party apps go bonkers with it. And this is just how Circles affects Twitter. Let's look at Hangouts...
There's NOTHING like it on Twitter. Nothing even close! If you have been following my stream, then you may have noticed me sharing my hangout sessions. Every time one has ended, I've shared it and commented on the quality and effectiveness. I've enjoyed it so much, that I'm putting together a #SharePint this Saturday and I'm going to stream the even through the G+ Hangout. I've heard some talk about this being a form of ChatRoulette, but seriously, USE IT! It's enabled my team to not only be more productive, but I've been able to actually meet/talk/share thoughts Jim Bob Howard without ever actually shaking his hand in person. The old adage comes to mind: Don't knock it, 'til you try it. Change is difficult, but as IT professionals, this shouldn't come as a surprise. Major change happens every three years or so. Embrace it.
So where does Twitter fit in my realm of social these days? I love SharePoint <period /> It's an excellent platform and in order for me to continue to learn and share my thoughts with the community, I must maintain my status on Twitter. There are a few people that I follow that are holding out and that's a concern for me. SharePoint's community collaboration was built on Twitter and I'm not sure if that's something that will change. Change is difficult, but I for one and tired of using DM's as an Instant Messenger. Twitter wasn't built for that... G+ was. Let's move to a more collaborative environment, since that's what we are all here doing...
Just in case you were wondering, I did post this originally on G+.
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