I’ve always thought that Apple’s success is based on a lot of hype. And that it was a social status accessory rather than the actual device that sells the product and the brand. I have a Macbook but that was because the idea of actually not having to load antivirus programs and firewalls and spyware removers appealed to me. I hope they don’t get too popular that the world will start writing more stuff to attack the Mac OS.

Then I was given an iPhone, the 2G version. It is still running on firmware 1 or something so the App store is beyond my reach. I am not a big fan of the iPhone, but recent firmware changes have of course fixed some of the issues that I had problems with in the first place.

When it was first released, I thought it was not fit to be called a phone. The SMS system was a mess, I can’t copy and paste, I can’t send MMS, it was like well, an iPod with the ability to make calls. Thankfully, they have fixed all of that now.

Then I was given the iPod Touch for Christmas and I was introduced to App stores. And that opened up a whole new world to me. And I began to understand why the world fell in love with the iPhone and iPod Touch. The iPod is not exactly the best music player, with many other brands trumping it in audio quality. The big screen is great but it sucks battery like no other devices.

Let’s face it, the iPod or the iPhone is not perfect as a device. But its salvation is the App store. The ease of using it, downloading an application and everything else about the store pretty much screams “Any idiot can use me”. And when things look so cheap, 99 cents almost everywhere, you wonder how many people have been suckered into clicking that button and paying a lot of 99 cents.

Other brands are starting to take notice and are introducing similar stores but its still not as friendly as the App store. I have used Ovi on the E61i and it could be my phone, but the experience was not one I will recommend. I have yet to see Google Marketplace but when someone quite tech-savvy asked me how to install apps for Android, I knew then, it wasn’t as monkey-proof.

So, my love affair with the iPod is not so much of the device, but rather the applications that I can run on it. Well, mostly games but well, thats the idea of owning a portable entertainment device, no? And other brands should stop looking at churning out phones with super mega specs, but start looking at what people can do with their phone. Oh, and make it monkey-proof as well.

It is undeniable that when things hit mass popularity, advertisers will come and invade. After all, it makes sense when there is a large group of target audience ready to consume the messages they are pouring out. The latest to get hit – Twitter. While I understand the reasons that brands are advertising in Twitter, I think they are missing the point.

The Social Element – Facebook and Twitter

What does these two channel and other countless social media channels have in common? Like the name, the ability to be social. Brands need to go into these channels with the idea that it is a two-way communication. And advertising is pretty much one way.

The whole idea of being present in such channels is the ability to gain instant feedback, or to communicate with your audience. If I needed to see your latest promo without telling you what I think of it, I can stick to radio, TV and the print media. And the chances are the people churning out these twitter ads won’t be able to tell me more because they are just told to tweet what is in the brief.

As long as the 140 characters get out, their job is done. Where is the social element? Pretty much missing from all this.

Its Kinda Annoying Too

Let’s compare the different types of digital advertising to driving. Banner ads, pop-ups and now Twitter advertisement are the different ads you see while driving. Except, there are of course differences. Banner ads in websites and blogs are like billboards. You can have tens of thousands of them but it can still be a blind spot.

Pop-ups are like advertisements boards that are thrown at you when you turn into a road. It doesn’t happen in real life but in online, since it is not life threatening, it is just plain annoying. End of the day, I might even stop visiting a site if it constantly has pop-up ads. Thank god for pop-up blockers, which then makes you wonder why companies still pay for pop-up ads when nobody will see them.

Twitter ads… is like having your friend in the car, talking to you about a whole load of subjects and all of a sudden he plugs for a product. Annoying isn’t it? Worse of all, you don’t know if he actually likes the brand or he is just doing it for the money.

Are You Or Are You Not?

I follow people on Twitter for a reason. Their opinions. And when I don’t know if they actually like the brand, agree with the approach, think an event is cool or not, then what is the point? No amount of hashtags to separate their real tweets from ad tweets will be sufficient because if you don’t believe in it, why endorse it? And are you really endorsing it? You can see the dilemma I am in.

I went on Twitter ads once, and I did a campaign for some cup. I wasn’t a big fan of the cup (I know many people were) but I still posted the Tweet because well, it paid. But I have since stopped because I don’t believe that Twitter will ever be a proper channel for such ads.

So, there you have it, my opinion on why Twitter ads don’t work. Many of you may not agree so go ahead and let me know your views.