Microblogging: the IM of the 90’s

Microblogging is presently enjoying an explosive growth phase, with Twitter being “all the rage” these days. But other microblogging sites are coming online in droves. It is creating a fragmented marketplace with users not sure what platform to use. Although the competition between rival microblogging services promotes innovation, the fragmented market threatens to produce the same kind of balkanization occurred within the instant messaging (IM) space. Instant message users address this problem by using increasingly ubiquitous multiprotocol chat clients like Pidgin and Trillian. Even OEMs, like Google and Yahoo!, are allowing other services to interact with their own IM platforms.

 Although it is likely that similar multiprotocol microblogging clients will also emerge as users spread out across the various services, there is still hope that Google’s involvement at this crucial stage could serve as a catalyst for protocol standardization. Regardless of the long-term outcome of Google’s Jaiku acquisition, expect to see microblogging evolve considerably in the near future. But in order to remain effective, microblogging sites must remain true to their purpose: aggregate and syndicate content. And you cannot do that effectively if there are 100 different proprietary sites that do not allow effective microblogging client integration and aggregation.

 While Twitter enjoys “first-mover” status, microblogging rivals will face an uphill battle if they do not launch with a strategy to allow for cross-platform integration and aggregation.