The Internet of Things could come to the rescue of a struggling Twitter

Twitter launched in 2006, when SMS was still a major mode of communication. In the first few years after launch, Twitter rose in popularity as a social network, and as an information network. Till 2014, Twitter was seeing a steady growth in the number of users. Over that period, Twitter transformed from a microblogging site to the most direct source for news. However, growth started stagnating from 2014. [caption id=“attachment_344805” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Twitter User growth from 2010 to 2016. Image: Statista [/caption] Twitter has a number of bright minds on its team, and the quick and direct format should be appealing to the younger audiences. However, Twitter is today considered a deadweight , an investment too risky for anyone. Twitter shares are plummeting because of lack of interest from potential buyers. There was a surge of activity on Twitter because of the 2016 US Presidential Elections, but Twitter failed to find a way to generate revenue from the increased activity. You will find more statistics at Statista Twitter is struggling in many areas, particularly when it comes to jumping into video. Twitter has announced plans to shut down the app for Vine , and at the same time has opened up Periscope for professional quality broadcasts. A new feature it introduced allows users to curate multiple Tweets into collections . Twitter is aggressively trying to Tweak itself into relevance , but the efforts only go to show that Twitter has an acute identity crisis, where features are added or removed as the service continuously tries to define what it does . [caption id=“attachment_340905” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Periscope recently introduced features for Producers.[/caption] Twitter may be a social network, or a news network, it is still functionally a microblogging site. In fact, today it is the only major microblogging site still active, and exploring further growth as microblogging service is one of the ways to save it. [caption id=“attachment_344810” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] The Tweeting Toilet. Image: Hackaday [/caption] Twitter was not always about just people though. In the early days of Twitter, there was a lot of experimentation around creating things that Tweet. An Arduino, some sensors, and a laptop were hacked together to make a toilet that Tweets out every time it flushed. BakerTweet is a technological product that makes it easy for Bakers to send a Tweet to inform their customers every time a fresh batch of delicacies comes out of the oven. Twitter does not really need humans to grow. [caption id=“attachment_344808” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] This device Tweets out everytime anything delicious comes out of an Oven. Image: BakerTweet.[/caption] Twitter has a rock solid API, that allows Twitterbots, data scientists, developers and hackers to use it in creative ways. There is tremendous progress in the development of the Internet of Things. Our cars, homes, appliances, fixtures and furniture are all getting increasingly connected. These things will be required to periodically put out status updates. Twitter is in perfect position to exploit the Internet of Things as an opportunity. [caption id=“attachment_325353” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Twitter can integrate easily with smart cities. Credit: Trai[/caption] Twitter can integrate a bidding or shopping feature within the service itself. Whether is the freshest batch of baked goodies or the latest luxury sedan to roll out of the factory floor, consumers can get direct access to the production line. The brands win, the customers win, and by facilitating the entire process, Twitter can also win. Malls can automatically update free parking slots, Dams can Tweet out water releases to warn those who live down stream, and weather monitoring stations can alert citizens of increased particulate pollution… the possibilities are endless. There is no single IoT platform to consolidate and churn all the status updates for things, and Twitter is in position to become just that. [caption id=“attachment_344811” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Third party paid Twitter analytics by Sumall. Image: Sumall.[/caption] There is a ton of data floating around on Twitter. Consolidating all of this data, finding co-relations and deriving insights can in itself be a service that Twitter can offer to paying customers. The opportunity for processing large amounts of data can only increase with deeper integration of Twitter in the Internet of Things. Analytics are even now run on publicly available Tweets, with data science showing lower risk of heart disease in those who post happier Tweets in their feeds. Twitter can find a way of monetising analytics on its platform. Currently, third party analytics tools such as Tweet Archivist  and Sumall provide professional services for Twitter. https://twitter.com/ashleymayer/status/793561489009283072 If Twitter does want to continue taking steps to stay relevant to its human users, perhaps the one thing it can do to make users happy is allow for editing of Tweets. Every time Twitter rolls out a new feature, this is the one that users demand the most. It would not compromise the integrity of the service if Twitter tracks the revisions and saves them, which a user can view if needed.