Editor’s note: this is part of a series of Point/Counterpoint entries that present differing views on a single topic.

I can relate to concerns about the viability of Twitter for all personal users. Although I was an early adopter of the technology, nearly a year of slow use passed before I understood its value. I think there’s a standard ramp-up for Twitter that takes time and interest to gain steam.

In fact, here’s my weekly tweet frequency over the ages. Betcha can’t tell which week I was at SXSW!?

Despite the sometimes slow engagement ramp and high rate of attrition, Twitter is still a meaningful way for users to engage with content and each other, distinct from blogs, RSS and Facebook in a few key ways.

Tweets are, in fact, “microblogs.” But the character limit, single protocol for account creation and singular starting point (twitter.com) open Twitter up to a whole new fleet of potential content contributors (and readers) who are not cut out for the blog world: those who don’t have the patience, discipline or narcissism for full-fledged blogging.

Twitter is distinct from RSS in that while it does function as a real-time feed, it also offers community, two-way conversation and one particular type of content. RSS is a powerful way to harness and filter all of the content we consume, yet it remains a burdensome technology for some, with low adoption rates (<10%) for all but the most tech-savvy users. Twitter is actually one way of filtering the firehose of information that RSS can be; by following the right people, you’ll often find a nicely curated selection of content, mixed with just the right touch of voyeurism. (“Great article. Oh, and you like Cheerios? Awesome.”)

As for the role of Twitter alongside Facebook, that’s definitely evolving (note the changes Facebook has made in an effort to keep up). While tweets and status updates might have lots in common (and are sometimes the same), there is a more open social protocol in the Twittersphere. In contrast to the abyss of shared personal information that Facebook strives to be, Twitter is defined by brevity and openness. In lieu of multi-tiered privacy controls, Twitter offers two options: private, or public (which, not surprisingly, is also the default.)

The changes that Twitter made to their homepage this week take Twitter even further into a space of differentiation. The new homepage is intended to make the value proposition more clear to new users. The prominent offer to “Share and discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world” distances the platform from the traditional “social networking” space (think: Facebook/MySpace) by reducing the emphasis on friends or followings. Instead, the site now underscores the most compelling differentiators of the platform – immediacy, sharing and discovery.

While Twitter may not be for everybody, it’s proving itself to be a unique and powerful medium — a real-time reflection of the collective consciousness and a relatively big reward for both user and reader for their 140-character investment.

Editor’s note: this is part of a series of Point/Counterpoint entries that present differing views on a single topic.

According to Nielsen, “Twitter.com was the fastest-growing Web brand in May 2009, increasing 1448 percent year over year, from 1.2 million unique visitors in May 2008 to 18.2 million in 2009”. And according to Nielsen that growth is beginning to slow with only a 7% increase from April 2009. 

No one really questions the growth of Twitter, what is in question is the value proposition and revenue model. 

But some interesting research released this spring by Nielsen shows 60% of people that sign up for Twitter, stay around for a month and then quit. Nielsen had a ton of comments and complaints about their analysis not including the applications that people can use to update twitter, especially mobile apps. Not to be foiled or proven wrong, Nielsen went back and redid their analysis including those applications. The results? 60% quitters.

I’ll say it, I’m a Twitter Quitter. I signed up, I have followers and I follow people. I don’t really get any information from Twitter that I can’t get from Facebook or RSS feeds. So I quit. What do you think, is Nielsen on the mark? 

There’s no doubt that a 40% retention rate is great, but I am more curious as to why people abandon Twitter. Why do you think people aren’t coming back to Twitter after their initial exploration of the service?

Voices all around the country are talking about what they love and sometimes don’t about their recent purchases. Most might think implementing ratings and reviews on your site would open a huge can of worms. I agree, but these worms are catching our clients’ more confident buyers and creating word-of-mouth buzz for us to promote.

Bazaarvoice has partnered with some of the world’s leading brands (including some of our clients) to help give customers a forum to share. Next to personal recommendations, online ratings and reviews  are the most trusted form of advertising, according to the latest Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey.

So, who says it best? Me, a writer equipped with a clever headline, or a shopper from St. Louis, MO, who raves about the product from personal experience? Maybe it’s not about who can say it better, but whom other customers would rather hear it from. Our clients’ communities of reviewers are my go-to sources for product selection and talking points. We’ve featured top-rated products and shoppers’ reviews in emails, display banner ads, e-com and social media and seen positive results.

When it comes to building loyalty among customers, promoting quality and ultimately driving transactions, we give ratings and reviews five stars.