Point / Counterpoint: Debating celebrities on Twitter

Today seems to be Twitter day on the blog. I'm going to go with it.

Last week at a networking event I had quite the heated debate with Aaron Strout, a man I respect and admire very much. But we're on opposite sides of a very important issue: Celebrity influx on Twitter, good or bad, as it pertains to business? He says good, I say bad.

Maybe it's not so black and white. We likely meet in the middle somewhere. But the lovely folks of BlogWorld Expo '09 Radio have invited us to have this debate on air this Friday, May 8, at noon PT. We'll talk about the following:

Twitter has been infiltrated by celebrities. Oprah was welcomed with open, very public arms. Ashton Kutcher held a charity race against CNN to up his follower counts. And let's not forget poor Wil Wheaton, who was one of the first of their kind to join Twitter. This surge of celebrity attention has been great to add further validity to Twitter in the eyes the more mainstream masses. But what does this mean for B2Bs who have included Twitter as part of their strategic marketing efforts?

Specifically:

• Is this good for business? Or will it just add noise to people’s Twitter stream?
• Will some of the key influencers in the social media space like Robert Scoble, Tony Hsieh and Kevin Rose abandon Twitter as a result of the celebrity influx?
• Will celebs like @Oprah and Ashton figure out how to “engage in the conversation” or will they use Twitter as yet another broadcast vehicle?

Please join us and our gracious host, Jim Turner, this Friday.