I love using Twitter, so much so that it’s pretty much replaced text messaging for me. However there’s a few critical weaknesses I’d like to see Twitter get right.
1. A More Secure API
How many of you use automatic Twitter posting plugins for your WordPress websites or blogs? Websites are getting hacked into because more people use automated Twitter posting plugins. The bottom line is that Twitter does not scrub the messages heading to automated posts, so it becomes easy for anyone with a lot of time on their hands and malicious intent to bring down websites by manipulating the Twitter API.
2. ReTweeting
Let us have the option of sharing a message with selected followers, list members, or everyone, please. Third party clients like HootSuite still allow users to ‘RT’ like it’s early 2009, but Twitter itself does not. Social media users want to curate our syndicated feed in a way that’s more relevant, Twitter. Can you help us Commandos out?
3. Click to Call
My favorite social app right now isn’t Twitter or even Foursquare, it’s Google Voice. Google Voice lets me share a simple widget that lets people enter their phone number and connect to my phone for free. If Twitter had a feature like this, even just a beta version open to select participants, I’d be a raving fan again in the way I was when I first started Tweeting.
4. Twitter Business Directory
Like the Google Local Business Center — only better. Tweeters love how Bing lets people search tweets by location, but it would be even more valuable to fill out a business listing that is directly linked to a Twitter profile (3rd party apps could easily integrate this feature).
Just thinking of all the Google juice businesses could tap thanks to real time search makes me drool…
5. Verified Accounts
No, we’re not Kim Kardashian, but everyone I talk to these days wants to be able to secure their identity across the Twittersphere. Please allow us to secure our names, and as an added bonus for your growing storage limitations, you can even limit the number of profiles we can own under one name.
Speaking of limitations…
6. Server Capacity
We love the fact that Twitter is free, so instead of bitching about how servers crash and fail whales are everywhere, let us suggest an alternative (see number five): Limit the number of accounts people may hold in their own name, and charge for additional profiles. This is both carrot and stick in that it motivates people to make good use of their profiles, cautions them against creating bogus accounts, and might even make a few dollars too.
7. Embedded Social Mentions
We see @ replies from our Twitter profile screen, but what about either a Twitter or client based social mention tool? Social mention is a great website, so is BackTweets for that matter, but I’d like a dash that allows me to pick up more than just mentions including my Twitter handle.
How much more valuable would it be to have a Google Alert style function that lets you monitor your name and specific keywords in real time and respond to these mentions as part of your branding strategy?
I’m confident Twitter is working out these very issues and will soon make this blog post moot…but just in case they haven’t figured them all out, please forward this post along to friends and leave a comment with your own recommendations below…