- Peanut Butter + Chocolate
- Wine + Cheese
- Coffee + Baileys
Usually when two of my favorite things come together, I love the output even more.
That's why I was a bit perplexed by my reaction to the news this morning that equates to "Amazon + Twitter".
Yes, there is a new feature on Twitter, after its latest partnership with Amazon. This is called Amazon Cart, or in Twitter language, #AmazonCart. Basically, you can reply to any tweet with the hashtag and any item that the tweet was promoting will automatically be added to your Amazon cart.
At first, I guess it sounds cool. But watching the video teaser for the concept left me feeling confused.
Highlight line from the video: "No more switching apps, typing passwords or trying to remember items you saw on Twitter."
Okay, cutesy voiceover on the well edited pitch video. Here's the thing. None of those are real issues for me. Is this partnership solving an actual problem? I mean, I switch apps all day, every day. All my passwords are saved in my phone already. And, honestly, I never really see items for sale on Twitter. Am I missing something? Are people using Twitter to sell products a lot? It seems like for most, Twitter is a way to share information. Not the digital marketplace that this partnership would support.
A poll on Mashable is almost split down the middle as to whether people will use this or not, but the majority ends up leaning toward "No way".
And I agree, at least for now. Could this Amazon/Twitter partnership be foreshadowing the future of Twitter. We know the company has been under pressure to find a profitable business model, so maybe monetization will come from this Amazon partnership?
Have you ever purchased something after seeing it on Twitter? Will you use the new #AmazonCart feature?
