When the major players in social media are named, twitter always makes the list. But should it really be classified as a "social" network?

Social media channels should entail two-way communication as a means to build relationships -- but is it actually possible to build a one-to-one relationship with all of your followers? Certainly it would be a difficult feat for an account with over 1,000 followers, yet I think we all struggle to foster meaningful relationships in 140 characters. And there are now statistics that support the argument that twitter really isn't social, as half of all the tweets that are consumed on twitter are generated by only 20,000 users. It seems a stretch to classify twitter as a social network, if only 5% of the accounts are active. Most tweets also express a single point of view and are never challenged nor embraced, which could lead to the two-way conversations desired on social networks.

Twitter is still an incredible tool and a great way to share information, particularly for B2B marketers. But, in knowing the incredible relationship building possibilities of other social platforms out there, it's hard to see as much of that potential within twitter, where it's a good place to perhaps initiate contact, but take the larger conversation elsewhere. When it's all boiled down, perhaps twitter can be better seen as a sharing network.

Twitter is aware of this reality, especially as it is beginning to provide the option to create a brand page. While companies can share information about products and the industry in a format that is easy to consume, and the opportunity to be social still exists (and should be capitalized on!), it should not be the main reason behind including twitter as part of a social media strategy. Instead, the goal of your social media efforts should be to join your audiences where they already exist online and provide additional valuable content.