UPDATE 2/11/09:
I just met with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and we discussed yesterday’s “news” that Twitter is planning to start charging for commercial-use of its service… I’ll be posting a stand-alone article on the other stuff we talked about later today(UPDATE: convo is here), but in the meantime I want to make a few quick and necessary clarifications:
- There is no plan to ever charge individuals or companies to use Twitter. Twitter plans to generate revenue from added value services, not existing services.
- The whole charging-for-commercial-use-of-Twitter thing isn’t exactly new news. Even though there was a lot of buzz about it yesterday, Twitter has been saying for 12+ months that it’s planning to generate revenue from commercial use. Read Twitter’s response to yesterday’s buzz: http://blog.twitter.com/
- Don’t expect this to kick in in the immediate future. Part of the reason why Twitter has secured substantial VC funding is to take the time to find the right revenue model, not just implement some arbitrary fee structure or slap up banner ads.
- Do expect a revenue-generation model that meshes with the platform, enriches user experience, and provides added value. Think of Google’s implementation of Ad Words: after 4 years of generating zero revenue, Google found a way to add value to the primary use of their service (the hunt for information) by allowing companies to push relevant information to consumers… for a fee.
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Original Article: 2/10/09
According to TechCrunch, Co-founder Biz Stone has confirmed Twitter will begin charging businesses for certain components of its service.
I’ve heard many people balk at the idea of Twitter charging brands, but let’s remember that Twitter is a business, not a charity organization. Over the holiday season Dell credited $1 million in sales to its use of Twitter. I’d be opposed to Twitter charging individuals – though honestly I don’t ever see that happening – but for Twitter to charge brands that generate profit use of their service is business 101.
Key Takeaways:
- The fees will only apply to companies, not individual users
- It’s not yet known which services companies would be charged for
- It’s not yet known whether the charges would apply to existing Twitter use or add-ons
- It’s not yet known what the potential cost would be
- It’s not yet known how Twitter plans to separate “individuals” from “companies”
- Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said, “We are noticing more companies using Twitter and individuals following them. We can identify ways to make this experience even more valuable and charge for commercial accounts.”
- Twitter is now ranked as the 3rd largest social network, and considering most users only discovered Twitter in 2008, huge growth is thought to be on the way.
- Twitter has secured $20 in VC funding and recently turned down an acquisition offer from Facebook ($100 million in cash and $400 million in Facebook stock)
I’m meeting Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey for coffee tomorrow morning. Leave a comment below and I’ll bring along 2 or 3 of your questions.
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Will this be when Twitter decides to role out other user profile follow recommendations on your page? Advertising capabilities? Will branded accounts have the same functionality as an individual’s account? Or will they follow MySpace’s model of optimizing the medium to promote the portions of the profile that best suit a brand versus individual (ex: MySpace Music & Film profiles)?
I guess I’m curious where he thinks its going in the next few years, if he thinks the model is basically all it will ever be. Will there ever be different types of tweets, i guess differentiating with branded pages is a move in a certain direction, acknowledging the heavy professional usage as opposed to purely social networking.
Maybe what’s his favorite Twitter client on the iPhone – (there’s like 30)
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