Comments on: How Twitter Could Monetize

By: How to Save a Local Newspaper | Gypsy Bandito

How to Save a Local Newspaper | Gypsy Bandito — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:15:11 +0000

[...] In fact, if their social media feature leverage the Twitter API, they might even consider using Twitter as an SMS service provider. [...]

By: CT Moore

CT Moore — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:17:39 +0000

@Ben, you're right that they'd need more than 6 million users to turn SMS service provider tomorrow, but between that existing 6 million and all the mainstream media recognition they've received, the barriers to getting an entirely new user to sign up to twitter to get SMS update that they want would be considerably low.

By: Ben Wilkinson

Ben Wilkinson — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:58:09 +0000

@CT – I don't disagree. But knowing as little as I do about mobile distribution of content, it's an expensive game to get into.

Further, to this point Twitter only has ~6 million users, which is still rather small when compared to most sites. In order for it to be a profitable as an SMS service provider, it would need scale its user base dramatically.

By: CT Moore

CT Moore — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:47:46 +0000

@Ben, well I think that being an SMS service provider could be that something bigger.

By: Ben Wilkinson

Ben Wilkinson — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:43:56 +0000

I think Twitter has actually thought this through and is simply awaiting a bigger opportunity. Sure it could do both display ads, or text ads in a person's twitter feed, as you allude to in your post. It could have done both relatively easily but has chosen not to do so thus far.

I think they have something bigger up their sleeve and all of us will have to wait to figure out what they will do to start monetizing.

More of my thoughts on twitter here:
http://www.benjaminwilkinson.com/post/78697565/wh…