Twitter Grows Up, Adds "Promoted Tweets" 149
CWmike writes "Twitter is finally taking off the training wheels and moving into the world where real businesses tread with the launch on Tuesday of its first advertising model, dubbed 'Promoted Tweets.' The microblogging phenom has long avoided coming up with a business plan or even talking about one. But the time has come for Twitter to figure out how to make money over the long haul. Analyst Dan Old isn't so sure that Twitter users will welcome the change. 'There will be a vocal minority of users who will hate any advertising at all,' Olds said. '[Many] users understand that it's necessary and will accept it as long as it doesn't interfere with their usage. But if the ads look like regular tweets, that could cause some serious outrage from users who feel that Twitter is attempting to deceive them.'"
Re:Tweets for twits and infortainment morons... (Score:4, Informative)
Because historically speaking, eugenics programs haven't worked out all that well. [journalnow.com]
since you ask. kthxbye.
Re:Predictable (Score:4, Informative)
Well, not plural billions yet, but estimates [insidefacebook.com] of 2010 revenues seem to be a bit over $1b.
Re:freemium (Score:1, Informative)
At which point those companies will pass on the check balances to their customers. One way or another, we'll be paying. I'd personally rather have ads because there will always be a way to block them (with the worst case being some browser addon that I would have to install).
Re:Predictable (Score:3, Informative)
Apparently not mainstream enough, because it's actually "tweeting".
(Disclaimer, my anecdotal data points are simply what I've heard people use + the fact that google's suggestions don't have any hits for "twitting", and do for "tweeting". They do have hits for "twittering", however.)
Re:freemium (Score:5, Informative)
Twitter isn't really based on encouraging insightful.
I use it as a democratic fan club. I follow celebrities I like (mythbuster guys, trek alumni, that kind of thing), web comic artists, people who are in the biz I am or who have jobs I'm working to get, and I sometimes reply, sometimes spout off random things.
But mostly, I use it like slashdot, but I get to choose the editors and the commenters. People post links, I follow them.
Re:freemium (Score:3, Informative)
I would rather Twitter went into the offices of the CEOs of Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon, and says "we want a third of your SMS-fee revenues; and don't raise prices. Otherwise, we'll turn off Twitter."
Those guys would shit their pants and break a nail grabbing for the checkbook.
At which point, all of the Ceos will have the exact same reaction:
'How did you get into my office? You want what??!! HAHAHAHAHAHA...no.'
You know why? Because Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon can all use their prebudgeted ad time to point out that users will still have access to SMS in order to send pointless messages about the most mundane points of their lives and the ability to blog and send automatic short messages to user groups via SMS every time their blog gets updated, all doable from their phone, without twitter. Im sure the marketing department will come up with a way to sell cell phone specific sets of this, which will add the ability to add users from other cell networks within 6 months, for only (30-20-10-5) dollars per month on top of your bill; all the while acting like this is a favor due to market wishes, and not something any of them could already implement at the drop of a hat. They might even be able to hide the fact that they in fact want twitter to try and fail to monetize because they in fact are already good to go.
Its fairly obvious why you aren't a CEO...