How does Twitter make money? - GoFuckYourself.com

JenC · 07-24-2009, 05:38 PM

They have no ads and it's a free service. I can't figure out how they monetize their site. Any speculation? Someone has suggested to me that they may get a cut of the SMS fees that people pay to Tweet from their phones, but I pay no SMS fees to Tweet. (then again I have an iPhone with an unlimited data plan)

Anyone have any theories?

Machete_ · 07-24-2009, 06:06 PM

They make money selling the userinfo

Ava Knight · 07-24-2009, 06:06 PM

It doesn't

gwidomains · 07-24-2009, 06:07 PM

They make money by selling the whole service to someone, who will then have to worry about how they make money.

DateDoc · 07-24-2009, 06:08 PM

Right now - from investors giving them money.

JenC · 07-24-2009, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KrisH

They make money selling the userinfo

This makes the most sense. It's surprising as popular as it is, that fact has not come out in the newsmedia.

JenC · 07-24-2009, 06:14 PM

From their Privacy Policy:

Quote:

Use of Contact Information In addition, we may use your contact information to market to you, and provide you with information about, our products and services, including but not limited to our Service. If you decide at any time that you no longer wish to receive such information or communications from us, please follow the unsubscribe instructions provided in any of the communications.

mynameisjim · 07-24-2009, 07:42 PM

Twitter has been very public about the fact that they don't make any money. They don't sell anything right now.

clickhappy · 07-24-2009, 07:47 PM

in 2 years Microsoft will probably buy it for $250million. And thats how they will make their money

Sharky · 07-24-2009, 07:53 PM

Twitter doesn't wantr to sell anytime soon. Soon they will be selling marketing platforms for working within their network.

How can Wal-Mart monetize twitter?
How can wal-mart organize the posts made to them.

Right now its very tough to organize. If Twitter develops its own internal system for corp giants to use their service the best.. Those giants will pay dearly for it.

ProG · 07-24-2009, 08:01 PM

classic data mining. you are profiled by what you say or who you "follow" and sold to the highest bidder

woj · 07-24-2009, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ava Knight

It doesn't

FreeHugeMovies · 07-24-2009, 08:54 PM

How does the Hun man money?

Agent 488 · 07-24-2009, 08:57 PM

they don't. the usual silicon valley pump and dump.

PornMD · 07-24-2009, 09:36 PM

They won't sell until they're nestled next to Facebook in Alexa top 5 - which probably will be within a year (assuming Facebook doesn't move past Yahoo by then which it may well do). They'll be getting multi-billion dollar offers at that time, which will be a lot harder to say no to.

EthnicLover · 07-24-2009, 09:42 PM

Forget about how Twitter makes money, get an account and start tweeting before its too late.

mynameisjim · 07-24-2009, 09:55 PM

Twitter is going to have a much shorter shelf life than any of the other social sites. The metrics show that over 70% of the users totally quit following or tweeting after 30 days or less.

Facebook will be around till the next big site comes out, but Twitter will fade pretty quick. The numbers just don't support any growth.

Paul Markham · 07-24-2009, 10:13 PM

Will they survive the next few years?

Investors might start looking at the ROI in today's economic climate.

Further proof that traffic alone is not the answer. You have to make a profit from the traffic.

Houdini · 07-24-2009, 10:42 PM

This is how Twitter is going to make money and I predict they hit 9 figures next year.

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/07/...possibilities/

Paul Markham · 07-24-2009, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Houdini

This is how Twitter is going to make money and I predict they hit 9 figures next year.

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/07/...possibilities/

It's amazing how people in investing in a company can make such a big mistake.

Quote:

Conway, speaking at a TechCrunch conference Friday about Twitter and related companies, compared Twitter to Google Inc. in its early days and said there are sizable revenue opportunities around ?now media? ? a range of start-ups that build on Twitter?s real-time communication.

The difference is people go to Google to find information and get adverts related to their search. People on Twitter are looking to pass time and don't have any specific need most of the time. Two totally different types of advertising.

Quote:

Another attendee, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, earlier in the week told TheStreet.com that Twitter ?is an amazing phenomenon but I have no idea how they can monetize it. No one monetizes the Web today to any extent other than search.?

A much brighter answer.

fatfoo · 07-24-2009, 11:38 PM

I have no idea. From banner sponsors?

EscortBiz · 07-24-2009, 11:42 PM

only a fool would gets caught up in the hype and stops looking at facts, hence why most here dont have two pennies to rub together

twitter in a year from now will be laughable, in 3 years from now people will be embarrassed to admit they once used the site.

Paul Markham · 07-24-2009, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EscortBiz

only a fool would gets caught up in the hype and stops looking at facts, hence why most here dont have two pennies to rub together

twitter in a year from now will be laughable, in 3 years from now people will be embarrassed to admit they once used the site.

Very true. I wonder what other similar sites will be history in a few years.

Houdini · 07-25-2009, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

The difference is people go to Google to find information and get adverts related to their search. People on Twitter are looking to pass time and don't have any specific need most of the time. Two totally different types of advertising.

Plenty are just "passing time" on Google as well. I agree that there's a difference in someone searching in Google and someone searching Twitter, but take a look at search.twitter.com. Twitter's the only real time "search" out there. No, it's not web pages, but it's what people are talking about IN REAL TIME. That's pretty amazing if you think about it. What other site can archive conversation or blurbs in real time among millions and millions of people all over the world. Search engines can't come close. When news hits, regardless of the size. i.e., Michael Jackson Dead or Car Accident 101 Freeway, search twitter and see how many results you get. Then type that in Google, excluding the news section and see what you find. Usually Zilch, because they can't crawl that fast. Especially for local news or events, it can beat almost any content site out there.

And ads on Twitter, could actually be a higher converter than google!? How? Say you type insurance in google and you land on a sales web site desperately trying to get you to click on an affiliate link with little information on the user experience about the company. Or say you type in insurance in Twitter and you have a real person, talking about a good experience at Gieco. There just happens to be a Geico ad right below the post, where the reader wants to see more. It's like a real time review. That's just one possibility on how you could target ads. Companies are making money off it too, Dell has reported they've made $3 million from it. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/...y-off-twitter/. Don't you sell anything? You can't use the extra traffic?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Another attendee, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, earlier in the week told TheStreet.com that Twitter ?is an amazing phenomenon but I have no idea how they can monetize it. No one monetizes the Web today to any extent other than search.

I wouldn't expect Murdoch to have anything positive to say about sites that compete with myspace. He trashed Facebook too back in the day and watched his users switch and his traffic plummet.

In any case, I'm going to bump this thread in a year and it'll be interesting to see what happened.

Elixir · 07-25-2009, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KrisH

They make money selling the userinfo

damn thats good idea

Lorna Morgan · 07-25-2009, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Houdini

take a look at search.twitter.com. Twitter's the only real time "search" out there. No, it's not web pages, but it's what people are talking about IN REAL TIME. That's pretty amazing if you think about it.

Spot on my man

bbobby86 · 07-25-2009, 12:44 AM

i don`t know...

nolongerexists · 07-25-2009, 12:57 AM

yea quite amazing, example from their suggested search for "jay z"
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=Jay-Z
no informative data at all, just some random bullshit

the idea of real time search is great but what people post is a different matter.

madawgz · 07-25-2009, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KrisH

They make money selling the userinfo

Winner!

07-24-2009, 05:38 PM	#1
JenC Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New England Posts: 515	How does Twitter make money? They have no ads and it's a free service. I can't figure out how they monetize their site. Any speculation? Someone has suggested to me that they may get a cut of the SMS fees that people pay to Tweet from their phones, but I pay no SMS fees to Tweet. (then again I have an iPhone with an unlimited data plan) Anyone have any theories?

07-24-2009, 06:06 PM	#3
Ava Knight Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 173	It doesn't __________________ AvaKnight.com brought to you by ThatOneProgram.com where the jokes are self-referential

07-24-2009, 06:08 PM	#5
DateDoc Outside looking in. Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: To Hell You Ride Posts: 14,243	Right now - from investors giving them money. __________________

07-24-2009, 07:42 PM	#8
mynameisjim Confirmed User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 2,985	Twitter has been very public about the fact that they don't make any money. They don't sell anything right now. __________________ jim (at) amateursconvert . com Amateurs Convert

07-24-2009, 07:53 PM	#10
Sharky Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 4,938	Twitter doesn't wantr to sell anytime soon. Soon they will be selling marketing platforms for working within their network. How can Wal-Mart monetize twitter? How can wal-mart organize the posts made to them. Right now its very tough to organize. If Twitter develops its own internal system for corp giants to use their service the best.. Those giants will pay dearly for it. __________________ Sharky

07-24-2009, 06:06 PM	#2
Machete_ WINNING! Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 14,579	They make money selling the userinfo

07-24-2009, 06:07 PM	#4
gwidomains Confirmed User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 426	They make money by selling the whole service to someone, who will then have to worry about how they make money.

07-24-2009, 07:47 PM	#9
clickhappy Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 4,027	in 2 years Microsoft will probably buy it for $250million. And thats how they will make their money

07-24-2009, 08:01 PM	#11
ProG Confirmed User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 1,319	classic data mining. you are profiled by what you say or who you "follow" and sold to the highest bidder __________________ History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.

07-24-2009, 08:54 PM	#13
FreeHugeMovies Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 14,137	How does the Hun man money?

07-24-2009, 08:57 PM	#14
Agent 488 Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 22,511	they don't. the usual silicon valley pump and dump.

07-24-2009, 09:36 PM	#15
PornMD Mainstream Businessman Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 9,291	They won't sell until they're nestled next to Facebook in Alexa top 5 - which probably will be within a year (assuming Facebook doesn't move past Yahoo by then which it may well do). They'll be getting multi-billion dollar offers at that time, which will be a lot harder to say no to. __________________ Want to crush it in mainstream with Facebook ads? Hit me up.

07-24-2009, 09:42 PM	#16
EthnicLover Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: S. California Posts: 1,584	Forget about how Twitter makes money, get an account and start tweeting before its too late. __________________ Honest adult reviews? - Adult Reviews Ethnic paysite owners? - Get reviewed Follow me? - Twitter Porn

07-24-2009, 09:55 PM	#17
mynameisjim Confirmed User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 2,985	Twitter is going to have a much shorter shelf life than any of the other social sites. The metrics show that over 70% of the users totally quit following or tweeting after 30 days or less. Facebook will be around till the next big site comes out, but Twitter will fade pretty quick. The numbers just don't support any growth. __________________ jim (at) amateursconvert . com Amateurs Convert

07-24-2009, 10:13 PM	#18
Paul Markham Too old to care Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: On the sofa, watching TV or doing my jigsaws. Posts: 52,943	Will they survive the next few years? Investors might start looking at the ROI in today's economic climate. Further proof that traffic alone is not the answer. You have to make a profit from the traffic. __________________ Blowout deal. 880 videos, 2,400 image sets, plus many RAW videos. $500. PM me for a deal. Skype Paulmarkham70

07-24-2009, 10:42 PM	#19
Houdini Confirmed User Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,651	This is how Twitter is going to make money and I predict they hit 9 figures next year. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/07/...possibilities/

07-24-2009, 11:38 PM	#21
fatfoo ICQ:649699063 Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 27,763	I have no idea. From banner sponsors? __________________ Send me an email: [email protected]

07-24-2009, 11:42 PM	#22
EscortBiz Fuck Checks, CASH only! Join Date: May 2002 Location: New York City Posts: 19,422	only a fool would gets caught up in the hype and stops looking at facts, hence why most here dont have two pennies to rub together twitter in a year from now will be laughable, in 3 years from now people will be embarrassed to admit they once used the site. __________________ Spanking, Medical Fetish, Sleeping, Strap-on Anal Lesbians, Girls Fucking Guys, Handjob site REAL HOT, Shemales, Anal and Ass Licking sites 100% Real EXCLUSIVE with amazing retention, ccbill payouts, lots of content FREE FTP HOSTING Promote the largest and oldest member paid escort site, Converts 10 times better then any dating site, CCBill payouts ICQ# 158802076

07-25-2009, 12:44 AM	#27
bbobby86 partners.sexier.com Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 11,926	i don`t know... __________________

07-25-2009, 12:57 AM	#28
nolongerexists Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 1,096	yea quite amazing, example from their suggested search for "jay z" http://search.twitter.com/search?q=Jay-Z no informative data at all, just some random bullshit the idea of real time search is great but what people post is a different matter. __________________ work smart not hard ;)