There are many ways to monetize
Twitter. I say scale it (
Goal: A Billion People On Twitter), monetize it, and then go public. This is a
company whose
market value will be in the billions. But
monetization is key.
(1) Twitter Enterprise There could be several versions. Companies could pay for premier accounts. Of course they could opt to have free accounts just as well, like many
small businesses might. But my idea of Twitter Enterprise sees similarities with Google
AdWords. Companies small and big use AdWords.
The first order of
business would be help companies make sense of the vast order of data that might accumulate on Twitter around their
brand names, mostly real time and near real time, but also digging into the archives. What if I want a snapshot for the past week, the past month?
(2) Twitter Ad StreamThe second order of business would be displaying ads. Use the
real estate. My Twitter profile page has space for ads I think. Each tweet has its own unique web address. And each such page is more real estate for ads. Maybe ads on Twitter should be limited to 70 characters. And ad streams would be handled by Twitter Corporate. Catchy text plus tiny
URL.
Once you create the concept of the Twitter ad stream, you could put that out many places including in the live streams of individual account holders. If every 30th tweet in my stream is a 70 character, one line ad, so be it. The ads should look like ads.
Just like
Facebook's ad space is different, (
Facebook's Ad Space Is Different) Twitter's ad space is also different. It has to be to stand out.
(3) Tweet AdsThe concept has to be introduced. And it should perhaps be automated like AdWords. People and businesses sign up online, pay by
credit card, design their 70 character tweet ads, and pick the kind of streams they would like to go down in. And of course the tweet ads can be retweeted.
How To Increase Your Following On TwitterIs Google Wave Social Enough To Challenge Facebook, Twitter?Real Time Search: Twitter Is Not Doing ItGoogle Falling Behind Twitter?Eminem: The Relapse: TwitterConverting To The Mass Follow Formula On Twitter NewsDesk: China, Twitter, Hawking, ObamaDigg Button, Twitter Button For Your Blog PostsMy Relationship With Ashton KutcherTwitter Is Not MicroThe Depth Of Your Friendships At TwitterGoal: A Billion People On TwitterFractals: Apple, Windows 95, Netscape, Google, Facebook, TwitterImage via CrunchBase
I Talked To Google Through Twitter And It Worked Like MagicTwitter And The Time DimensionTweetDeck, Power Twitter, Twitter Globe, Better Than FacebookTCC: Twitter Community CollegeTwitter Tips: It's A Bird, It's A BirdMitch Kapor Now Following Me On TwitterI Get Twitter