Twitter – What future? What strategic path to follow?

T h e
C a s e
S t u d y
o f
T w i t t e r
–
W h a t

f u t u r e ?
W h a t
s t r a t e g i c
p a t h
t o
f o l l o w ?

Module
–
Entrepreneurship

Date:
28-‐Oct-‐2010

“A
product
is
a
physical
thing...
the
brand
has
not

tangible,
physical
nor
functional
properties
...
yet,
it
is
as

real
as
the
product.
If
separate,
abstract,
ephemeral...
it

exists
as
a
myth
in
the
imagination
of
the
consumer”

Kim

2

Table
of
Contents

Executive
Summary...................................................................................................4.

Main
Report............................................................................................................. 5.

Conclusion...............................................................................................................11.

Bibliography ...........................................................................................................12.

3

Executive
Summary

Twitter,
described
as
being
an
easy-‐to-‐use,
micro-‐blogging
application,
instant

messenger
or
social
presence
notifier1
and,
essentially,
as
being
a
broadcasting

system
that
allows
users
to
transmit
short
bursts
of
information
to
lots
of
strangers,

as
well
as,
to
friends,
has
been
in
the
news
as
one
of
the
“hottest
technology

companies
since
Google
and
Facebook”
(source:
The
Entrepreneurs
at
Twitter:

Building
a
Brand,
a
Social
Tool
or
a
Tech
Powerhouse?,
found
at

https://campus.college.ch/download/assignment/2560).
It
also
has
been
viewed
as

an
influential
factor
in
socio-‐political
events,
such
as
(and
as
mentioned
on
the
given

article)
Senator
Barack
Obama’s
United
States
(U.S.)
presidential
campaign,
as
well

as,
in
political
protests
in
Iran.

Despite
its
astonishing
breakthrough
into
the
Market
(together
with
a
strong

crescent
curve
growth),
by
the
end
of
2009,
Twitter
had
fallen
to
24
million
users

worldwide
(when,
by
mid-‐2009,
the
number
was
up
to
29
million)2.
These
figures

made
analysts
wonder
and
discuss
whether
this
sudden
drop
in
users
within
only
6

months
was
indeed
a
blip
or
whether
it
revealed
that
Twitter
needed
a
dramatic

shift
in
its
marketing
strategy.
Equally,
many
came
to
wonder
how
a
company
like

Twitter
was
planning
to
survive
in
the
long
term
(having
such
strong
competitors
in

its
market
segment,
namely,
Facebook).

The
question,
then,
that
one
(any
interested
observer/analyst
on
the
Twitter
case)

must
bear
in
mind
is
how
should
a
company
like
Twitter
face
the
future
when

thinking
about
a
strategy
that
may
support
its
sustained
growth
and
shield
itself

from
the
eagerness
of
its
competitors.
The
pertinent
question/discussion
should
be

around
the
following:
being
a
company
that
has
raised
a
total
of
$155
million
from
a

consortium
of
investors
in
several
rounds
of
funding
–
without
having
earned
a

single
cent
of
profit3
–
and
valued
at
US$1
billion
following
its
latest
round
of

funding4,
should
Twitter
finally
make
a
dramatic
shift
on
its
approach
towards
the

business
itself?
In
other
words,
should
the
company
adopt
a
moneymaking
business

model?
May
it
be
a
real
business
opportunity?
Does,
in
reality,
Twitter
have
the

necessary
potential
to
attain
such
model?
Can
Twitter
ever
earn
profits?
Or,

contrarily,
should
Twitter
be
looked
as
a
mere
bright
social
network
tool?
What
are

the
options
under
stake?
What
plans
to
follow?
There
is
one
certainty,
for
sure:

Twitter’s
entrepreneurs
face
a
dilemma.
Should
they
redirect
their
strengths

towards
building
a
real
Twitter
Brand
(a
much
market
approach
with
a
strong

money-‐making
business
paradigm),
or
should
the
model
remain
as
it
is
for
now
(a

Social
Tool,
without
much
preoccupation
on
making
money
out
of
it)?

On
the
following
pages,
then,
I
will
try
to
grasp
all
of
these
questions
and
foresee

what
strategy
(based,
and
solely,
on
the
information
provided
in
the
case
study

article)
I
reckon
to
be
the
best
and
most
appropriate
for
Twitter
to
implement.

1
http://dev.aol.com/article/2007/04/definitive-‐guide-‐to-‐twitter
,
accessed
October
25,
2010.

2

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/26/has.twitter.peaked/index.html?hpt=C1
,
accessed
October
25,
2010.

3

http://blog.pff.org/archives/2009/09/will_our_twitter_free_ride_end_or_will_targeted_ad.html
,
accessed
October

25,
2010.

4

http://techcrunch.com/2009/09/16/twitter-‐closing-‐new-‐venture-‐round-‐with-‐1-‐billion-‐valuation/
,
accessed
October

25,
2010.

4

Main
Report

Is
Twitter
just
a
bright
idea
or
a
real
business
opportunity?
To
what
extent

does
Twitter’s
situation
in
2010
reflect
the
past
record
of
its
founders?

Based
on
the
information
provided
by
the
text,
I
firmly
may
affirm
that
Twitter
may

turn
out
to
be
a
real
business
opportunity,
even
though,
there
are
some
troubling

threats
and
setbacks:

a) Twitter’s
growth
had
peaked
in
July
2009
at
just
over
29
million
global
users

per
month,
falling
steadily
over
the
next
five
months
to
under
24
million

users
per
month
by
the
end
of
2009.5

b) A
recent
research
undertaken
by
a
research
firm,
eMarketer,
estimated

Twitter’s
abandonment
rate
to
be
60
per
cent
after
the
first
month.6

c) Eager
competitors
have
already
started
to
emerge,
offering
functionality
that

was
unavailable
from
Twitter.
Examples:
Friendfeed
allows
users
to
send
text

messages,
as
well
as,
import
information
from
their
blogs,
Flickr
photos,
and

YouTube
videos.
Identi.ca,
another
micro-‐blogging
service,
has
already
made

its
source
code
freely
available,
allowing
users
to
create
their
own
micro-‐
blogging
service.
Present.ly,
which
is
designed
specifically
for
businesses,

allows
companies
to
create
their
own
micro-‐blogging
network
on
its
service

and
separate
users
into
groups.7

d) In
an
attempt
to
win
market
share
in
this
growing
space,
larger,
more

established
companies
have
already
rolled
out
free
services
as
well
(source:

The
Entrepreneurs
at
Twitter:
Building
a
Brand,
a
Social
Tool
or
a
Tech

Powerhouse?,
found
at


e) In
2008,
Facebook
attempted
to
purchase
Twitter
for
$500
million
in

Facebook
stock,
but
Twitter’s
management
team
rejected
the
offer.
After

these
takeover
talks
were
abandoned,
Facebook
introduced
several
Twitter-‐
like
changes
to
its
service,
including
updating
users’
home
pages
to
allow

them
to
provide
real-‐time
updates
to
friends.
Facebook
also
gave
more

visibility
to
its
pages
for
celebrities
and
other
high-‐profile
figures
and
lifted

the
ceiling
on
the
maximum
number
of
online
fans
they
could
have
on
the

site
(source:
The
Entrepreneurs
at
Twitter:
Building
a
Brand,
a
Social
Tool
or
a

Tech
Powerhouse?,
found
at


f) And,
in
early
February
2010,
Google
launched
a
Twitter
competitor
called

“Google
Buzz”,
which,
among
other
things,
allowed
users
to
post
updates
in

real
time
by
using
their
mobile
phones.8

Despite
the
mentioned
list
of
setbacks
and
potential
real
threats,
why,
then,
am
I
so

affirmative
about
Twitter’s
potential
on
becoming
a
successful
business
opportunity

and
not
just
a
bright
idea
(that
has
its
days
counted)?
I
say
it
solely
based
on
the

numbers,
analysis
and
Exhibits
shown
on
the
case
study
article.

5
http://mashable.com/2010/01/11/twitter-‐growth-‐stats/
,
accessed
October
25,
2010.

6

http://mashable.com/2009/09/14/twitter-‐2009-‐stats/
,
accessed
October
25,
2010.

7

http://news.cnet.com/8301-‐17939_109-‐10120401-‐2.html
,
accessed
October
25,
2010.

8
http://news.cnet.com/8301-‐30684_3-‐10449662-‐265.html,
accessed
October
25,
2010.

5

If
one
carefully
analyses
Tech
Crunch
financials
forecast9
on
Twitter,
one
may
clearly

become
optimistic
about
the
company’s
real
growth
potential
into
becoming
a
case

of
great
business
success.
Based
on
internal
documents,
it
is
evaluated
to
generate

US$4
million
in
revenues
by
the
end
of
2009,
and,
most
crucially,
US$62
million
by

the
end
of
2010
(nearly
7
times
more,
all
within
just
one
year
period).

Thus,
and
solely
based
on
the
forecast
of
numbers,
one
may
become
quite
optimistic

about
Twitter
turning
out
to
be
a
real
profitable
company!

Additionally,
one
must
bear
in
mind
that
about
50%
of
Twitter’s
user
base
comes

from
the
United
States10
(half
of
its
“audience”
is
solely
based
on
a
single

country/geographical
region).
And
what
does
this
information
means
to
me?
It

clearly
shows
me
that
Twitter’s
public
target
is
still
pretty
much
not
availed.
If
such
a

promising
profitable
company
has
half
of
its
potential
revenues
and
profits
coming

from
a
single
region
on
the
globe,
then,
one
must
wonder
how
much
would
it

generate
if
the
promising
business
could
reach
other
and
further
regions
around
the

globe!...
In
fact,
if
one
thinks
about
it,
the
true
potential
is
enormous!
I
now

understand
the
so
affirmative
account
by
Josh
Bernoff,
an
analyst
at
Forrester

Research:

“By
the
end
of
2010,
Twitter
will
either
have
a
business
model
capable
of

generating
$100
million
in
revenue
or
it
will
get
bought.
This
is
not
a

company
whose
ambition
is
to
be
small
and
profitable.
They
are
looking
at
a

world
where
one
billion
people
are
Twittering.
You
have
to
be
able
to
make

money
from
that.”11

This
current
(as
we
are
near
the
end
of
2010)
overall
potential
wouldn’t
be
possible

without
the
key
visionary
contribution
of
Twitter’s
founders.

Jack
Dorsey,

Christopher
Isaac
“Biz”
Stone
and,
mainly,
Evan
Williams
are
the
names
behind

Twitter’s
emergence.

I
would
say
that
their
entrepreneurship
qualities
are
the

source
for
the
current
optimistic
analysis
on
Twitter’s
performance
(again,
despite

some
numbers
showing
a
drop
on
its
global
users).
Particularly,
Evan
Williams!
If
one

takes
a
look
on
Williams’
past,
one
may
conclude
that
his
entrepreneur
spirit
made

him
to
be
where
he
is
today.

Having
dropped
from
University,
he
preferred
the

mental
challenge
of
coming
up
with
great
business
ideas.
Having
moved
from
job
to

job,
he
always
pursued
entrepreneurial
ideas
on
the
side,
even
though,
he
never
had

any
particular
success
on
any
of
his
early
projects.
But,
he
never
quitted
and
moved

right
after
to
a
more
alluring
idea
emerged12.

In
other
words,
he
was
the
kind
of

person
who
never
quitted
from
pursing
a
better
and
more
promising
entrepreneurial

idea.
His
past
jobs,
namely
within
the
marketing,
software
and
high-‐tech
industries,

made
him
the
successful
man
is
he
now.

9

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/15/twitters-‐financial-‐forecast-‐shows-‐first-‐revenue-‐in-‐q3-‐1-‐billion-‐users-‐
in-‐
2013/
,
accessed
October
25,
2010.

10

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/26/has.twitter.peaked/index.html?hpt=C1
,
accessed
October
25,
2010.

11

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/teens-‐arent-‐into-‐twitter-‐but-‐they-‐love-‐facebook-‐2010-‐02-‐
09?reflink=MW_news_stmp
,
accessed
October
25,
2010.

12
The
Entrepreneurs
at
Twitter:
Building
a
Brand,
a
Social
Tool
or
a
Tech
Powerhouse?,
found
at

https://campus.college.ch/download/assignment/2560

6

But,
the
move
I
reckon
to
be
the
most
significant
shift
on
his
entrepreneurial

ascendency,
and
that
would
constitute
the
pre-‐announcement
of
Twitter’s

breakthrough,
was
the
launch
of
a
podcasting
firm
named
Odeo,
Inc.
Podcasting

(another
visionary
project,
where
the
main
feature
was
the
practice
of
recording
and

releasing
digital
media
files
via
web).
Despite
this
promising
project,
in
early
2006,

Odeo
was
facing
poor
prospects
for
its
future.
And,
after
a
series
of
events,
Williams

(together
with
his
fellows
Stone
and
Dorsey)
decided
to
acquire
another
parallel

project
named
“Twttr”.

The
rebranding
of
the
project
was
the
next
step:
the

“Twitter”
project
was
born.

In
one
sentence:
Williams’
(as
well
as,
Stone’s
and
Dorsey’s)
entrepreneurial

capabilities
and
constant
visionary
eagerness
for
brighter
ideas,
determinately

contributed
for
the
birth
and
consequent
success
of
Twitter.

What
has
been
Twitter’s
marketing
approach
to
date?
What
should
its

marketing
approach
look
like
in
the
future?
Can
Twitter
ever
earn
profits?
If

so,
how
can
it
capitalize
on
its
popularity,
and
how
should
it
put
those
plans

into
action?

Now,
the
success
of
Twitter
(just
like
any
other
successful
product/service)
cannot

(and
did
not)
rely
on
the
absence
of
an
effective
marketing
strategy.
Twitter’s

accomplishments
go
hand-‐in-‐hand
with
a
powerful
marketing
strategy
approach
and

means
to
reach
and
attain
the
maximum
attention/adhesion
from
its
public
target.

One
may
identify
7
main
stages
regarding
Twitter’s
marketing
approach,
since
its

foundation:

1) During
the
first
six
months
of
Twitter’s
existence,
the
company
implemented

a
basic/poor
marketing
strategy
approach
–
it
relied
on
its
original
users
to

become
what
may
be
called
as
“personal
evangelists”
for
the
service.13

2) Twitter’s
first
real
breakthrough
happened
following
a
bright
marketing

approach/action:
by
March
2007,
in
Austin,
at
South
by
Southwest
festival,

“participants
were
able
to
see
their
tweets
flash
across
television
screens
in

real
time.
The
number
of
tweets
tripled
to
60,000
per
day,
as
participants

talked
about
the
service
and
the
bloggers
in
attendance
wrote
about
it”

(source:
The
Entrepreneurs
at
Twitter:
Building
a
Brand,
a
Social
Tool
or
a

Tech
Powerhouse?,
found
at


3) Following
and
building
on
the
success
at
South
by
Southwest,
Twitter
decided

to
add
extra
new
features
to
its
product,
such
as
RSS
feeds
and
integration

with
IM.
This
upgrading
on
the
product
meant
that
each
feature
that
was

added
boosted
the
number
of
users
and
usage
per
user.14

4) Another
marking
point
at
Twitter’s
successful
marketing
accomplishments

was
when
its
service
began
to
be
mentioned
by
numerous
times
in
the
media

(a
key
marketing
platform)
–
between
2007
and
late
2009.15

13
The
Entrepreneurs
at
Twitter:
Building
a
Brand,
a
Social
Tool
or
a
Tech
Powerhouse?,
found
at


14
http://www.140characters.com/2009/01/30/how-twitter-was-born/ , accessed
October
25,
2010.

15
The
Entrepreneurs
at
Twitter:
Building
a
Brand,
a
Social
Tool
or
a
Tech
Powerhouse?,
found
at


7

5) A
fifth
stage
may
be
identified
as
when
Twitter
had
managed
to
reach
a

strong
and
powerful
segment
of
its
public
target:
other

organizations/companies.
These
began
to
take
note
of
Twitter’s
potential
to

reach
out
to
a
more
technologically
savvy
audience.
The
service
was

especially
valuable
to
small
companies,
with
limited
budgets,
looking
to
gain

recognition
in
the
marketplace.
With
Twitter,
these
small
firms
could
reach

out
and
provide
updates
to
a
growing
list
of
followers.
Within
larger

organizations,
there
was
the
potential
for
managers
to
update
and
co-‐
ordinate
groups
of
employees.
However,
managers
were
aware
of
the

downside
as
well
–
employees
could
be
spending
unnecessary
amounts
of

time
on
the
service.

6) Another
remarkable
achievement/conquest
(if
not
the
most
notorious
one)

may
be
identified
as
being
when
Twitter
gained
in
usage
during
the
2008
U.S.

presidential
campaign
and
was
cited
as
a
key
tool
during
the
2008
attacks
in

Mumbai,
India.

Also,
during
the
Iranian
presidential
election,
the
popularity
of
Twitter
as
a

tool
used
by
protesters
grew;
participants
relied
on
the
service
to
co-‐ordinate

their
movements
and
to
send
message
to
the
world
outside
Iran.
Reliance
on

the
service
grew
to
such
a
point
that
Twitter
delayed
a
90-‐minute

maintenance
shutdown
following
a
request
from
the
U.S.
State
Department

to
keep
the
service
available
for
the
Iranian
protesters.16

7) Finally,
over
the
last
2
years,
Twitter
has
managed
to
constantly
be

mentioned
and
advertised
in
the
media.
To
name
a
few
accomplishments,

and
during
2009,
there
were
publicity
stunts
initiated
by
users,
such
as

Ashton
Kutcher’s
challenge
to
CNN
in
a
“Twitter
popularity
contest”17
and
a

Twitter
name
charity
auction
for
“@drew,”
which
attracted
a
US$1
million

bid
from
comedian
Drew
Carey
if
he
reached
one
million
followers
by
the
end

of
2009.18

As
listed
and
described
above,
one
may
clearly
understand
that
Twitter’s
overall

marketing
strategy
has
been
to
try
and
be
at
the
core
of
key
notorious
events

(being
political
or
social).
Its
aim
is
to
be
among
the
people
(the
masses)

themselves.
Explore
the
word-‐of-‐mouth
factor
and
potentiate
the
enormous

opportunity
that
modern
media
platforms
(namely,
television)
may
represent
to

help
the
company
to
promote
its
product/service.
It’s
clear
to
me
that
Twitter

has
no
limitations
regarding
its
public
target.
It
wants
to
reach
as
much
public
as

possible
(being
a
mere
citizen
or
other
identities,
such
as,
organizations,

corporations
and
companies).

16
Andrew LaVallee, (2009-06-15). “Web Users in Iran Reach Overseas for Proxies,” The Wall Street Journal,
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/06/15/web-users-in-iran-reach-overseas-for-proxies/ , accessed
October
25,

2010; and Mike Musgrove, (2009-06-17), “Twitter Is a Player In Iran's Drama,” The Washington Post,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2009/06/16/AR2009061603391.html?hpid=topnews ,
accessed
October
25,
2010.

17
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/15/ashton.cnn.twitter.battle/index.html , accessed
October
25,
2010.

18
http://mashable.com/2009/10/07/drew-carey-twitter-bid/, accessed
October
25,
2010.

8

Twitter’s
Brand
has
become,
then,
a
remarkable
one
and
I
sense
(after
having

read
and
analyzed
this
case
study)
that
its
potential
has
not
yet
been
explored
to

its
limitations!

What
marketing
approach
should
Twitter,
then,
follow
in
the
years
ahead,

knowing
that
its
potential
(both
in
terms
of
reaching
further
“audiences”
and
in

turning
into
a
money-‐making
business)
is
reckoned
to
be
an
undoubtedly
reality?

Well,
first
of
all
it
certainly
must
try
and
maintain
(and
even
improve)
the
level
of

exposure
it
currently
has
on
the
media.
Virtually,
anyone
now
knows
what

Twitter
is,
how
and
where
can
it
be
found
(despite,
as
interpreted
from
the
given

article,
one
may
speculate
that
it
still
has
other
markets/regions
in
the
globe
to

exhibit
itself).
It’s
already
on
the
spot,
so
to
speak.
The
lights
are
already
on
it!

So,
the
first
thing
to
do
is
to
try
and
explore
that
already
given
fact.
Being
on
the

news
and,
constantly,
being
quoted
and
used
as
an
innovation
tool
for
modern

communication
(being
a
fast,
intuitive
and
easy
communication
platform)
must

be
the
key
message
to
pass
on
to
its
targeted
audience).

In
my
account,
Twitter
has
the
true
potential
to
not
just
be
an
extraordinary

social
tool
(as
it
has
been
for
the
time
being),
but
also
a
set
of
features
that
may

make
it
a
real
“branding”
opportunity
for
its
entrepreneurs/founders.
To
be

more
precise,
I
would
say
that
their
entrepreneurs
should
move
onto
the
next

big
step
and
reinvent
its
marketing
strategy
and
look
at
Twitter
as
what
I
would

call
the
“brand
for
modern
communication”.
In
my
view,
this
message
should
be

the
one
around
which
the
next
ventures
should
be
inspired
by.

There
is
no
turn
around
on
The
Modern
Communications
Era
(some
also
call
it

the
Network
Society19).
It’s
a
given
fact
that,
in
modern
times,
information
and

money
flow
more
quickly
than
ever
and
international
communication
is

commonplace.
So,
as
Twitter
is
already
in
the
midst
of
such
phenomena,
the
only

way
I
see
for
the
product
(the
company
itself)
to
survive
and
indeed
try
and

make
the
most
of
the
current
tendencies
is
to
improve
its
marketing
strategy

into
a
much
“Branding”
one.
And,
by
that,
I
mean
that
Twitter
needs
to
brand

itself
into
a
real
product
that
may
be
used,
but
also
bought
by
true
consumers.

Yes,
it
mustn’t
drop
out
from
being
a
remarkable
social
or
political
tool
(take
the

extreme
examples
of
Barack
Obama’s
U.S.
presidential
campaign
or
even
the

political
protests
in
Iran).
But,
my
perception
is
that
this
outstanding
feature
may

well
go
hand-‐in-‐hand
with
a
another
way
of
seeing
current
times
and
needs
the

company
may
have
to
begin
to
raise
profits
and
revenues
–
a
money
making

business
model,
as
well.

Twitter
may
well
follow
a
new
path
on
its
trajectory:
a
two
way
of
seeing
the

business
itself.
On
one
side,
maintain
and
even
reinforce
its
positive
position
as
a

social
tool/product
that
may
be
used
by
virtually
anyone
(without
having
to
pay

anything
for
it).
On
the
other
side,
a
parallel
a
new
track,
where
the
company

may
also
have
the
opportunity
to
make
money
out
of
the
all
idea.

19

Castells,
Manuel
(1996)
The
Rise
of
the
Network
Society.
Cambridge:
Blackwell.

9

Now,
to
accomplish
that
(the
profitable
paradigm),
Twitter
surely
must
target

other
markets
and
segments
of
consumers
(I
refer
to
much
complex
audiences,

such
as
large
corporations
and
organizations).
These
are
the
consumer
targets

Twitter
should
look
at
in
order
to
make
money
out
of
the
business
it
runs

(through
pay
per
use,
for
example).
And
these
groups
of
consumers
are
still

pretty
much
unexplored
by
Twitter.
Its
marketing
strategy
must,
then,
focus
on

trying
to
penetrate
into
these
potential
new
consumers.

A
huge,
but
committed
effort
must
be
done
on
applying
key
marketing
tools,

such
as,
publicity
stunts
and
strong
advertisement
on
the
media
(television,

radio,
internet,
etc).
The
new
product,
as
I
would
call
it,
should
be
promoted
as

being
a
two
vector
service:
a)
directed
to
the
common
user/consumer
(on
a
free

access
stream;
and
b)
directed
to
a
more
specific
consumer
segment,
where
the

usage
of
the
service
must
be
paid.

Twitter
needs
to
capitalize
on
its
popularity
and
put
into
action
a
set
of
plans!

What
plans
are
these?
Surely,
it
must
focus
on
getting
the
highest
number

possible
of
new
potential
users/consumers.
And
these
will
be
the
ones
who
will

support
the
desired
earning
of
profits!
As
mentioned
on
the
given
article,
the

potential
targets
are
as
follows:

 A
more
technological
savvy
audience.
These
may
be
divided
into
two
sub-‐
segments:
1
–
Small
companies,
with
limited
budgets,
looking
to
gain

recognition
in
the
marketplace
(even
though
it
is
not
a
new
segment
for

Twitter
to
capture,
as
it
already
is
one
of
twitter’s
user
segments,
it

should,
nevertheless,
be
one
target
to
develop
and
get
the
most
out
of

it);
2
–
Larger
companies,
with
the
potential
for
managers
to
update
and

co-‐ordinate
groups
of
employees.

 Commerce-‐based
search
businesses
(e-‐commerce
segment).

To
quote
Ellen
Siminoff,
a
former
Yahoo!
Inc.
executive
who
co-‐founded

education
the
website
Shmoop
University
Inc.:
“Where
you
have
audiences,
you

will
make
money.”20.
And
this
is
what
Twitter
must
do.
Building
on
its
popularity,

it
should
seek
for
further
audiences,
as
well
as,
try
to
re-‐enforce
the
liaison
with

the
existing
users/consumers.

20
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aPAHFu.jBrhM

10

Conclusion

What
should
entrepreneurs
at
Twitter
do?
Take
its
product
and
try
to
build
a

tremendous
Brand
out
of
it
(the
company
was
valued
at
US$1
billion
following
its

latest
round
of
funding21;
it
is
estimated
that
its
users
may
rise
up
to
1
billion
by

2013;
and
it
has
an
ambitious
goal
of
earning
over
$1
billion
in
net
income
also
by

2013)?
Or,
should
they
disregard
it
and
maintain
the
current
situation
of
being
just
a

“mere”
network
tool
for
consumers
to
use
it
freely?

My
answer
is
that
Twitter
should
build
a
two-‐way
track
(in
parallel
coordinates),

where
twitter
maybe
used
as
a
social-‐networking
toll,
but
also
as
a
way
where

certain
consumers
(much
complex
audiences,
such
as
large
corporations
and

organizations)
must
pay
for
it
in
order
to
use
it.

On
the
contrary,
if
Twitter’s
entrepreneurs
do
not
seek
this
vision,
many
argue
that

the
company
may
end
up
by
being
bought.
As
argued
by
Josh
Bernoff
(and
I
strongly

agree
with
him),
a
company
that
has
the
potential
of
having
a
business
model

capable
of
generating
$100
million
in
revenue
and
the
fact
that
the
number
of

people
twittering
may
rise
up
to
one
billion,
cannot
simply
be
ignored!
Bernoff’s

words
sound
clear
as
water
to
me:
“You
have
to
be
able
to
make
money
from

that!”22.

21
http://techcrunch.com/2009/09/16/twitter-closing-new-venture-round-with-1-billion-valuation/ , accessed

October
25,
2010.

22
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/teens-‐arent-‐into-‐twitter-‐but-‐they-‐love-‐facebook-‐2010-‐02-‐
09?reflink=MW_news_stmp
,
accessed
October
25,
2010.

11

Bibliography

Books

- Castells,
Manuel,
1996.
The
Rise
of
the
Network
Society.
Cambridge:

Blackwell.

- KIM,
Peter,
1990.
A
Perspective
on
Brands.
Journal
of
Consumer
Marketing.

Vol
7,
nº
3,
p.
63-‐67.

Internet
Resources

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Kutcher
challenges
CNN
to
Twitter
popularity
contest
(Webpage)

Available
from:

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/15/ashton.cnn.twitter.battle/index.ht
ml

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

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Carey
Raises
Bid
to
$1
Million
for
@Drew
on
Twitter
(Webpage)

Available
from:
http://mashable.com/2009/10/07/drew-‐carey-‐twitter-‐bid/

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

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Million
Twitter
Users
by
End
of
2009
(Webpage)

Available
from:
http://mashable.com/2009/09/14/twitter-‐2009-‐stats/

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

- Google's
social
side
hopes
to
catch
some
Buzz
(Webpage)

Available
from:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-‐30684_3-‐10449662-‐265.html

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

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Twitter
peaked?
(Webpage)

Available
from:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/26/has.twitter.peaked/index.html?hpt=
C1

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

- How
Twitter's
competitors
do
what
it
doesn't
(Webpage)

Available
from:

http://news.cnet.com/webware/?tag=rb_content;overviewHead

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

- How
Twitter
Was
Born
(Webpage)

Available
from:
http://www.140characters.com/2009/01/30/how-‐twitter-‐
was-‐born/

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

12

- The
12-‐Minute
Definitive
Guide
to
Twitter
(Webpage)

Available
from:
http://dev.aol.com/article/2007/04/definitive-‐guide-‐to-‐
twitter

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

- The
Entrepreneurs
at
Twitter:
Building
a
Brand,
a
Social
Tool
or
a
Tech

Powerhouse?
(Webpage)

Available
from:

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

- The
Entrepreneurs
at
Twitter:
Building
a
Brand,
a
Social
Tool
or
a
Tech

Powerhouse?
(Webpage)

Available
from:

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

- The
Washington
Post
(Webpage)

Available
from:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-‐
%20dyn/content/article/2009/06/16/AR2009061603391.html?hpid=topnews

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

- The
Twitter
Flatline:
Why
Doesn’t
Twitter
Grow?
(Webpage)

Available
from:
http://mashable.com/2010/01/11/twitter-‐growth-‐stats/

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

- Twitter
Closing
New
Venture
Round
At
$1
Billion
Valuation
(Webpage)

Available
from:
http://techcrunch.com/2009/09/16/twitter-‐closing-‐new-‐
venture-‐round-‐with-‐1-‐billion-‐valuation/

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

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Financial
Forecast
Shows
First
Revenue
In
Q3,
1
billion
users
in
2013

(Webpage)

Available
from:
http://techcrunch.com/2009/07/15/twitters-‐financial-‐
forecast-‐shows-‐first-‐revenue-‐in-‐q3-‐1-‐billion-‐users-‐in-‐2013/

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

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Funding
Round
Is
Said
to
Value
Company
at
$1
Billion
(Webpage)

Available
from:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aPAHFu.jBrh
M

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

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teens
are
lukewarm
on
Twitter,
love
Facebook
(Webpage)

Available
from:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/teens-‐arent-‐into-‐
twitter-‐but-‐they-‐love-‐facebook-‐2010-‐02-‐09?reflink=MW_news_stmp

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

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Users
in
Iran
Reach
Overseas
for
Proxies
(Webpage)

Available
from:
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/06/15/web-‐users-‐in-‐iran-‐
reach-‐overseas-‐for-‐proxies/

(accessed
Monday,
25.
October
2010).

13

Twitter – What future? What strategic path to follow?

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