| Twitter has famously decided to create a giant user | | | | Premium services for users |
| base before even coming up with a business model. | | | | This is my least favorite idea, mostly because I think |
| This is a hazardous plan, and one that's earned them | | | | it's hard to convince consumers to pay for web |
| a lot of mockery. But one advantage to growing a | | | | services, especially when they can get these services |
| platform, with an open API, first and retrofitting a | | | | for free. That said, there are some opportunities. |
| business model later is the opportunity to observe | | | | 1. Charge for text message delivery. One of Twitter's |
| how users use and hack the system themselves. | | | | biggest costs is sending tweets out as text |
| Twitter has paid attention to how users use the | | | | messages. There's an opportunity to change this |
| system, such as using @ signs for replies and | | | | expense into a revenue stream. |
| hashtags for topic tagging and implemented them | | | | 2. Limit number of tweets per day, and charge for |
| into the system. | | | | anything over. This will probably sound horrible to |
| Additionally, hundreds of Twitter clients and | | | | most Twitterers, but it could work out. Craig's List |
| applications have been built. Companies like Microsoft, | | | | charges for certain types of ads. This has the dual |
| Adobe, and Apple have long looked to 3rd party | | | | effect of creating a revenue stream while preventing |
| developers for innovation. There's quite an | | | | abuse of the ad system. Metafilter charges $5 for a |
| opportunity to steal implement some of the ideas | | | | lifetime membership to keep out the riff-raff. So |
| already in use and build revenue streams from them. | | | | charging people a small fee before they can flood |
| I'll start off with a couple of obvious ones that have | | | | your Twitter feed with up to the second details |
| been discussed, and move into less obvious, and in | | | | about their laundry washing might actually benefit |
| my opinion, more lucrative ideas. | | | | everyone. |
| Ads on search pages | | | | 3. Filters and protected tweets. Same as the possible |
| This is something Twitter's talked about doing before. | | | | package for business users. But again, I definitely |
| Twitter is rightly cautious about serving ads on their | | | | think this should be free. Currently, Twitter only gives |
| pages, but they could probably get away with selling | | | | you the option of having all tweets hidden except to |
| PPC ads on search results pages. They could build | | | | people you follow, or having all tweets visible to |
| their own platform, or use someone else's. If I were | | | | everyone. I'd like LJ-esque granularity here. |
| Chitika or Yahoo!, I'd be courting Twitter for this | | | | Professional services: license the technology to |
| contract right now. | | | | companies and government agencies |
| Premium services for business users | | | | Twitter could build custom microblogging applications |
| This is has been specifically mentioned by Evan | | | | for businesses, and perhaps more lucratively, |
| Williams before. So here's a"sub top five" of specific | | | | government agencies. Twitter's use for emergency |
| services they could offer. | | | | coordination and disaster relief is much touted - they |
| 1. Validated account names to prevent public | | | | should capitalize on this. They can offer secure |
| embarrassment. Also, mirror accounts for variants on | | | | microblogging services behind the firewall, custom |
| a name (ie, @exxon, @exxonmobil, @exxonsucks, | | | | tailored to an organizations needs. Competition: |
| @exxonrules, @XOM, etc.) | | | | Laconica, an open source Twitter clone that powers |
| 2. Cross posting - Allow users to post the same | | | | identi.ca. |
| tweet across multiple accounts (ie, post to both | | | | Digital payment system |
| @sergeybrin and @google at the same time). This | | | | This is my favorite: compete head-on with PayPal. |
| can be done now with various clients. | | | | There are a few PayPal competitors out there |
| 3. Autofollow users who follow you. This can be done | | | | (ePassporte, Revolution Money Exchange, Google |
| with bots, but it's just one of those things that would | | | | Checkout), but Twitter seems like the perfect |
| be nice to have included in a premium package. This | | | | platform for a payment system. There's already a |
| should be done across accounts as well (such as the | | | | third party solution trying to do this: TwitPay. I'm not |
| @sergeybrin and @Google example noted above). | | | | ready to hand my bank account info over to |
| 4. Filtering. Let business users, who will be following | | | | TwitPay, but I would to Twitter. If Twitter can |
| thousands of people, trim their lists to read only who | | | | make it easier to transfer money amongst users, and |
| they want. This can be done with TweetDeck now | | | | take a little off the top, this could be their killer |
| but LiveJournal style filterting is sorely needed. | | | | revenue stream. |
| (Really, this feature should just be added for free for | | | | Crazy idea: Twitter could become a virtual free bank, |
| everyone.) | | | | offering their own digital currency that can be traded |
| 5. Geo-locative services - Yes, the idea of sending a | | | | through Twitter. Give a certain amount of starting |
| coupon to someone's mobile as they pass a store is | | | | credits to verified users, and let the market |
| now cliche. That doesn't mean that there isn't money | | | | determine the actual value. Hey, maybe if they limit |
| to be made doing it. Twitter should add some | | | | the number of tweets per day they could make |
| geo-locative features for GPS users eventually, and it | | | | "tweet credits" tradable - a la cell phone minutes in |
| would only make sense for them to allow opt-in | | | | Africa. |
| location based promotions. | | | | |