To tweet, perchance to monetize.

Posted by objectivejay on
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 6:42 pm

Twitter is remaining secretive but rumors are circling around after the latest round of musical chairs cost Jack Dorsey his CEO chair. One thing is for sure though, Twitter means business. And they will tell us how next year – according to a recent article in Wired magazine.

There is still talk about an ad revenue model by analyzing content of tweets and running relevant advertising alongside the tweets. The real potential of that model will require the collaboration of third-party developers especially for smart phone clients unless Twitter wants to release its own client, of course. Because of the CAN-SPAM act, advertisers and your wireless carrier cannot, if you have not opted-in, send messages directly to your phone. However, if you willingly sign up and agree to the terms of use of a service that will occasionally advertise to you, then the twitter client can acquire geographic data from your smart phone and deliver location-based advertising directly to you in the form of tweets, or if you have the option enabled, as SMS.

If that first idea proves legally untenable, the Twitter database is still a prime candidate for creating opt-in lists of customers who can be used in focus groups, and with whom to communicate new marketing ideas and get immediate responses. Imagine the creation of gadget geeks twitter groups, people who will actively subscribe to hear about the latest and greatest gadgets and potentially buy them or test drive them. Now multiply that image with all other market possibilities. Twitter can make money by offering aggregation services and monetize the commercial uses that are already happening on the service. In order for this model to be viable though, Twitter has to remain free for non-commercial users.

I guess we will hear their answer sometime next year. For now, happy ad-free tweeting to all, while it lasts.