Twitter’s new business direction

Direction Watch1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is Twitter heading in a new direction?  No.  It has tried to head in this direction for a while.  This direction is simple to explain.  They are trying to generate revenue from their platform.  If you think that they are already making money, think again.  It’s reported that Twitter has made losses for several years now.

David Clarke in his article on Mashable refers to three rumours  linked with Twitter.  In it he talks how Twitter will try to allow third-party developers access to their platform.  What this means to us is that it allows the building of apps,  that can function on Twitter, similar to your mobile apps.  Secondly he talks about how Twitter commerce (T-commerce) with mobile  devices could be combined with Square to enable the consumer to shop from a traditional website.  Lastly, he mentions contests and sweepstakes.  The fact that businesses today use Twitter to run contest and sweepstakes isn’t new.  Where will the game changer come from in this area?

My guess is that it will come from Posterous.  Why I choose them is for the simple fact that Twitter acquired Posterous to add a digital media sharing interface to its platform.  With this, the use of mobile devices will be more dominant.  People will be able to use it like videos and digital images in Facebook.  Companies will be able to run digital contests and sweepstakes on Twitter.

Now, Twitter isn’t taking on Facebook.  It’s positioning itself, as the  platform of choice for the mobile device market.  This is due the fact that over 50% of Twitter users access it on mobile devices.  But, from what the Twitter rumours indicates to me is that it is becoming very similar to Weibo.  That’s right Weibo!  This chinese owned platform has launched an international version recently.  Weibo has been able to do something that Twitter isn’t able to do, generate revenue.  I wonder if Twitter is strengthening its position against Weibo?  These two companies look like they will be going head to head.  Who will win?  Is Twitter heading in the right direction?

Contributing Article

• “3 Twitter Rumors and What They Could Mean for Brands” by David Clarke
• “The San Weibo App is Very, Very Addictive!” by Willis Wee

About Christopher Seeto

A Brand Enhancer in Communications. I fit naturally with technology, curious about science and avid consumer of news to gain insights. You can follow me on Google+ , LinkedIn , Twitter .