Twitter is not going to charge anyone to tweet

Twitter Is Not Going To Charge Anyone To Tweet

By Jordan McCollum
Expert Author
Article Date: 2009-02-12

This week, there's been a flurry of news about Twitter's business plans. Okay, so Twitter's business plans have been the subject of news for months, but this time it looked like Twitter was about to come out with a revenue model: charging businesses for certain add-on services.

Some people took this to mean that they would charge big brands for using the service in the first place, a claim that Twitter co-founder Biz Stone takes to task on the Twitter Blog. So, just to be clear, even though we reported this correctly earlier this week, I'm going to say it again:

Twitter is not going to charge anyone to tweet

Its basic service has always been and will always be free, as Stone asserts:

it's important to note that whatever we come up with, Twitter will remain free to use by everyone-individuals, companies, celebrities, etc. What we're thinking about is adding value in places where we are already seeing traction, not imposing fees on existing services. We are still very early in the idea stage and we don't have anything to share just yet despite a recent surge in speculation. When we do, we'll be sure to let you know.

As always, we're looking forward to any news on this front (just in case past coverage has somehow left you wondering). Stone says that we can definitely expect some news here, too (emphasis added):

We've been thinking out loud for more than a year about the growing use of Twitter by companies, brands, and other commercial organizations. . . . In fact, we hope to begin iterating on revenue products this year.

So, if we're thinking aloud, what do you think Twitter will add on and charge for? Will they buy up a popular Twitter app and add subscriptions, or will they pioneer something else entirely? What would you most like to see them do?

Comments

About the Author:
Jordan McCollum is a staff writer for the popular marketing blog Marketing Pilgrim. She has worked in search engine optimization with clients including 3M, Little Giant Ladders and ADP. After graduating from Brigham Young University, Jordan joined the SEO copywriting team at the Internet marketing firm 10x Marketing. After 10x closed its doors in December 2006, Jordan became a freelance writer and Internet marketing consultant specializing in SEO. She also has extensive experience with web analytics, conversion rate enhancement and e-mail marketing.