It seems that although the number of people using Twitter is growing super-fast, there is a growing number of people with serious doubts as to the actual value of Twitter as a business.
According to an article in the New York Times, the latest people to cast doubt on the value of Twitter to a potential buyer, are the analysts at Sanford Bernstein. They suggest potential acquirers for Twitter, should think twice. It seems the original 2.0 idea, that you build a successful “model” first and THEN figure out how to monetize it, is losing credibility as the recession / downturn continues.
According to the NYT article, the analysts at Sanford Bernstein said monetizing Twitter; “would be difficult at best and likely unsuccessful.” The article then points out the well-established resentment that happens, whenever a “free service” like Twitter starts trying to generate revenue for the business.
It will be interesting to see if the recent concerns regarding Twitter’s actual value, will impact it. The user base is massive – close to mainstream in many countries.
However, will we see Twitter acquired for anything close to the $500MILLION, which FaceBook were rumoured to have offered (in privately held stock)? I’m begining to seriously doubt it.
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Well, Jim, as you pointed out to me this morning, I spend a lot of time using Twitter. I certainly hope that is is worth fortunes, but much remains to be seen. I still cannot understand why Twitter is not selling advertisements on the member profile pages, in the search, or in every “X” number of tweets that go out. One would think the VC would eventually want to see a plan come into fruition.
Let’s use it and enjoy it for as long as it lasts. :-)