Twitter considers charging for corporate accounts

With $20 million investment, it's got to start making money somehow...

Twitter considers charging for corporate accounts

10 February 2009 11:25 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Twitter could soon charge commercial accounts for using its micro-blogging services, a company exec has revealed.

The site's popularity has dramatically increased recently with almost 1000% growth in a year, but as with many Web 2.0 start-ups, does not currently actually have any way to make money from the service.

The co-founder of the service, Biz Stone, told Marketing magazine: "We are noticing more companies using Twitter and individuals following them. We can identify ways to make this experience even more valuable and charge for commercial accounts".

Stone would not reveal what the likely charges would be and made it clear that individual users would not be charged.

Marketing magazine asked Bob Pearson, Dell's vice-president of communities and conversations (who recently announced Twitter exclusives to US users) if they would consider paying.

Pearson said: "If it becomes complicated and costly, our instinct would be to move elsewhere".

DVD rental company LOVEFiLM said: "It depends - on price, demand and what else is around".

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Software, Websites, Online, Twitter, Biz, Dell, LoveFilm
UK Shopping
Amazon.co.uk, play.com, pixmania.co.uk, Currys.co.uk, Dixons.co.uk, 7dayshop.com, ebay.co.uk
US Shopping
Amazon.com, bestbuy.com, ebay.com

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Comments

  • Surely with so many competing brands around companies would just up and leave rather than pay for this kind of thing wouldn't they? Posted by twitterfan, uk
  • I think it's very clever as companies who have built up a big twitter following like Dell won't be able to lose the business that they've suddenly made. Starting again will save you the cost of the feed, but you'll have to do a lot of work all over again to build it up Posted by Jon, Wales
  • I had quite a long philosophical conversation with the journalist from Marketing about this when she was writing the article, which is not entirely summed up with the quote from me she used in it (I've got some work to do on the pithy sound bite front, obviously).

    The challenge Twitter will face is that there's such a grey line between personal and commercial use.

    Aside from the celebrity issue, where they are clearly individuals, but using the service for commercial gain, it's grey elsewhere too.

    If I spend a lot of my time on Twitter talking about business related stuff, where does that leave me?
    Posted by Robin Grant, UK

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