Deep Twitter Thoughts—-How Would You Spend Twitter's $100 million?

Yahoo is spending $100 million on an ad campaign. It should spend the money on a documentary to teach brands how to piss money away and ignore your customers.

Now Twitter has $100 million. Maybe they will loan Yahoo the money for the campaign and T. Rowe Price will take a commission on it, but I think there are better uses. As Chris Dixon points out…Twitter should be investing in PRODUCTS.

It is hard to imagine running a company with 54 employees, tremendous brand recognition and open filed opportunities and $100 million CASH in the bank. Cash and brand recognition are not Twitter’s problems.

Some other problems twitter does not have:

1. I have been to Twitter and the food is already good and freshly prepared.

2. They already have pretty killer t’s .

3. The people are splendid and talented.

They have THREE problems as I see them…revenue not being one of them (today).

1. The product only works a little bit.

2. Whether it works or not, Twitter is WAY understaffed for the task at hand today.

3. I am not using the homepage to discover or learn anything.

I can’t imagine that problem 1 will cost more than $1-$2 million to truly solve. If they can’t…$1 billion won’t help.

Even if Twitter quickly hires 200 employees, the burn will be relatively low for the opportunity at hand.

I think dealing with problem 3 is the key. If this Twitter Suggested List is the best Twitter has to offer after 3 years, they should be ashamed. The new web is about discovery and filtering, but forcing people to do it because ‘it’s easy’ or others will do it, is a ridiculously lazy and negligent. If I need Twitter’s homepage to discover JetBlue and Dell, Tony Robbins and Ashton Kutcher…continue to count me as unloyal to the brand. If I must use Twitter’s home page to make these discoveries still in 60 days, the investors should have a clause to get their money back.

To build a real business, let alone one worthy of $1 billion, you need to shock and amaze your users and customers. Twitter is a long way from that. The good news is that the fixes are INCREDIBLY easy to build.

I never go to the homepage of Twitter, but I would if I could discover talented people in categories that interested me first and than have some surprises thrown in. Curation is not a dirty word and it needs to be embraced by SOMEONE inside Twitter.

Robert Scoble took some time out from ranting about Twitter’s neglect of him to deliver some good follow suggestions in his most recent post . I followed quite a few for a trial.

Twitter should take the lead in getting the conversation and discovery going.

Comedy, Arts, Motivation, Sales, Finance, Marketplaces, Calssifieds, Dating…not just News. For all that Yahoo has done bad since 2000, what they did right from the get go is not a strategy to be shunned by Twitter. There is nothing wrong with being a media and discovery company while the bazillion dollar model shows itself.

134 comments

  1. Attitrade says:

    You could make a dent in #3 with a purchase of wefollow.com or a derivation of it. Twitter definitely needs some sizzle for their homepage. I’d also spend a portion of that $100 MM and buy stocktwits.

    • howardlindzon says:

      stocktwits probably does not make sense and we follow is just ok. i am
      still number 12 on their porn list as an example.

      curation to me is the best way to go.

      yes there will be biases but embrace them and just change them up

    • howardlindzon says:

      stocktwits probably does not make sense and we follow is just ok. i am
      still number 12 on their porn list as an example.

      curation to me is the best way to go.

      yes there will be biases but embrace them and just change them up

    • howardlindzon says:

      stocktwits probably does not make sense and we follow is just ok. i am
      still number 12 on their porn list as an example.

      curation to me is the best way to go.

      yes there will be biases but embrace them and just change them up

  7. AE says:

    Agree on a good directory, but Twitter needs to invest their new $ in delivering their service as quickly, reliably and flexibly as possible. Spam free too. And create an app store/device ecosystem around the product.

    That’s how I would spend the 100 million.

  8. AE says:

    Agree on a good directory, but Twitter needs to invest their new $ in delivering their service as quickly, reliably and flexibly as possible. Spam free too. And create an app store/device ecosystem around the product.

    That’s how I would spend the 100 million.

    • howardlindzon says:

      You are a smart dude always.

      The spam issue is impossible. For stocktwits they do a great job being responsive and we hate it but you have to deal with it.

      I only follow who I want so on a personal level it does not affect me.

      The store is keyyyy as is selling scarcity like qvc, woot etc…product of the day etc

      Endless ideas

    • howardlindzon says:

      You are a smart dude always.

      The spam issue is impossible. For stocktwits they do a great job being responsive and we hate it but you have to deal with it.

      I only follow who I want so on a personal level it does not affect me.

      The store is keyyyy as is selling scarcity like qvc, woot etc…product of the day etc

      Endless ideas

    • howardlindzon says:

      You are a smart dude always.

      The spam issue is impossible. For stocktwits they do a great job being responsive and we hate it but you have to deal with it.

      I only follow who I want so on a personal level it does not affect me.

      The store is keyyyy as is selling scarcity like qvc, woot etc…product of the day etc

      Endless ideas

  9. AE says:

    Agree on a good directory, but Twitter needs to invest their new $ in delivering their service as quickly, reliably and flexibly as possible. Spam free too. And create an app store/device ecosystem around the product.

    That’s how I would spend the 100 million.

  10. Guest says:

    Gotta agree with #1-3. Maybe a better acquisition than wefollow would be tweetmeme, they seem to have a good sense about curation and virality.

    I think I’d also add in: 4. They’re not getting serious about mobile penetration.

    Facebook’s so focused on it that they roll out their own app instead of relying on 3rd-party developers; they’ve also been putting all their biz dev efforts into building strong carrier relationships. That’s why 71% of iPhone users connect to Facebook every day – http://bit.ly/DHJAM. I think Foursquare is another smart and very recent example of how quickly you could grow if you focus on social + mobile.

  11. Guest says:

    Gotta agree with #1-3. Maybe a better acquisition than wefollow would be tweetmeme, they seem to have a good sense about curation and virality.

    I think I’d also add in: 4. They’re not getting serious about mobile penetration.

    Facebook’s so focused on it that they roll out their own app instead of relying on 3rd-party developers; they’ve also been putting all their biz dev efforts into building strong carrier relationships. That’s why 71% of iPhone users connect to Facebook every day – http://bit.ly/DHJAM. I think Foursquare is another smart and very recent example of how quickly you could grow if you focus on social + mobile.

  12. Guest says:

    Gotta agree with #1-3. Maybe a better acquisition than wefollow would be tweetmeme, they seem to have a good sense about curation and virality.

    I think I’d also add in: 4. They’re not getting serious about mobile penetration.

    Facebook’s so focused on it that they roll out their own app instead of relying on 3rd-party developers; they’ve also been putting all their biz dev efforts into building strong carrier relationships. That’s why 71% of iPhone users connect to Facebook every day – http://bit.ly/DHJAM. I think Foursquare is another smart and very recent example of how quickly you could grow if you focus on social + mobile.

  13. howardlindzon says:

    stocktwits probably does not make sense and we follow is just ok. i am
    still number 12 on their porn list as an example.

    curation to me is the best way to go.

    yes there will be biases but embrace them and just change them up

  16. Pingback: Tweets that mention Howard Lindzon » Blog Archive » Deep Twitter Thoughts—-How Would You Spend Twitter’s $100 million? -- Topsy.com
  21. AE says:

    Agree on a good directory, but Twitter needs to invest their new $ in delivering their service as quickly, reliably and flexibly as possible. Spam free too. And create an app store/device ecosystem around the product.

    That's how I would spend the 100 million.

  22. howardlindzon says:

    You are a smart dude always.

    The spam issue is impossible. For stocktwits they do a great job being responsive and we hate it but you have to deal with it.

    I only follow who I want so on a personal level it does not affect me.

    The store is keyyyy as is selling scarcity like qvc, woot etc…product of the day etc

    Endless ideas

  24. tony leone says:

    Start by refining ST’s during actual trading hours by separating out the gaming chaos traders scalping nickles which serves no value to the average public who can really be helped by the real meaningful approach to day trading which is simply gaining entry into a position at that moment in time.

    Rapid fire trading might impress the kiddies but it isnt day trading. Day trading mean you enter that particular day after all due diligence is completed. Not by positing charts that still need consolidating. We need actual pivot points for that day. Eliminate the chaos. Wasted resources go to accolades to certain traders who do this when in fact the majority cannot nor should ever considering doing so so why is it promoted?

    It seems certain individuals who don’t even have websites do this for their own ego. I just think it doesnt maxmize St’s potential. You already have a commentary section for that which is a good start now try working on a true day trading site accessible to all.

  25. tony leone says:

    Start by refining ST’s during actual trading hours by separating out the gaming chaos traders scalping nickles which serves no value to the average public who can really be helped by the real meaningful approach to day trading which is simply gaining entry into a position at that moment in time.

    Rapid fire trading might impress the kiddies but it isnt day trading. Day trading mean you enter that particular day after all due diligence is completed. Not by positing charts that still need consolidating. We need actual pivot points for that day. Eliminate the chaos. Wasted resources go to accolades to certain traders who do this when in fact the majority cannot nor should ever considering doing so so why is it promoted?

    It seems certain individuals who don’t even have websites do this for their own ego. I just think it doesnt maxmize St’s potential. You already have a commentary section for that which is a good start now try working on a true day trading site accessible to all.

  26. Attitrade says:

    You could make a dent in #3 with a purchase of wefollow.com or a derivation of it. Twitter definitely needs some sizzle for their homepage. I'd also spend a portion of that $100 MM and buy stocktwits.

  27. tony leone says:

    Start by refining ST's during actual trading hours by separating out the gaming chaos traders scalping nickles which serves no value to the average public who can really be helped by the real meaningful approach to day trading which is simply gaining entry into a position at that moment in time.

    Rapid fire trading might impress the kiddies but it isnt day trading. Day trading mean you enter that particular day after all due diligence is completed. Not by positing charts that still need consolidating. We need actual pivot points for that day. Eliminate the chaos. Wasted resources go to accolades to certain traders who do this when in fact the majority cannot nor should ever considering doing so so why is it promoted?

    It seems certain individuals who don't even have websites do this for their own ego. I just think it doesnt maxmize St's potential. You already have a commentary section for that which is a good start now try working on a true day trading site accessible to all.

  28. William Mougayar says:

    Yes, Twitter could (should) become the uber-discovery and recommendation engine; by people interests, topics, geo, etc. All kinds of slicing/dicing if smartly done by a curated taxonomy of sorts.

    I've also argued they shld limit the # of tweets per day or charge if you want to post more than 50 per day. That would bracket businesses in the paid segment.

    They shld definitely spend their money on scaling the infrastructure and making it more stable.
    Finally, they need to innovate on the UI and basic features for their homepage. There is far too much Balkanization of apps and too many mediocre crappy apps.
    One more thing (you got me going): a real App store.

  29. sayemislam says:

    Gotta agree with #1-3. Maybe a better acquisition than wefollow would be tweetmeme, they seem to have a good sense about curation and virality.

    I think I'd also add in: 4. They're not getting serious about mobile penetration.

    Facebook's so focused on it that they roll out their own app instead of relying on 3rd-party developers; they've also been putting all their biz dev efforts into building strong carrier relationships. That's why 71% of iPhone users connect to Facebook every day – http://bit.ly/DHJAM. I think Foursquare is another smart and very recent example of how quickly you could grow if you focus on social + mobile.

  32. William Mougayar says:

    Yes, Twitter could (should) become the uber-discovery and recommendation engine; by people interests, topics, geo, etc. All kinds of slicing/dicing if smartly done by a curated taxonomy of sorts.

    I’ve also argued they shld limit the # of tweets per day or charge if you want to post more than 50 per day. That would bracket businesses in the paid segment.

    They shld definitely spend their money on scaling the infrastructure and making it more stable.
    Finally, they need to innovate on the UI and basic features for their homepage. There is far too much Balkanization of apps and too many mediocre crappy apps.
    One more thing (you got me going): a real App store.

    • Will says:

      “I’ve also argued they shld limit the # of tweets per day or charge if you want to post more than 50 per day.”

      That would go over like a lead balloon. Never, EVER take away existing features unless you want people to get pissed. Creating a Freemium model seems inevitable, but they can do it without stifling existing liberties. Here’s an example of a premium feature they can add: give users the ability to edit a tweet after it’s sent.

    • Will says:

      “I’ve also argued they shld limit the # of tweets per day or charge if you want to post more than 50 per day.”

      That would go over like a lead balloon. Never, EVER take away existing features unless you want people to get pissed. Creating a Freemium model seems inevitable, but they can do it without stifling existing liberties. Here’s an example of a premium feature they can add: give users the ability to edit a tweet after it’s sent.

      • William Mougayar says:

        That wouldn’t take away anything because the overwhelming majority of users tweet less than 10/day- 99% according to this: http://techcrunchies.com/average-number-of-tweets-per-day/. So, no one will be missing anything. On the contrary, it will curb the usage of some abusers and spammers, something that will raise the overall quality.
        That number could be somewhere between 50 and 100/day. Even Howard Lindzon who is a power user barely reaches that number/day. Again, it’s aimed at legitimizing business usage with a fee, which is something that Twitter has hinted about.

      • William Mougayar says:

        That wouldn’t take away anything because the overwhelming majority of users tweet less than 10/day- 99% according to this: http://techcrunchies.com/average-number-of-tweets-per-day/. So, no one will be missing anything. On the contrary, it will curb the usage of some abusers and spammers, something that will raise the overall quality.
        That number could be somewhere between 50 and 100/day. Even Howard Lindzon who is a power user barely reaches that number/day. Again, it’s aimed at legitimizing business usage with a fee, which is something that Twitter has hinted about.

  33. William Mougayar says:

    Yes, Twitter could (should) become the uber-discovery and recommendation engine; by people interests, topics, geo, etc. All kinds of slicing/dicing if smartly done by a curated taxonomy of sorts.

    I’ve also argued they shld limit the # of tweets per day or charge if you want to post more than 50 per day. That would bracket businesses in the paid segment.

    They shld definitely spend their money on scaling the infrastructure and making it more stable.
    Finally, they need to innovate on the UI and basic features for their homepage. There is far too much Balkanization of apps and too many mediocre crappy apps.
    One more thing (you got me going): a real App store.

  34. William Mougayar says:

    Yes, Twitter could (should) become the uber-discovery and recommendation engine; by people interests, topics, geo, etc. All kinds of slicing/dicing if smartly done by a curated taxonomy of sorts.

    I’ve also argued they shld limit the # of tweets per day or charge if you want to post more than 50 per day. That would bracket businesses in the paid segment.

    They shld definitely spend their money on scaling the infrastructure and making it more stable.
    Finally, they need to innovate on the UI and basic features for their homepage. There is far too much Balkanization of apps and too many mediocre crappy apps.
    One more thing (you got me going): a real App store.

  35. Dan Robbins says:

    I think the search function (search.twitter.com) is under-appreciated and under-built. I've started going there instead of google for quick hits for product reviews. I find people are more likely to tweet positive views via twitter due to the ease of doing so vs. writing full on reviews at Amazon and the like. But depending on the topic, even using twitter search is now hit or miss due to the re-tweeting bots, pr tweets, etc. If you brought in some filtering algorithms to search, you'd have the real-time tangent to Google. Essentially, that's what you've done with Stocktwits, right? So it needs to be done in some fashion for twitter as a whole.

    That would be interesting….

  36. Ed Shahzade says:

    They haven't even built out their team yet.
    Just a couple years ago, they were a dozens kids having pizza
    on the floor.
    Look at the hires.
    Look at the calendar.
    Home page?

    A year from now it will need the rack space the whole site uses now.
    I have been right with Twitter every quarter since it was twttr.

    Hold on to your hat.

  37. dailypatricia says:

    I disagree that people are still ‘discovering’ on the web — most users know what to find and where.

    The only thing I discover on the web today is Saks having a sale on Louboutins. :)

  38. dailypatricia says:

    I disagree that people are still ‘discovering’ on the web — most users know what to find and where.

    The only thing I discover on the web today is Saks having a sale on Louboutins. :)

  39. dailypatricia says:

    I disagree that people are still 'discovering' on the web — most users know what to find and where.

    The only thing I discover on the web today is Saks having a sale on Louboutins. :)

  40. Dan Robbins says:

    I think the search function (search.twitter.com) is under-appreciated and under-built. I’ve started going there instead of google for quick hits for product reviews. I find people are more likely to tweet positive views via twitter due to the ease of doing so vs. writing full on reviews at Amazon and the like. But depending on the topic, even using twitter search is now hit or miss due to the re-tweeting bots, pr tweets, etc. If you brought in some filtering algorithms to search, you’d have the real-time tangent to Google. Essentially, that’s what you’ve done with Stocktwits, right? So it needs to be done in some fashion for twitter as a whole.

    That would be interesting….

  41. Dan Robbins says:

    I think the search function (search.twitter.com) is under-appreciated and under-built. I’ve started going there instead of google for quick hits for product reviews. I find people are more likely to tweet positive views via twitter due to the ease of doing so vs. writing full on reviews at Amazon and the like. But depending on the topic, even using twitter search is now hit or miss due to the re-tweeting bots, pr tweets, etc. If you brought in some filtering algorithms to search, you’d have the real-time tangent to Google. Essentially, that’s what you’ve done with Stocktwits, right? So it needs to be done in some fashion for twitter as a whole.

    That would be interesting….

  42. Dan Robbins says:

    I think the search function (search.twitter.com) is under-appreciated and under-built. I’ve started going there instead of google for quick hits for product reviews. I find people are more likely to tweet positive views via twitter due to the ease of doing so vs. writing full on reviews at Amazon and the like. But depending on the topic, even using twitter search is now hit or miss due to the re-tweeting bots, pr tweets, etc. If you brought in some filtering algorithms to search, you’d have the real-time tangent to Google. Essentially, that’s what you’ve done with Stocktwits, right? So it needs to be done in some fashion for twitter as a whole.

    That would be interesting….

  43. Dan Robbins says:

    I think the search function (search.twitter.com) is under-appreciated and under-built. I’ve started going there instead of google for quick hits for product reviews. I find people are more likely to tweet positive views via twitter due to the ease of doing so vs. writing full on reviews at Amazon and the like. But depending on the topic, even using twitter search is now hit or miss due to the re-tweeting bots, pr tweets, etc. If you brought in some filtering algorithms to search, you’d have the real-time tangent to Google. Essentially, that’s what you’ve done with Stocktwits, right? So it needs to be done in some fashion for twitter as a whole.

    That would be interesting….

  46. Ed says:

    They haven’t even built out their team yet. Just a couple years ago, they were a dozen kids having pizzaon the floor. Look at the hires. Look at the calendar. Home page? A year from now it will need the rack space the whole site uses now.I have been right with Twitter every quarter since it was twttr. Hold on to your hat.

  47. Ed says:

    They haven’t even built out their team yet. Just a couple years ago, they were a dozen kids having pizzaon the floor. Look at the hires. Look at the calendar. Home page? A year from now it will need the rack space the whole site uses now.I have been right with Twitter every quarter since it was twttr. Hold on to your hat.

  49. Pingback: What did you do last weekend? I spent hours managing Twitter followers…
  50. Will says:

    “I've also argued they shld limit the # of tweets per day or charge if you want to post more than 50 per day.”

    That would go over like a lead balloon. Never, EVER take away existing features unless you want people to get pissed. Creating a Freemium model seems inevitable, but they can do it without stifling existing liberties. Here's an example of a premium feature they can add: give users the ability to edit a tweet after it's sent.

  51. Sophie says:

    What do you dislike in tweetmeme ? At least they're trying to sort the discovery issue.

    That being said, the app which has the best angle at discovery is twitscoop IMHO.

  52. Pingback: broadstuff
  53. Sebastian Keil says:

    Quite the dichotomy between the present users (which rarely use the website for tweeting) and new users who need to be attracted by the website. Also, current users (happy ones) drive growth. I'd go with 1 and 2 first…

  54. bankdraft/Leigh Scott says:

    I realize this is the wrong day to be talking food…..BUT…best falafel EVER used to be at the Ex in the Food Building… IMHO

  56. bankdraft/Leigh Scott says:

    Ha ha tag team…..Ice cream waffles and H. Salt Fish and Chips….then buy Lavender on the way to play Bingo….before catching the streetcar to the subway to the bus home

  58. Sebastian Keil says:

    Quite the dichotomy between the present users (which rarely use the website for tweeting) and new users who need to be attracted by the website. Also, current users (happy ones) drive growth. I’d go with 1 and 2 first…

  59. Sebastian Keil says:

    Quite the dichotomy between the present users (which rarely use the website for tweeting) and new users who need to be attracted by the website. Also, current users (happy ones) drive growth. I’d go with 1 and 2 first…

  62. mattrixDOTinfo says:

    Two things that come to mind are: 1) the real-time web, and 2) data mining.

    1) Twitter is one of the dominant vehicles for the real-time web. I remember when an earthquake shook my house recently and I went to Twitter and searched for “earthquake.” Within seconds I had real-time conversations popping up confirming that I felt an earthquake. Twitter should promote and further a real-time web with real-time search. Would you agree that Google is more on the cached side of things?

    2) Twitter has developed an easy way for users to share data (least common denominator: SMS). Taking the real-time data they've created they should mine that data for companies, research groups, users. Articles have hinted at Twitter developing dashboards for companies, but I think it should be more than that. Dashboards are buzzwords; they make management feel special. Twitter, if done right, could become the NORAD(1) of the Internet. Yes, that's an overstatement, but imagine the possibilities. NORAD knows about everything that is in the sky within (and around) the U.S. territory. Twitter should be the same for the pulse of the Internet.

    So, to answer the question…Twitter should take some of it's newly acquired “petty cash” and zoom out to the 30,000-foot level and observe the data coming in. Invest in robust databases that can mine data. Invest in analysts (not programmers) to analyze the data and run reports. Bloomberg is successful because it's more than a “dashboard.” It's a data machine that allows you to mine prices, make charts, chat with other users, etc.

    That's my two cents. If Twitter uses it, though, I want a consultant's fee. :-)

    (1) NORAD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norad

  63. ivanhoff says:

    I still believe that Google is making a major mistake by not buying Twitter.
    Twitter needs a new CEO, who can take the company to the next level. I nominate Mr. Lindzon.

  66. mattrixDOTinfo says:

    Two things that come to mind are: 1) the real-time web, and 2) data mining.

    1) Twitter is one of the dominant vehicles for the real-time web. I remember when an earthquake shook my house recently and I went to Twitter and searched for “earthquake.” Within seconds I had real-time conversations popping up confirming that I felt an earthquake. Twitter should promote and further a real-time web with real-time search. Would you agree that Google is more on the cached side of things?

    2) Twitter has developed an easy way for users to share data (least common denominator: SMS). Taking the real-time data they’ve created they should mine that data for companies, research groups, users. Articles have hinted at Twitter developing dashboards for companies, but I think it should be more than that. Dashboards are buzzwords; they make management feel special. Twitter, if done right, could become the NORAD(1) of the Internet. Yes, that’s an overstatement, but imagine the possibilities. NORAD knows about everything that is in the sky within (and around) the U.S. territory. Twitter should be the same for the pulse of the Internet.

    So, to answer the question…Twitter should take some of it’s newly acquired “petty cash” and zoom out to the 30,000-foot level and observe the data coming in. Invest in robust databases that can mine data. Invest in analysts (not programmers) to analyze the data and run reports. Bloomberg is successful because it’s more than a “dashboard.” It’s a data machine that allows you to mine prices, make charts, chat with other users, etc.

    That’s my two cents. If Twitter uses it, though, I want a consultant’s fee. :-)

    (1) NORAD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norad

  67. mattrixDOTinfo says:

    Two things that come to mind are: 1) the real-time web, and 2) data mining.

    1) Twitter is one of the dominant vehicles for the real-time web. I remember when an earthquake shook my house recently and I went to Twitter and searched for “earthquake.” Within seconds I had real-time conversations popping up confirming that I felt an earthquake. Twitter should promote and further a real-time web with real-time search. Would you agree that Google is more on the cached side of things?

    2) Twitter has developed an easy way for users to share data (least common denominator: SMS). Taking the real-time data they’ve created they should mine that data for companies, research groups, users. Articles have hinted at Twitter developing dashboards for companies, but I think it should be more than that. Dashboards are buzzwords; they make management feel special. Twitter, if done right, could become the NORAD(1) of the Internet. Yes, that’s an overstatement, but imagine the possibilities. NORAD knows about everything that is in the sky within (and around) the U.S. territory. Twitter should be the same for the pulse of the Internet.

    So, to answer the question…Twitter should take some of it’s newly acquired “petty cash” and zoom out to the 30,000-foot level and observe the data coming in. Invest in robust databases that can mine data. Invest in analysts (not programmers) to analyze the data and run reports. Bloomberg is successful because it’s more than a “dashboard.” It’s a data machine that allows you to mine prices, make charts, chat with other users, etc.

    That’s my two cents. If Twitter uses it, though, I want a consultant’s fee. :-)

    (1) NORAD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norad

  68. mattrixDOTinfo says:

    Two things that come to mind are: 1) the real-time web, and 2) data mining.

    1) Twitter is one of the dominant vehicles for the real-time web. I remember when an earthquake shook my house recently and I went to Twitter and searched for “earthquake.” Within seconds I had real-time conversations popping up confirming that I felt an earthquake. Twitter should promote and further a real-time web with real-time search. Would you agree that Google is more on the cached side of things?

    2) Twitter has developed an easy way for users to share data (least common denominator: SMS). Taking the real-time data they’ve created they should mine that data for companies, research groups, users. Articles have hinted at Twitter developing dashboards for companies, but I think it should be more than that. Dashboards are buzzwords; they make management feel special. Twitter, if done right, could become the NORAD(1) of the Internet. Yes, that’s an overstatement, but imagine the possibilities. NORAD knows about everything that is in the sky within (and around) the U.S. territory. Twitter should be the same for the pulse of the Internet.

    So, to answer the question…Twitter should take some of it’s newly acquired “petty cash” and zoom out to the 30,000-foot level and observe the data coming in. Invest in robust databases that can mine data. Invest in analysts (not programmers) to analyze the data and run reports. Bloomberg is successful because it’s more than a “dashboard.” It’s a data machine that allows you to mine prices, make charts, chat with other users, etc.

    That’s my two cents. If Twitter uses it, though, I want a consultant’s fee. :-)

    (1) NORAD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norad

  69. William Mougayar says:

    That wouldn't take away anything because the overwhelming majority of users tweet less than 10/day- 99% according to this: http://techcrunchies.com/average-number-of-twee…. So, no one will be missing anything. On the contrary, it will curb the usage of some abusers and spammers, something that will raise the overall quality.
    That number could be somewhere between 50 and 100/day. Even Howard Lindzon who is a power user barely reaches that number/day. Again, it's aimed at legitimizing business usage with a fee, which is something that Twitter has hinted about.

  70. ivanhoff says:

    I still believe that Google is making a major mistake by not buying Twitter.
    Twitter needs a new CEO, who can take the company to the next level. I nominate Mr. Lindzon.

  71. ivanhoff says:

    I still believe that Google is making a major mistake by not buying Twitter.
    Twitter needs a new CEO, who can take the company to the next level. I nominate Mr. Lindzon.

  72. ivanhoff says:

    I still believe that Google is making a major mistake by not buying Twitter.
    Twitter needs a new CEO, who can take the company to the next level. I nominate Mr. Lindzon.

  73. William Mougayar says:

    That wouldn't take away anything because the overwhelming majority of users tweet less than 10/day- 99% according to this: http://techcrunchies.com/average-number-of-twee…. So, no one will be missing anything. On the contrary, it will curb the usage of some abusers and spammers, something that will raise the overall quality.
    That number could be somewhere between 50 and 100/day. Even Howard Lindzon who is a power user barely reaches that number/day. Again, it's aimed at legitimizing business usage with a fee, which is something that Twitter has hinted about.

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