Twitter's stock has suffered from a cascading series of meltdowns since its IPO (see chart, below) as its revenue, growth in users, and related metrics have disappointed when compared to peers like Facebook and Google.
One financial analyst, on record as a Twitter short, describes it this way:
What I haven't grasped for years, when I first wrote about this topic in 2014, is why Twitter ignores monetizing its incredible reach through embedded Tweets:After this week's relief rally, Twitter closed at $17.82, almost 50% down from my initial short recommendation in July 2015. In part, I believe this is because I was fundamentally right about Twitter as a niche product for a select group of power-users such as journalists, media personalities and self-important adolescents...
I personally don't think stats like monthly active users or timeline views are at all relevant for Twitter.
Think about it: the Twitter platform receives significantly more exposure than Facebook on new media sites like Twitchy and BuzzFeed. These sites embed tweets -- served up by Twitter -- as a key part of unfolding news stories, quite unlike any other social site:
Twitter doesn't appear to be making a cent from serving up content to news sites. The hope with embedded tweets, I suppose, is to convince people that they're missing out if they're not on Twitter. Which they are, of course.
But that said, these embedded tweets are a huge missed opportunity. Consider this hypothetical monetization approach:
Did someone say bacon?
Or perhaps a tweet with "media" (an image):
You may hate ads, but if they're targeted and relatively unobtrusive, the fact is that someone has to pay for your troubling addiction to real-time news. Natch.
Oh, and Twitter: my royalty for this idea is a paltry one percent of gross revenues, in perpetuity.
In all seriousness, I'm utterly mystified by the failure of Twitter's management team on this front.
Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News.
2 comments:
Twitter's "Imminent Demise is by design". There are Only 2 Players in Social Media and that's Facebook who I refer to as #TheFace , sounds Ominous as Facebook is and Twitter.
Twitter will eventually fall and Users will shift to #TheFace but a Larger Faction wont. Twitter Facebook and Google are currently engaging in Censorship at Will. In Germany, #TheFace IS Censoring Posts about Refugees and Reports of their Lawlessness.
This is their Pilot Program that is quickly making advances thru the U.S.
Mark Zuckerberg Will Be the Ruler of The Social Media Kingdom. Both Writing and Enforcing "His Rules".
The Conglomeration of Social Media Users is a grand step that will put both potential Customers and Data..."All wrapped up in 1 Convenient Package".
Your Voice BANNED in 1 Spot too. Once Banished from The Kingdom...A Sheep will take your place.
To my amazement, Ive seen No One attempt a build of another Twitter like Format and Run With It! A Fault by Entrepreneurs that will be Costly.
Mary Jane. Period.
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