Comments on: Twitter Scraps SMS Updates; Should it Have Offered a Paid Alternative?

By: manu prasad » Tweetorial

manu prasad » Tweetorial — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:28:31 +0000

[...] streamlining certainly seems to have become priority to them, if the limiting of followers and scrapping of SMS updates from its UK based number are any indication. The evil mind wonders if its a ploy to get users to suggest a revenue model and [...]

By: Games

Games — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:28:20 +0000

They should have asked the users first. That way users willing to pay to receive sms from twitter would have come forward and twitter would never have to stop this sms service.

By: My SEO Experiment

My SEO Experiment — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:33:22 +0000

But they are right – they don’t wont make Twitter has features for people with money…

My SEO Experiment’s last blog post..My first step – Getting links from blogs

By: Ashley

Ashley — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:18:41 +0000

not so expensive should say

By: Symbian

Symbian — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:18:14 +0000

Obviously this service was too expensive. Symbian's last blog post..Free VoIP Symbian app Fring now on Nokia E71

By: I am not a number! I am @stuarthenshall a Twittername | stuart henshall

I am not a number! I am @stuarthenshall a Twittername | stuart henshall — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:02:09 +0000

[...] Andy Beale – Why didn’t twitter ask their customers? (I think there is a good reason and it relates to a billing structure) [...]

By: Russell Page

Russell Page — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:03:06 +0000

I don't think Twitter has people thinking straight sometimes. Russell Page's last blog post..Win Batman Dark Knight tickets

By: Andy Beal

Andy Beal — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:55:32 +0000

@Nicole – yeah, I just edited out his pitch.

By: Nicole Simon

Nicole Simon — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:46:33 +0000

James, there are so many ways you are missing the point – if you want to make a pitch, at least read what product you are claiming to be able to replace?

By: James Martin

James Martin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:31:28 +0000

This was always going to happen – it was obvious that twitter could not sustain giving out free SMS text messages to UK customers forever.
[spam removed]

By: PS3

PS3 — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:20:03 +0000

They should have offered it as a paid feature, many people would have gone for it.

By: Nicole Simon

Nicole Simon — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:44:35 +0000

Well it is not as if setting up a prepaid and accounting mechanism is a walk in the park either, but they have been told a long time ago that this is what they will probably face and that people are willing to pay. As in not only saying, but really willing.

Now, with the behaviour they have lost out on it and people just will start discovering the beauty of complete management through mobile web – as I said, everybody has mobile phones now, and nobody uses the hotel phones anymore ..

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:39:14 +0000

Wow, I agree. It seems like a no-brainer that they’d at least offer that as an option to benefit the customer and ultimately them.

By: Nicole Simon

Nicole Simon — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:27:53 +0000

The only time I used the international number for sending messages to twitter is a) when I was verifying my phone or b) when I needed to send a message from my phone while being in the US without data access. All other times? mobile data only.

Would I pay a per SMS fee for delivering DM? probably. And many users have said so from early on that this day will come and twitter needs to think about a kind of prepaid model or they will fail. In trying to get the mobile phone providers to talk to them they are overlooking the fact that SMS is not that kind of business like it is in the US in most cases.

So it was clear that it is either pay or go away. And this will not change – from my point of view I cannot imagine why a mobile phone provider should team up with them for this kind of service, there is no value in them for it.

By: Utah SEO Pro

Utah SEO Pro — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:13:15 +0000

Paid features don't sit well with a lot of people. I think Twitter was smart just to scrap it. Utah SEO Pro's last blog post..Mobile SEO - SMX Local Mobile 2008 Presentation

By: Shazzer

Shazzer — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:10:17 +0000

Twitter definitely missed the boat by not giving folks the option to pay for outgoing SMS. Especially since folks outside the UK were already paying international SMS rates to tweet from their mobile phones. I'm not a power user by any means, but I was more than happy to pay my way when (not if) Twitter said it was time to go with a paid subscription. Now, given the way they've handled this situation (discontinuing the service with no warner and no realistic alternative), I may not be so willing to sign up. Shazzer's last blog post..Paul Krugman: The GOP is the "Party of the Stupid"

By: Otilia Otlacan

Otilia Otlacan — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:29:40 +0000

They seem to have finally started speeding towards monetizing their platform, and a first step was to cut unjustifiable (for them, at least) expenses. There was, I hope, some serious analysis behind their decision and the market for a paid service may not be big enough to support the model. That, or they're preparing to sell out... Otilia Otlacan's last blog post..It Finally Happens: Online Ad Spending Surpassed TV Ad Spending in a Major Market