A Billion Reasons for Twitter to be Happy

Thursday, September 17th, 2009 by Frank Reed

A Billion Reasons for Twitter to be Happy

So it looks like Twitter has entered some rarefied air for sure. According to ReadWriteWeb and TechCrunch the micro-blogging juggernaut is moving into an exclusive club by securing a new round of funding ($50 million) based on a valuation of $1 billion (yup, it’s a b). No doubt, this will begin to stir the supporters and detractors alike. Unless we have ridiculously short memories or just think that this time will be different one has to wonder how a company that no one can figure out revenue wise can be valued at that much.

While I am not an analyst I did think about staying at a Holiday Inn Express over the past year so I qualify for jumping into the fray, right? Let’s hear what the RWW folks had to say first though.

While it’s unlikely that Twitter CEO Evan Williams was wearing a Dr. Evil costume when he delivered the news, he had the pleasure of announcing his company’s $1 billion dollar valuation today at an all hands meeting. According to TechCrunch, the company has raised a $50 million dollar funding round and the money will be in the bank shortly. Given the fact that Twitter turned down an offer to be purchased by Facebook earlier in the year, it appears the two are about to tango.

So of course, this conversation wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without bringing Facebook into the mix. Facebook is starting to look almost like IBM compared to Twitter. What with actual revenue generation plans and actually having the audacity to be cash flow positive one begins to wonder if Facebook is going to actually merit its own valuation. As we mentioned yesterday, Master of the Universe, Mark Zuckerberg, has something to say in the Facebook blog.

We’re also succeeding at building Facebook in a sustainable way. Earlier this year, we said we expected to be cash flow positive sometime in 2010, and I’m pleased to share that we achieved this milestone last quarter. This is important to us because it sets Facebook up to be a strong independent service for the long term.

So is Twitter in for the long term? They certainly still have the buzz going and now there appears to be a a real Facebook faceoff looming for the foreseeable future.

In the past, ReadWriteWeb has looked at Twitter’s platform potential. The service has already been used to create meme trackers, emergency alert services, news feeds and brand monitoring tools. As the infrastructure and search have improved, Twitter has become the go-to site for real time media. But can the company make a Facebook-like leap?

Facebook has added Twitter like features so why not? So what’s your take? I bet there at least a billion opinions on this one.

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9 comments on “A Billion Reasons for Twitter to be Happy”

Money-Era Says:

September 17th, 2009 at 9:37 am

I think we are talking about Twittermania; a phenomena that is hard to explain. Twitter is not providing too much of added value to internet, other than creating a lot of buzz. And it is badly run…http://www.money-era.com/2009/07/how-is-twitter-run-document-leaka ge-admin-passwords-hacked…/
Money-Era´s last blog ..How much does 1 million e-mail addresses cost?
A Billion Reasons for Twitter to be Happy | Complete Twitter Says:

September 17th, 2009 at 10:27 am

[...] the original post: A Billion Reasons for Twitter to be Happy Tweet This Or Share Through Other Social [...]
Jayson Says:

September 17th, 2009 at 6:40 pm

I’m sure Twitter can make some money, but I’m not sure it’s worth $1 billion. I think much of Twitter’s popularity will be short lived and that it will need to become more like Facebook if it wants to continue growing and get profitable.

It’s an enormous success and it does have long-term potential, but I think a lot of the people using Twitter use it because it’s cool. Those people will eventually stop using it. If they can contain spam, maintain security, and introduce some more attractive features, the value of twitter will remain.
liquid marketing Says:

September 18th, 2009 at 5:45 am

I love twitter..and I dont know that we can market through this social network site..
liquid marketing´s last blog ..Increasing Affiliate Web Site Marketing Income
rayloke Says:

September 19th, 2009 at 6:36 pm

TRUE, True,

HAPPINESS [mode] button like twitter can be [affiliated] stimulated in
so many other [ways] reasons.
rayloke Says:

September 19th, 2009 at 6:38 pm

twittermania
Most Recommended Posts Week 38 Says:

September 20th, 2009 at 6:20 am

[...] A Billion Reasons for Twitter to be Happy So it looks like Twitter has entered some rarefied air for sure. According to ReadWriteWeb and TechCrunch the micro-blogging juggernaut is moving into an exclusive club by securing a new round of funding ($50 million) based on a valuation of $1 billion (yup, it’s a b). No doubt, this will begin to stir the supporters and detractors alike. Unless we have ridiculously short memories or just think that this time will be different one has to wonder how a company that no one can figure out revenue wise can be valued at that much. [...]
Devils Backyard » Blog Archive » Best in Blogs: Twitter’s $1B Valuation; TechCrunch50 Implodes; Kanyelicio.us Says:

September 27th, 2009 at 12:50 pm

[...] as a platform,” at the same time as Facebook has added more Twitter-ish features. “Facebook is starting to look almost like IBM compared to Twitter,” writes Marketing Pilgrim. “What with actual revenue generation plans and actually [...]
Karen Says:

September 30th, 2009 at 10:16 pm

What I wonder is what degree of the twitter users are real users and to what degree they’re actually forms of spam and online marketing with bots connected to sites. What does following 4000 users (for example) actually get you?
Karen´s last blog ..Home Solar Panel – Instructive Free Advice

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