This is an update on the earlier story I did on ads on Twitter. I emailed the guys at Twitter about this and I just received an email from Biz Stone confirming my suspicion that the original Duncan Riley story was based on nothing:
No, we’re not putting ads on Twitter.com. From what I gather, someone mistook a background image for advertising.
So there you have it.
I think how Twitter can monetize its business is a very interesting question and I gather that advertising on Twitter in some form is probably inevitable, though they could also go the paid services route in some form or another.
But for now at least, there are no ads on Twitter - no even elusive ones…
Imagine that, Duncan got something wrong…
It’s shocking - I know…
In the haste to be first with a story, a tech blogger gets something wrong. Imagine that.
Anyhow it does raise the issue: what web 2.0 services are worth paying for? Eventually, the sites have to pay the bills.
Thanks for the update, but frankly I wish that Riley’s original story was correct. I’d feel better if Twitter *was* executing a monetization plan.
@webomatica - I understand where they are coming from, but this story had no basis - especially after the commenter on the TC story already debunked the screenshot.
@OE - I wish they had one, too. As they grow larger, there cost must be going up, even if their staff is small - and I would like them to stick around for a long time…