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How many news stories are there every day about a politician or a celebrity tweeting about X? Just because it isn't monetisable doesn't mean it isn't valuable t

by untog 10y ago

How many news stories are there every day about a politician or a celebrity tweeting about X? Just because it isn't monetisable doesn't mean it isn't valuable to the right (media, probably) organisation.

pavel_lishin 10y ago
If it's valuable, isn't it monetizable?
mrweasel 10y ago
It you can't monetise it, then how valuable it that data really? It doesn't matter how valuable your product is, if no one is willing to pay. Perhaps the gossip magazines should pool their money and buy Twitter?
- proksoup 10y ago
  Just editorial control over the line of "what's acceptable here" is a huge power to control the boundaries of debate. That power can be used to make massive amounts of money.
  - mrweasel 10y ago
    So why aren't Twitter profitable? Because Jack Dorsey is a nice guy, or not smart enough?
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- untog 10y ago
  Monetisation usually implies end users paying for a product. I don't think Twitter will ever get to that point. But a media company like Disney (who, remember, own ESPN) could absolutely capitalise on the value of Twitter for live sports, for example. It would be valuable to them.
  - mrweasel 10y ago
    Couldn't they do that now... for free? What's the benefit to buying Twitter? If it's due to missing functionality they could probably just pay Twitter to implement the features they're missing and it would be cheaper than buying them outright, while providing a safety net in case it fails. Right now you're suggesting that e.g. Disney is buying Twitter, for 17 billion dollars, to implement an untested business case. The cost of failure in that case is at least the purchase price of Twitter, that seems like a massive gamble.
    - untog 10y ago
      Being able to control the entire direction of a company is a lot more powerful than just paying them to add functionality. It also grants the ability to lock competitors out of the service once you've proved the new functionality is a success. I don't think Twitter is worth $17bn, but we live in an era of excessively hyped up and unrealistic valuations, so I have no idea what the correct price actually is. Yes, buying Twitter is a gamble, but many acquisitions are.
  - jpindar 10y ago
    They recently did an awesome job of streaming an NFL game.

by untog 10y ago

pavel_lishin 10y ago

If it's valuable, isn't it monetizable?

mrweasel 10y ago

It you can't monetise it, then how valuable it that data really? It doesn't matter how valuable your product is, if no one is willing to pay. Perhaps the gossip magazines should pool their money and buy Twitter?

proksoup 10y ago
Just editorial control over the line of "what's acceptable here" is a huge power to control the boundaries of debate. That power can be used to make massive amounts of money.
- mrweasel 10y ago
  So why aren't Twitter profitable? Because Jack Dorsey is a nice guy, or not smart enough?
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
untog 10y ago
Monetisation usually implies end users paying for a product. I don't think Twitter will ever get to that point. But a media company like Disney (who, remember, own ESPN) could absolutely capitalise on the value of Twitter for live sports, for example. It would be valuable to them.
- mrweasel 10y ago
  Couldn't they do that now... for free? What's the benefit to buying Twitter? If it's due to missing functionality they could probably just pay Twitter to implement the features they're missing and it would be cheaper than buying them outright, while providing a safety net in case it fails. Right now you're suggesting that e.g. Disney is buying Twitter, for 17 billion dollars, to implement an untested business case. The cost of failure in that case is at least the purchase price of Twitter, that seems like a massive gamble.
  - untog 10y ago
    Being able to control the entire direction of a company is a lot more powerful than just paying them to add functionality. It also grants the ability to lock competitors out of the service once you've proved the new functionality is a success. I don't think Twitter is worth $17bn, but we live in an era of excessively hyped up and unrealistic valuations, so I have no idea what the correct price actually is. Yes, buying Twitter is a gamble, but many acquisitions are.
- jpindar 10y ago
  They recently did an awesome job of streaming an NFL game.