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To boil it down, a generic answer: "The timing wasn't right." I still think it was a very prudent decision. Gruber said it best: "I’m not sure I’d sell a sandw

To boil it down, a generic answer: "The timing wasn't right." I still think it was a very prudent decision. Gruber said it best: "I’m not sure I’d sell a sandwich in exchange for Facebook stock." (http://daringfireball.net/linked/2008/11/24/twitter-facebook http://daringfireball.net/linked/2008/11/24/twitter-facebook)

michael_dorfman 18y ago
Yeah, but with no business model to speak of, Twitter has yet to prove they are worth as much as a sandwich.
- riklomas 18y ago
  You could say the same thing about Facebook, they're currently losing $50m a year.
  - stillmotion 18y ago
    But it costs a lot more time and money to create Facebook than it does a sandwich. You could roughly build Twitter in the time that it takes to make a good Ruben or grilled cheese.
    - DaniFong 18y ago
      You can't build a user base.
      - patio11 18y ago
        Yes, but Facebook could replicate it by putting a link on Facebook to Facetwitter and then hiring both Twitter users who do not have Facebook accounts.
- swilliams 18y ago
  True, but Twitter isn't even trying yet. I think it would be easier to generate revenue with it than Facebook. I'd rather be in Twitter's position than Facebook's.
  - mattmaroon 18y ago
    I don't know, at least as far as profits go. They've got significant SMS expenses to overcome. Facebook's per user cost of delivering service has to be much cheaper. I think Facebook has a pretty solid path to revenue (re-legitimize apps and they provide a dead simple payments platform) though they don't seem like they're going to take it.
  - hiffy 18y ago
    It's weird, they're both now credible mainstream sources with huge brands. I was a bit put off on how they spent a whole five minutes on CBC newsworld looking at the buzz in Twitter, and it gets frequent mentions in newspapers.
  - tortilla 18y ago
    Another point in Twitter's column is their relatively small staff. How many employees does Facebook have?
- oconnor0 18y ago
  It's interesting that neither Facebook nor Twitter, which appear to be integral parts of this developing Web 2.0/social network-y thing, are making money or really have any idea how to do so. I wonder how it'll all play out.
  - ojbyrne 18y ago
    Facebook has a couple of hundred million in revenue, as I recall. They're just using it to finance growth. They could be profitable tomorrow just by laying off half the people there.

michael_dorfman 18y ago

Yeah, but with no business model to speak of, Twitter has yet to prove they are worth as much as a sandwich.

riklomas 18y ago
You could say the same thing about Facebook, they're currently losing $50m a year.
- stillmotion 18y ago
  But it costs a lot more time and money to create Facebook than it does a sandwich. You could roughly build Twitter in the time that it takes to make a good Ruben or grilled cheese.
  - DaniFong 18y ago
    You can't build a user base.
    - patio11 18y ago
      Yes, but Facebook could replicate it by putting a link on Facebook to Facetwitter and then hiring both Twitter users who do not have Facebook accounts.
swilliams 18y ago
True, but Twitter isn't even trying yet. I think it would be easier to generate revenue with it than Facebook. I'd rather be in Twitter's position than Facebook's.
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  I don't know, at least as far as profits go. They've got significant SMS expenses to overcome. Facebook's per user cost of delivering service has to be much cheaper. I think Facebook has a pretty solid path to revenue (re-legitimize apps and they provide a dead simple payments platform) though they don't seem like they're going to take it.
- hiffy 18y ago
  It's weird, they're both now credible mainstream sources with huge brands. I was a bit put off on how they spent a whole five minutes on CBC newsworld looking at the buzz in Twitter, and it gets frequent mentions in newspapers.
- tortilla 18y ago
  Another point in Twitter's column is their relatively small staff. How many employees does Facebook have?
oconnor0 18y ago
It's interesting that neither Facebook nor Twitter, which appear to be integral parts of this developing Web 2.0/social network-y thing, are making money or really have any idea how to do so. I wonder how it'll all play out.
- ojbyrne 18y ago
  Facebook has a couple of hundred million in revenue, as I recall. They're just using it to finance growth. They could be profitable tomorrow just by laying off half the people there.