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Twitter dies if they lose 98% of their users. So many people would leave that you'd never be able to keep even 1%. Watching Twitter and app.net over the next c

Twitter dies if they lose 98% of their users. So many people would leave that you'd never be able to keep even 1%. Watching Twitter and app.net over the next couple of years should be fascinating. Twitter can't start charging, but app.net is starting there. If they get 1% of Twitter's population, they are a huge success. And Twitter just gifted them a lot of potential developers.

ChrisBaldwin 14y ago
I don't see what would drive away customers. If paying for your twitter account was optional, why would free users stop using the service? Twitter and Facebook could learn a lot from the Free-to-Play video game market. Service is free, being "special" costs money.
kmfrk 14y ago
I think that depends a lot on how it's marketed. If it's touted as something that regular users ought to have access to as well, it might tick off a lot of people, but it doesn't have to be like that. Although I wouldn't be surprised if the knuckleheads at Twitter botched it.
- endersshadow 14y ago
  I agree. Think of the way Reddit Gold works. It doesn't really take anything away from the Reddit experience, but it does give folks some additional value that those that feel like paying for it, do. If Twitter just adds features for the premium side, and doesn't strip current features from free users, it should be easy to make that transition.
ams6110 14y ago
And if they get 1% of twitter's population, it may well be a MUCH higher percentage of the subset of twitter's population that's willing to pay for something.
grey-area 14y ago
Twitter can't start charging They could easily start charging for additional services as the comment above suggessted - if they make it a 'Pro' plan and leave normal accounts alone, there's no incentive at all for people to leave, and yet they make money from their most active/interested users. There are plenty of extras they could offer on top of the basic service for a charge. That goes double for business accounts - I'm sure most businesses would pay some small subscription for verification, syndication, the chance to advertise (in clearly separated areas) and other features now it has critical mass. That's a much better plan than polluting all of the users' streams with advertising they don't want a la FaceBook, which will lead to a mass exodus. Adding advertising to the users' streams is absolutely the worst thing Twitter can do, and yet it seems they're actively working towards that with their recent changes.

ChrisBaldwin 14y ago

I don't see what would drive away customers. If paying for your twitter account was optional, why would free users stop using the service? Twitter and Facebook could learn a lot from the Free-to-Play video game market. Service is free, being "special" costs money.

kmfrk 14y ago

I think that depends a lot on how it's marketed. If it's touted as something that regular users ought to have access to as well, it might tick off a lot of people, but it doesn't have to be like that. Although I wouldn't be surprised if the knuckleheads at Twitter botched it.

endersshadow 14y ago
I agree. Think of the way Reddit Gold works. It doesn't really take anything away from the Reddit experience, but it does give folks some additional value that those that feel like paying for it, do. If Twitter just adds features for the premium side, and doesn't strip current features from free users, it should be easy to make that transition.

ams6110 14y ago

And if they get 1% of twitter's population, it may well be a MUCH higher percentage of the subset of twitter's population that's willing to pay for something.

grey-area 14y ago

Twitter can't start charging They could easily start charging for additional services as the comment above suggessted - if they make it a 'Pro' plan and leave normal accounts alone, there's no incentive at all for people to leave, and yet they make money from their most active/interested users. There are plenty of extras they could offer on top of the basic service for a charge. That goes double for business accounts - I'm sure most businesses would pay some small subscription for verification, syndication, the chance to advertise (in clearly separated areas) and other features now it has critical mass. That's a much better plan than polluting all of the users' streams with advertising they don't want a la FaceBook, which will lead to a mass exodus. Adding advertising to the users' streams is absolutely the worst thing Twitter can do, and yet it seems they're actively working towards that with their recent changes.