Posts Tagged ‘twitter’

Grounded Jets, Space Jets(!), and Misleading Celebrity Tweeters… TILE Two-Liners 1.10.11 >> 1.14.11

Monday, January 10th, 2011

MONDAY

  • “Cupcake leader” Crumbs (a chain of bakery shops) was just sold for $66 million, proving that the American epidemic of childhood obesity *can* be profitable. (The Wall Street Journal)

TUESDAY

  • Radiohead just keeps on flipping the music industry script. They’re allowing a group of fans to sell a bootleg concert DVD made up of clips secretly shot by 14 different audience members. The catch? All profits have to go to Oxfam. The concert was, after all, a benefit for Haiti. (BBC News)

WEDNESDAY

  • Someday, someone will literally fly you to the moon and let you play among the stars. For a price, of course. (BBC News)

THURDSAY

  • Don’t believe everything your favorite celebrities tweet: They may be on an ad agency’s payroll. (Bloomberg)

FRIDAY

  • If you thought this winter’s snowstorms were annoying for your family, think about the airline industry, which lost over $100 million because of cancelled flights. (The Wall Street Journal)

Media Outlets Are Betting On Tumblr

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Many media companies are using Tumblr to reach out to their readerships.

  • Tumblr is considered the new hot social networking tool, and many media outlets are hoping it will become the next big thing.
  • Although Tumblr’s audience is currently much smaller than Twitter’s or Facebook’s, the companies that have chosen Tumblr think that the audience will expand greatly in the near future.
  • Tumblr’s greatest asset is the way in which it allows users to create a page that reflects their personality.

Facts & Figures

  • Tumblr currently has 6.6 million users.
  • An estimated 25,ooo new Tumblr accounts are created daily.
  • The company recently raised $5 million in venture capital.

Best Quote

“Going back 20 years, publications like Rolling Stone didn’t interact with readers except for letters to the editor. One of the realizations that cultural leaders and publishers have had is that there is a lot of expertise, wisdom and ideas in their readership.” –James E. Katz, professor of communications, Rutgers University

Twitter Wins Big Time Funding

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Even though Twitter does not have a revenue stream and they’re still figuring out how exactly they can make money, the company has managed to raise $100 million in new funding!

  • The online social networking and messaging service is about to close its most recent round of funding with $100 million raised from fewer than ten investors.
  • The investors are made up of venture capitalist firms, private equity firms, and even a mutual fund company – T. Rowe Price.
  • In terms of generating a sustained revenue stream, Twitter is looking into options such as advertising and business services.

Facts & Figures

  • Investors have valued Twitter at about $1 billion, which is up from a previous valuation earlier this year that estimated the company to be worth about $255 million.
  • Twitter is expected to have 25 million users by the end of 2009.

Twitter Needs Novelty

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

As the times change, we expect our favorite web programs to keep coming up with new ways to impress us, right? But this article explains how Twitter has actually been stagnating over time.

  • Although Twitter is enjoying more and more popularity, it has not been significantly updated or enhanced for two years.
  • Instead of developing new updates for Twitter on its own, the company has relied on third-party applications to improve its service.
  • It makes sense for Twitter’s board and co-founders to focus on managing its exponential growth, but that doesn’t mean they can’t also focus on innovation.

Facts & Figures

  • Because Twitter gets so much traffic, it is plagued by periodical crashes. This problem had previously been addressed, but a popularity spike in the last few months has seen its return.
  • Twitter currently has 43 employees, up from 20 in previous years.
  • It would cost Twitter a projected $4.3 million annually to sustain itself at its current size. The company has already raised more than $55 million.

Best Quote

“For the entire history of the company, most of the resources have gone to managing growth, and that is still the case. If it weren’t growing nearly as fast, we would be building a lot more things.” – Evan Williams, Co-Founder and CEO of Twitter