Ron Conway: Twitter may outmonetize Facebook

Angel investor Conway says Twitter doesn't need a business model this year


Technology trends and news by Bambi Francisco Roizen
May 15, 2009 | Comments (8)
Short URL: http://vator.tv/n/86d

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On Thursday, I spoke with Silicon Valley angel investor Ron Conway, who's invested in about 500 startups over the past 15 years, including some high-profile ones like Twitter, Facebook, Google and Digg, to name a few.

I conducted a one-on-one interview with Conway on stage at the EconSM event, hosted by contextNext. 

Here's the first part of our interview, in which Conway talks about how Twitter plans to make money or whether it's going to be acquired by Facebook, Google or Apple. 

"I think as time goes on, there is going to be many more ways to monetize Twitter, much more so than even Google and Facebook," said Conway, who doesn't even have a Facebook or Twitter account.   They include charging companies to get followers.  If a company is in the suggested area when users sign up, a company can easily get 10,000 followers in a day. This type of exposure is apparently worth paying for. Conway wouldn't suggest a going rate, but referred to Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis' offer of $250,000 for a suggested spot as a starting point.

Conway also pointed out that paid search is another potential business model, as well as charging companies for an unlimited number of posts. He didn't think that Twitter needed to be in a rush to get a business model this year, however. 

Look for the rest of the interview throughout the next couple days. 

In those segments, Conway talks about his biggest investment disappointment, and the biggest winner he passed up, as well as his outlook on angel investing, entrepreneurs, M&A and IPOs.


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Bio: Silicon Valley angel investor. Ron has invested in over 500 companies in the last 15 years, including Google, PayPal and Ask Jeeves. He's...

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8 comments

Gary Silver
Gary Silver, 309 days ago
Conway is one smart dude with a great track record, far be it from me to contradict him, but I'm just not seeing Twitter reach the monetization heights of Google or Facebook. While the ability to selectively broadcast and search SMS style messages will no doubt continue its rise in popularity, IMHO that level of monetization will prove elusive.

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Thomas Sheahan
Thomas Sheahan, 305 days ago
200 Million, no revenue model!!! Remember Skype??? Lots of users, ebay bought them for 3 billion, they had 7 million (EUROS) in revenue. They had to write down a billion or so. Skype is a VOIP, pre-paid calling card company. I am sure Ebay will be able to sell them for something, but not 3 Billion. Will people pay twitter to follow Shaq or Wholefoods? Will Shaq pay twitter to inform their subscribers??

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Comment_gbg
Roger Grice, 305 days ago
If was sitting in Twitters shoes right now, or was an investor, I would be doing everything I could to stall introduction of any revenue plan and keep the market guessing. Without a revenue plan they are more valuable. The hype over the potential revenue model pushes value even higher. Introduce a revenue plan, and you get measured by different metrics; and that would wipe millions off the valuation. So good on them - well played so far.

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Bambi Francisco Roizen
Gary: I think there are clever ways to monetize Twitter that Google cannot. But Twitter does run the risk of being an ubiquitous communications tool with absolutely marginal revenue-generating opportunities. Instant messaging tools are great for communication and engagement. The problem is people don't pay for them because there are other channels to communicate or half a dozen other IM communication tools. Hotmail was huge when it was first introduced. Now, email isn't exactly a stand-alone business. Is Twitter going to become AOL Instant messenger meets Hotmail? Monetization aside, I have to say - Twitter is increasingly becoming mainstream. For instance, I just watched ESPN and E or Extra (some entertainment show) tonight on the plane to Boston. Both shows talked about Twitter or referred to Twitter. On ESPN, there was a graphic of all the coaches on Twitter, using it as a way to recruit or keep potential recruits updated.

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Bambi Francisco Roizen
Thomas: I don't know if Shaq will pay Twitter. But I do know that when I moderated a panel with Kara Swisher of AllthingsD and Rafe Needleman of CNet's Webware, Kara said she wouldn't pay to distribute her content on Twitter whereas Rafe said he'd pay.

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Bambi Francisco Roizen
Roger: Good point. But at some point you have to pay the piper. If Twitter wants to be free, then it has to be a loss leader for a bigger company. It has to become a funnel that leads to a revenue model.

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Gary Silver
Gary Silver, 305 days ago
Bambi, I think that is exactly right. Example: Facebook already has "What's on your mind". While not exactly totally eclipsing Twitter's model, it co-opts "What are you doing" quite a bit. Plus, you get all the Facebook page real estate to sell ads. Facebook has a ton of other features, and while Twitter has the advantage of connecting with strangers easier, I don't see it out monetizing Facebook. I think Twitter will be a popular part of our culture and used plenty, it has a unique characteristics and will find its own ways to monetize, but I'm just not seeing the BIG revenue model. Google and Facebook are expectations set way too high.

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Gary Silver
Gary Silver, 305 days ago
btw, I can be twittered, or tweeted, or whatev... I'm a twit at: WDX_Gary

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