Apple calls Twitter a ” Triumph of humanity.”

Twitter’s meteoric rise to ubiquity is proof positive that the world, in all its complexity, is eager to embrace simplicity. Wielding more impact on social networking than most communication tools this generation has yet seen, Twitter is one of those universal phenomena where the product name self-conjugates. To engage with Twitter is to “tweet.”

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Report: VC infusion values Twitter at $250 million

TechCrunch is reporting Saturday night that Twitter may have signed a term sheet with one or more venture capital firms that would value the microblogging company at $250 million.

Although it did not provide specifics, the report cited “a source with knowledge of the deal.”

Last fall, Facebook was said to have made an offer to buy Twitter worth as much as $500 million.

“Rumor is Twitter hit up more than a few venture firms to pitch the $250 million valuation, and got more than one ‘no,'” TechCrunch wrote Saturday. “But someone’s bit, perhaps encouraged by Twitter’s breakneck growth and the interest from Facebook. That means Twitter gets a new cash injection and time to figure out its business model at an even more leisurely pace.”

That certainly would be a boon for Twitter, which until now has not shown signs of a viable business model. Though it is growing rapidly and has millions of users, no one knows how the company could support itself. Some have worried that while it is increasingly useful to the many people who rely on it, it might not be financially viable over time.

If the TechCrunch report is accurate, however, it would be a signal that Twitter has managed to show investors enough of a structure of a business model to loosen up the cash it needs to get over that hump. Given today’s general economic crisis, that would be a notable accomplishment.

source: cnet news

How Facebook nearly bought Twitter

When it comes to Social Networking sites, Facebook is the current undisputed king. When it comes to microblogging and ‘status update’, however, Twitter rules. Facebook knows this, which is why it offered US$500 million’s worth of stock to Twitter, three weeks ago, to buy it.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, Twitter rebuffed the offer. There were concerns that $500 million of Facebook stock wasn’t actually worth $500 million, as well as worries over how Facebook would integrate the service into the site.

Lastly, it seems that Twitter wants to have a go at seeing if it can make any actual revenue itself first, before letting someone else try. After all, despite having considerable outgoings in server, SMS and staff costs, Twitter doesn’t actually make any money at all. Yet.

Twitter is a great app… I already sync it with my Facebook status, and I’d love for more of my friends’ Facebook status updates to show up on my Twitter feed. For that reason, I have no real objection to Facebook owning it.

That said, there’s plenty of people I know who keep their Twitter and Facebook accounts very separate. I’m not sure they’d be too keen on the services merging. It’s likely that Twitter will eventually be bought by someone. Just not yet.

source: TechDigest

Twitter Moms Sink Motrin Ad

Johnson & Johnson’s legendary marketing machine just had a rare mess up.

A new ad for Motrin, sold by J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit, tried to appeal to moms with an attempt at a chatty copy about using Motrin to treat sore muscles that result from a baby carrier. But some members of the target audience were offended, and a flood of scathing items appeared on Twitter. The Motrin.com website went down Sunday night and as of Monday morning still hasn’t come back up.

A Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman sent us this statement from Kathy Widmer, VP, Marketing at the McNeil unit:

“I am the Vice President of Marketing for McNeil Consumer Healthcare. I have responsibility for the Motrin Brand, and am responding to concerns about recent advertising on our website. I am, myself, a mom of 3 daughters. We certainly did not mean to offend moms through our advertising. Instead, we had intended to demonstrate genuine sympathy and appreciation for all that parents do for their babies. We believe deeply that moms know best and we sincerely apologize for disappointing you. Please know that we take your feedback seriously and will take swift action with regard to this ad. We are in process of removing it from our website. It will take longer, unfortunately, for it to be removed from magazine print as it is currently on newstands and in distribution.”

So the outrage on Twitter has apparently managed to finish off this ad — except that it lives on over at YouTube.

source: Forbes.com

U.S. Army Says Blogging Site ‘Twitter’ Could Become Terrorist Tool

The U.S. Army is flagging the popular blogging service Twitter as a potential terrorist tool, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported Sunday.

A recently released report by the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion contains a chapter entitled “Potential for Terrorist Use of Twitter,” which expresses concern over the increasing use of Twitter by political and religious groups, the AFP reported.

“Twitter has also become a social activism tool for socialists, human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others to communicate with each other and to send messages to broader audiences,” according to the report.

“Twitter is already used by some members to post and/or support extremist ideologies and perspectives,” the Army report said.

The blogging service and social networking site has previously sent out messages known as “tweets” faster than news organizations during such major news events as the July Los Angeles earthquake and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

“Terrorists could theoretically use Twitter social networking in the U.S. as an operation tool,” the Army report said.

sourse: FOXNews.com

Twitter in Plain English

The Web’s hottest social networking sites

Facebook is the most popular of dozens of social networking sites. Here’s a gauge of buzzworthiness:

Facebook: Coasting. Topping 100 million active users and passing up MySpace this year, Facebook is clearly the current networking king. Its recent redesign has angered millions of users, but they keep logging on.

Twitter: Revving. Twitter capitalizes on the popular Facebook status updates by enticing their friends to send “tweets” about what they’re doing. Constantly. It’s the site, if you want to get that close to your friends, that induces your buddies to tell you whether they’re at the bar or in the bathroom.

MySpace: Slowing. Rupert Murdoch’s $580-million purchase is still popular, but thousands of pages have been inactive for months as users migrate to Facebook. It’s still the best social networking site to hear music and discover new bands, and celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson maintain active blogs.

Friendster: Stalling. The granddaddy of social networking sites [it launched in 2002], Friendster made basic connections but has been dominated in the last couple of years by MySpace and Facebook.

LinkedIn: Revving. The site where professionals go to find their colleagues, LinkedIn looks and feels more grown-up. But it’s more a place for updating your résumé and finding recruiters rather than for playing Sudoku with friends.

source: Detroit Free Press

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