Twitter Case

Case Questions: "Twitter"

1. Do you think that Twitter will be able to develop a viable monetization strategy? Why or why not?

I believe that Twitter will be able to develop a viable monetization if they base their strategies on what is user friendly, beneficial and not intrusive for the user. I think it will require a lot of soft communications and sales for consumers, but they may be able to utilize more straight forward techniques for businesses utilizing Twitter. They could potentially attach costs connected to the amount of followers, they could send ads based on user trends, they could provide information/services for locations that people tweet about, or could possibly charge for having users opt out of ads altogether. There are numerous ways they could develop a monetization strategy, I just believe they need to stay tied in to the user and benefits for them.

2. What impact did Twitter and Facebook have on the Egyptian overthrow of the Mubarak government? Do you think this would have happened without social media?

This was a large topic of interest within my organization, National Endowment for Democracy, where we had numerous grantees staying connected, mobilizing demonstrations, and informing the public through social media sources. Social media also played a huge role in bringing in support and concern from the overarching global network that was connected to the individuals and groups that were posting, tweeting, you tubing, etc. I do not believe that the occurences in Egypt would have happened as fast or as effectively without social media. The overthrow efforts were largely spearheaded by younger, political groups of Egyptians who are completely engaged with technology and were able to manipulate its uses for their benefit.

3. Do you think social media is a positive or negative force?

I think like anything else social media has duality and must be approached and utilized in moderation to maintain its effectiveness and beneficial qualities rather than being over accessed and tearing down the necessary relationship building that takes place person to person and person to business.