Twitter explores premium version after 11 years as a free service

SAN FRANCISCO - Twitter Inc is considering whether to build a premium version of its network aimed at professionals, the company said on Thursday, raising the possibility that it could collect subscription fees from some users for the first time.

Like most other social media companies, Twitter since its founding 11 years ago has focused on building a huge user base for a free service supported by advertising. Last month it reported it had 319 million users worldwide.

But unlike the much-larger Facebook Inc, Twitter has failed to attract enough in advertising revenue to turn a profit even as its popularity with US President Donald Trump and other celebrities makes the network a constant center of attention.

Twitter is conducting a survey "to assess the interest in a new, more enhanced version of Tweetdeck," which is an existing tool that helps users navigate the network, spokeswoman Brielle Villablanca said in a statement on Thursday.

She went on: "We regularly conduct user research to gather feedback about people's Twitter experience and to better inform our product investment decisions, and we're exploring several ways to make Tweetdeck even more valuable for professionals."

There was no indication that Twitter was considering charging fees from all its users.

Word of the survey had earlier leaked on Twitter, where a journalist affiliated with the New York Times posted screenshots of what a premium version of Tweetdeck could look like.

That version could include "more powerful tools to help marketers, journalists, professionals, and others in our community find out what is happening in the world quicker," according to one of the screenshots posted on the account @andrewtavani.

Other social media firms, such as Microsoft Corp's LinkedIn unit, already have tiered memberships, with subscription versions that offer greater access and data.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Twitter to conclude sale deliberations this month: sources

Twitter Inc. has told potential acquirers it is seeking to conclude negotiations about selling itself by the time it reports third-quarter earnings on Oct. 27, according to people familiar with the matter.

The timeline is hugely ambitious in the context of most mergers and acquisitions, given that Twitter began mulling a sale only last month. It is the clearest sign yet that Chief Executive Jack Dorsey is pushing to provide clarity to shareholders and employees over the company's future as quickly as possible.

Binding acquisition offers are due in the next two weeks, and Twitter has already whittled down the field of potential acquirers, the people said this week. Salesforce.com Inc. is in the running, while Google parent Alphabet Inc., and Walt Disney Co. have also been contemplating bids, the people added.

Recode reported on Wednesday, citing sources it did not identify, that Google would not move forward with a bid to acquire Twitter.

It is not certain the process will result in a sale, the Reuters sources cautioned. The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential.

Twitter and Salesforce declined to comment. Disney and Google did not return requests for comment.

With Salesforce.com, Twitter might turn its focus to customer service communications and mining its database of tweets for business intelligence. Google would likely be most interested in the social and news dimensions of Twitter. Disney, by contrast, might see it as a way to expand the reach of its sports and entertainment programming.

Twitter has struggled to generate revenue growth and profit, despite having some 313 million average monthly active users and a growing presence as a source of news.

The company missed Wall Street's sales expectations in both the first and second quarters of 2016, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine, and has yet to produce a net profit in 11 quarters as a public company.

It has also failed to keep pace with rivals, notably Facebook Inc.'s Instagram and Snapchat. Both now boast more users than Twitter by most measures, even though they are much newer, and advertisers have begun to migrate their ad dollars accordingly.

Dorsey, who returned to Twitter as chief executive more than a year ago, has been part of Disney's board since 2013.

Twitter went public in November 2013 at $26 a share. The shares peaked above $74 just over a month after its IPO, but have been on a steady downward trajectory since.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Twitter invests $70 million in SoundCloud: Re/code

Twitter Inc. has invested about $70 million in Berlin-based music service SoundCloud, technology website Re/code reported citing people familiar with the deal.

Twitter confirmed the investment, but did not provide any financial details.

"Earlier this year we made an investment in SoundCloud through Twitter Ventures to help support some of our efforts with creators," Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said.

Soundcloud, a platform that enables people to upload and share music and other audio files, also confirmed that Twitter had made the investment.

Twitter's investment was part of a funding round expected to be in the range of $100 million, which would value SoundCloud at about $700 million, the Re/code report said.

The microblogging site has previously attempted to make a foray into music with the launch of Twitter Music in 2013, which was closed a year later. At the time, the company said that it would look for new ways to bring music based content to the service.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Twitter results need to wow to reassure investors

When Twitter Inc. reports results on Wednesday, a less than stellar showing could hammer the stock further as a broad selloff in the technology sector has made investors jittery.

Twitter's shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value in the past 12 months.

Several tech stocks with lofty valuations have plunged in the past few days after dismal sales outlook from LinkedIn Corp and business-analytics company Tableau Software fueled growth fears for the entire sector.

"I think the problem is that in the current market any sign of a weak outlook will be quite harshly punished," Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell said.

Investors want to see Chief Executive Jack Dorsey's strategy to reignite growth in user numbers.

Twitter reported an 11 percent growth in active monthly users in the third quarter to 320 million, the slowest growth since the company went public in 2013.

But one effort, Moments, which showcases Twitter's best tweets and content, has failed to take off as expected, analysts have said.

Twitter is also planning to reorder tweets to prioritize those it believes more users will want to see, BuzzFeed reported on Friday.

Many users decried the reported plan, with the hashtag #RIPTwitter becoming the top trending U.S. item on Twitter on Saturday.

Twitter has been criticized for trying to become more like Facebook Inc, which has been growing at a much faster rate and reported 1.59 billion active monthly users in January.

"We expect only modest sequential user growth (for Twitter) in 2016, likely 1 percent per quarter," Wedbush Securities analysts wrote in a preview note on Friday.

Analysts expect Twitter to report earnings of 12 cents per share on revenue of $709.9 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

JACK OF TWO TRADES

Another lingering concern has been Dorsey's dual role of running Twitter as well as mobile payments company Square Inc.

Dorsey, who became interim CEO in July and then CEO in October, has called for "bold rethinking" about the company but has not yet clarified what that means.

Dorsey has also moved to restructure the company by laying off more than 300 employees and making marquee hires, notably that of former Google executive Omid Kordestani as executive chairman.

But four senior executives have quit the company in the past few months, adding another concern about the company's ability to restart growth.

"We believe that had Moments been an early success, the executives would not have left so soon, voluntarily or otherwise," Wedbush analysts wrote.

As of Monday, Twitter shares were trading at 25.7 times forward earnings, shy of Facebook's 30.4.

"Why would you invest in something like a Twitter when Facebook is on a similar valuation with a stronger trajectory - that's the kind of questions investors are asking," Cordwell said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Twitter experiments reordering tweets by relevance

Twitter Inc. confirmed on Tuesday it is testing a timeline format for its tweets, calling it an experiment.

The microblogging website's new format will result in tweets being sorted by relevance instead of in reverse chronological order.

"Yes, this is an experiment. We're continuing to explore ways to surface the best content for people using Twitter," spokeswoman Liina Potter said in an emailed statement.

The company, facing slowing user growth, has been experimenting under newly appointed Chief Executive Jack Dorsey to make its website more engaging.

"You'll see us continue to question our reverse chronological timeline and all the work it takes to build one by finding and following accounts," Dorsey said during the company's second-quarter earnings conference call in July.

However, users of the 320-million-strong social media website seemed to disagree with the move and took to Twitter to express discontent with the new format.

"I use @Twitter to see what happens and when. Showing posts out of order is one of the things I hate the most about Facebook. Please don't," a user going by the name Owen Pike tweeted.

In 2012, Facebook changed its format to the Timeline, a stream that shows you events, posts and images by relevance.

Last month, Twitter replaced its star-shaped "favorite" icon with a heart-shaped icon called "like."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com