TWITTER

Nick Halstead wrote an interesting post yesterday about Twitter's intention to limit API calls to 20,000 calls per hour. Nic Brisbourne also chimed in and both tend to be in agreement that this is really the only revenue model that makes sense.

While I agree that all signs point to Twitter taking this option, I don't think it is the best move. Charging app developers for API calls will inevitably stifle innovation on the platform, much of which has been the reason for Twitter's overwhelming success and adoption. I also think that many of those 'here today, gone tomorrow' Twitter apps have contributed as much to Twitter going mainstream as some of the longer-lasting andrecently-funded client apps because of the hype and general interest they offer non-early adopters who otherwise often fail to see any interest or immediate value in the service.

So how should Twitter make money?

I have believed for some time that Twitter (or a tool like Twitter) could be a killer enterprise application for which major brands would pay large subscription fees. BUT, not in the way Yammer is marketing itself as a domain-specific corporate messaging solution.

The holy grail of marketing is getting as close as possible to your consumers to hear exactly what they are saying about your brand. Twitter is in a unique position both to supply incredible insight into brand perception and enable consumer brand engagement along similar lines to FreshMinds' FreshNetworksventure. There is a killer market research app in this data, for sure.

But perhaps the greatest potential for tools like Twitter in the enterprise is in customer support. Although many don't like the inevitable invasion of big brands on Twitter, it could have a significant benefit to us as consumers. A small tweak to the Twitter Direct Messaging service could route a customer support query directly into a customer service centre (Twitter charges for Enterprise integration via the DM service perhaps on a per-request AND annual subscription basis). Not only would the consumer potentially have MUCH IMPROVED access to Microsoft, Apple or whoever it is but the enterprise would have a ready-made customer engagement system that can make intelligent use of historic data for customer support efficiencies and future insight.

In summary, anything Twitter does to stifle innovation from a developer point of view is unwise and charging for API usage fits into that category. On the other hand, Twitter has the eyes and ears of a growing number of super-valuable early-adopters with whom big businesses SHOULD be interested in communicating better.