Twitter: We won't charge companies to tweet

Any future fees will be for add-on services, says co-founder...

Companies using Twitter to interact with their customers won't have to face a charge for the service after all.

In recent interview, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone seemed to suggest commercial tweeters could be charged a fee in future. Speaking to Marketing magazine he said: "We are noticing more companies using Twitter and individuals following them. We can identify ways to make this experience even more valuable and charge for commercial accounts."

However, Stone has now moved to scotch speculation the web 2.0 company is gearing up to charge companies which use Twitter to interact with their customer base.

Writing on the Twitter blog, Stone said: "We've been thinking out loud for more than a year about the growing use of Twitter by companies, brands and other commercial organisations. It's great that both individuals and organisations are finding value in Twitter and there may be ways we can enrich the experience. In fact, we hope to begin iterating on revenue products this year.

"However, it's important to note that whatever we come up with, Twitter will remain free to use by everyone - individuals, companies, celebrities, etc."

Instead, Stone said, the company is looking at add-on services as a means of generating revenue streams. "What we're thinking about is adding value in places where we are already seeing traction, not imposing fees on existing services. We are still very early in the idea stage and we don't have anything to share just yet despite a recent surge in speculation. When we do, we'll be sure to let you know," he added.

A recent report by analyst house Datamonitor predicts Twitter and its ilk will become increasingly integrated into contact centre customer service and CRM strategies.

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