Twitter COO rules out charging all users for premium subscription services
Twitter has dismissed out-of-hand suggestions it might levy fees to all users after COO Anthony Noto declared such a move did not sit well with its wider ethos of open access.
Twitter COO rules out charging all users for premium subscription services
Addressing delegates at Code Conference, Noto conceded he would be willing to add premium subscription services in specific areas, such as TweetDeck, but ruled out any universal implementation.
Instead, Noto sought to differentiate Twitter from its competitors by outlining four areas in which the micro-blogging service stands apart, namely its speed, comprehensive coverage, discussion potential and the degree of personalisation afforded.
In doing so, Noto implied a subscription model would in some way impinge on these founding principles by deterring some people from posting and sharing, and thus reducing the efficacy of the service as a whole.
Nevertheless, Noto needs to keep food on the table with revenues sliding 8% year-on-year over the first quarter, prompting consideration for charging for premium TweetDeck features geared toward business users such as journalists seeking to engage more rapidly with breaking stories.
In a bid to bolster its bottom line Twitter has increasingly turned to live video to provide it with much-needed revenue, appointing industry veteran Todd Swidler to lead its charge in this area.