Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit • Hacker News Board

Re: Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit

#101

Post by vermontdevil » Thu, Oct 26, 2017, 5:52 PM UTC

ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #91

ben_jones wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I gave twitter another show about ~6 months ago. I enjoyed some feeds, most just felt like "fadspam" where people echoed popular opinion - particularly in tech. I really hated that as a new user I was immediately recommended to follow Trump. I get that algorithmically he's probably seen as a great person to follow, but I really, really, really, had no interest in doing so. But Twitter derives business value from reco…

Twitter is ALL ABOUT who you follow. I hated it for years, until a popular post here on HN a couple months ago. A user compiled an absolute SUPER LIST of the best people to follow, and now my feed is full of really interesting information, diverse viewpoints, and stuff I wouldn't find anywhere else. This one account was kind of the tipping point for me, finding GOOD TWITTER https://twitter.com/humanprogress

Where is this list?

Re: Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit

#102

Post by gigatexal » Thu, Oct 26, 2017, 5:54 PM UTC

I know it's the huge growth story that wallstreet seeks but it's an invaluable resource, Twitter is. It should be bought by one of the big 5 tech firms if just to keep it alive in the public interest.

Re: Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit

#103

Post by perseusprime11 » Thu, Oct 26, 2017, 5:54 PM UTC

Can I also say one more thing without getting downvoted? A good reason why their stock is rallying today is also because of their ban on Russian Ad dollars going forward. Something that Mark could not do at Facebook.

Re: Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit

#104

Post by vonnik » Thu, Oct 26, 2017, 5:55 PM UTC

samcheng wrote: post #5

It's not mentioned in the article, but I really think President Trump has been a savior for Twitter. Without those controversial tweets, Twitter would rarely be in much of the public's mind, and the company would have continued its slow slide into irrelevance. As it is, barely a day goes by without "Twitter" being mentioned in national news.

Yeah, all Twitter needed was a pack of neo-Nazis, some Russian bots, and a genocidal conman in the White House. Not worth it. The health of Twitter's balance sheet is a counterindication of the health of the world. When their stock goes up, the market should dive.

Re: Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit

#105

Post by pascalxus » Thu, Oct 26, 2017, 5:57 PM UTC

By now, couldn't they just automate everything and lay off 90% of the staff? I bet that would make it profitable. I'd like to see their cost structure.

Re: Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit

#106

Post by perseusprime11 » Thu, Oct 26, 2017, 5:57 PM UTC

aaron-lebo wrote: post #74

perseusprime11 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fully agree. Also, a good time for Jack to step fully into Twitter boat. Square is doing quite well, he can easily find somebody to run it. If he takes the fulltime role at twitter, expect the stock to go up another 20-30 %

Honest question: why should Dorsey not be seen as an exaggerated media story (by the media and himself) and what has he done which justifies the stock jumping that high? He's run both companies for awhile now, Twitter has basically been stagnant. Doesn't he supposedly work like 80 hours a week anyway? It's already a full time job. Examples from 2011 and 2016: http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/13/technology/dorsey_techonom…

Twitter was always making money. That was not their problem. Their big problem was spending 2 billion dollars. Cut spending and you will see net profit go up. He is atleast doing that while slowly starting to experiment with the product.

Re: Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit

#107

Post by BartSaM » Thu, Oct 26, 2017, 5:57 PM UTC

ProAm wrote: post #26

ceejayoz wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd fully expect many of those 4,000 to be sales staff, each of whom presumably brings in more than their salary in revenue to remain employed.

> each of whom presumably brings in more than their salary in revenue to remain employed Good sales people bring in enough revenue for a company to be profitable. But I have no idea how many sales people Twitter has, I think even if they had 100 it'd be plenty.

Add one zero.

Remember that Twitter works in multiple countries and in different languages. Then there is a lot of face to face meetings required, so add offices and service staff as well.

1-1,5K would sound reasonable for global sales and customer services.

Re: Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit

#108

Post by WalterSear » Thu, Oct 26, 2017, 5:59 PM UTC

aaron-lebo wrote: post #74

perseusprime11 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fully agree. Also, a good time for Jack to step fully into Twitter boat. Square is doing quite well, he can easily find somebody to run it. If he takes the fulltime role at twitter, expect the stock to go up another 20-30 %

Honest question: why should Dorsey not be seen as an exaggerated media story (by the media and himself) and what has he done which justifies the stock jumping that high? He's run both companies for awhile now, Twitter has basically been stagnant. Doesn't he supposedly work like 80 hours a week anyway? It's already a full time job. Examples from 2011 and 2016: http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/13/technology/dorsey_techonom…

"So if he's actually working 80 hours a week, where are the results?"

And here I am, trying to find just one job in tech that's only 40 hours a week.

Re: Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit

#109

Post by nathan_long » Thu, Oct 26, 2017, 5:59 PM UTC

a13n wrote: post #47

ProAm wrote: post #3

They would be profitable in an instant if they'd get rid of half their employees? Im not sure why they need SO many people for Twitter. I believe they have over 4000, they could easily get by with 1000

Oh boy, another Hacker News commenter with zero experience running a large corporation telling experienced folks how they should run a large corporation. Better yet, with no explanation for why. The sheer arrogance.

According to the headline, Twitter has lost money every year of its existence. Random Google result says -$2 Billion profit as of 2016.

Anybody who has done better than that should feel free to give tips, in my view.

Idea: redirect Twitter.com to a Geocities page with ads for fidget spinners and fire everyone. I predict record profits.

Re: Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit

#110

Post by amigoingtodie » Thu, Oct 26, 2017, 5:59 PM UTC

samstave wrote: post #10

samcheng wrote: post #5

It's not mentioned in the article, but I really think President Trump has been a savior for Twitter. Without those controversial tweets, Twitter would rarely be in much of the public's mind, and the company would have continued its slow slide into irrelevance. As it is, barely a day goes by without "Twitter" being mentioned in national news.

Anyone know if any Twitter execs (like Jack) have been donating to any Trump "foundations"?

If they are smart, they donate to both sides of the aisle.