The question on my mind is this: how can this possibly make anyone any money, given Apple's 30% cut on in-app purchases? I seriously doubt Apple would give that up.
Testing a way for you to make purchases on Twitter
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Re: Testing a way for you to make purchases on Twitter
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think that Twitter's effort to monetize is directly equal to selling out. If the service's quality degrades significantly (too many pushy ads and buy buttons) then, I'd say it sold out. So far, I've found the ads fairly relevant and not too frequent.
I may be oversensitive to spam (I must admit that my love of ad-blocking software in all sorts of systems borders on mania) but the very idea that I now have to be wary of Sponsored Tweets that require an effort to unsee has already started to spoil the experience.
There's no such thing as a free lunch, etc, etc. I like the Sponsored Tweets compared to the alternatives: either paying to use Twitter or banner ads.
Re: Testing a way for you to make purchases on Twitter
#93There are exactly zero times I wished I could buy something from a Tweet with a button. Given that limited observation of buyer behavior, and knowing full well Twitter wishes to make profit, I'm assuming these buttons will be forced into my public stream somewhere, somehow. Some people on here think these buttons will be placed there by Twitter via ads, but I have another idea: Provide a micropayment channel program…
I'm going to guess you don't use the 'one-click buy' button on Amazon either?
That's a terrible comparison. Amazon is a retailer, Twitter is not. Amazon provides a massive amount of helpful information to buyers. Twitter provides almost none. For starters.
Re: Testing a way for you to make purchases on Twitter
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thing is, Twitter should be a protocol. It clearly fills an existing need (I see it as very similar to email in that regard, just filling a different need – people want to chat publicly with each other and in a very informal way inform the public about things), but it doesn’t really make sense as a service that wants to make money. Twitter should be just like email, not this one monopoly controlling everything. It’s…
Twitter is a private company so they should continue to do whatever they please. If you want to create a decentralized Twitter go for it... my guess is it would be about as popular as Diaspora but all the praise to you if you can disrupt them.
They can do whatever they please. I can wish that they would do something else. They obviously won’t. It’s not in their own self-interest.
Saying they should remain this cynical monopoly that does shitty things just seems nonsensical to me. No, they should not. They can. They do. I think they shouldn’t.
I mean, none of this will actually happen. Twitter will continue to have a monopoly and I see no realistic way to change that. I don’t think there will ever be Twitter as a protocol. I’m just saying there should be. It did work out for email. And, yeah, email is imperfect in so, so, so many ways, but at least it isn’t under control by a single company.
Re: Testing a way for you to make purchases on Twitter
#95See Chirpify[1], who has since pivoted. I don't know if that pivot was because of the idea or because Twitter decided it made more sense to be an ad wall than a platform. I really, truly do not understand Twitter's thinking. I'm sure on someone's spreadsheet of imaginary numbers it looks more attractive to be a billboard, but Twitter had the opportunity to be a true platform. A platform gives you control. It's a long…
Advertising is way more lucrative. See $FB. HNers need to come to grips with the fact that advertising is by far the best way to monetize attention. And it's quite possible that will never change.
Re: Testing a way for you to make purchases on Twitter
#96The question on my mind is this: how can this possibly make anyone any money, given Apple's 30% cut on in-app purchases? I seriously doubt Apple would give that up.
Interesting point - depending on how this is implemented, all iOS Twitter clients could already be violating the App Store guidelines!
Re: Testing a way for you to make purchases on Twitter
#97There are exactly zero times I wished I could buy something from a Tweet with a button. Given that limited observation of buyer behavior, and knowing full well Twitter wishes to make profit, I'm assuming these buttons will be forced into my public stream somewhere, somehow. Some people on here think these buttons will be placed there by Twitter via ads, but I have another idea: Provide a micropayment channel program…
You had everyone until "use cryptocurrencies".
Re: Testing a way for you to make purchases on Twitter
#98it is a big conundrum if your core product, through its simplicity, is really great. you hire all these product people, have all these investors, but any direction you can take the product actually makes it worse against its initial, great core use. twitter as a protocol is on a level with smtp - a lucky strike, hitting a need, something for the ages. journalists, media, etc. love it. RSS on a whole new level. but tw…
> unix guys as a whole didn't try the same. "monetize".
um.. UNIX started out as a closed-source commercial OS.
Re: Testing a way for you to make purchases on Twitter
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm going to guess you don't use the 'one-click buy' button on Amazon either?
That's a terrible comparison. Amazon is a retailer, Twitter is not. Amazon provides a massive amount of helpful information to buyers. Twitter provides almost none. For starters.
For people with significant followings, Twitter is a marketing platform. This might enable an affiliate (or self publication) model to work well on Twitter.
Re: Testing a way for you to make purchases on Twitter
#100There are exactly zero times I wished I could buy something from a Tweet with a button. Given that limited observation of buyer behavior, and knowing full well Twitter wishes to make profit, I'm assuming these buttons will be forced into my public stream somewhere, somehow. Some people on here think these buttons will be placed there by Twitter via ads, but I have another idea: Provide a micropayment channel program…
Yes, an affiliate marketing scheme like this would have a big impact as well at turn the social network into a cesspool.
Social networks are already messy. I'd stop short of calling them cesspools, however. Software makes content better. Better software makes content I don't know I want more available to me.
If something isn't interesting, or doesn't earn anyone money, people won't retweet it.