THE RISE OF THE MICRO-BLOG

Shaun Bowen

Sean Casey

Dan Mielech

Katie Narkiewicz

Paul Triano

WHAT IS TWITTER? Launched in ’06: internet’s third largest social

network Currently has 14 million users

Businesspeople Celebrities Companies Product lines

Original Micro-blogging: 140-character “tweets”(ex: “what you ate for breakfast”) Reply to/directly message followers Restrict privacy settings on tweets Block ‘unfriendly’ users Mobile phone accessibility

TWITTER OPPORTUNITIES

Scanning inane tweets comprehensive responses to companies and their products

Twitter’s potential as a ‘research tool’ business industry real-time consumer responses to products companies adapt marketing campaigns adding a search box for consumer ease

But serious capital is needed to get off the ground and increase search engine usability . . .

HIGH HOPES FOR MICRO-BLOGGING

Capital required

Privacy issues and protected corporate info

Trademark violations

Raise capital through business networking and venture capitalists

Form partnerships with internet magnates

Their problem(s): The solution:

FINANCIAL ISSUES: JUST ANOTHER BLOGGER TRYING TO MAKE

QUICK CASH?

Large network for social and business utility

Taking Twitter to greater heights: greatly enhance the worlds of advertising/marketing extend networking to new markets open up doors with more business relevant to the site

users

Already collected $55-57 million Institutional Venture Partners, Benchmark Capital, Union

Square Ventures (New York), Spark Capital (Boston), Digital Garage, Bezos Expeditions

FINANCIAL ISSUES:HOW OUR SOLUTION TIES IN

overall goal: create a very intensive social network that relates business to everyday society (and vice versa!!!)

more e-companies give Twitter venture capital.

more capital to Twitter: revolutionize marketing, enhance the business world, and help our economy.

By raising capital, we exploit part of the problem with our society… allowing the progression of a social network into a business

network!

By taking part, we are creating an opportunity to turn things around

FINANCIAL ISSUES:SOCIAL MEDIA GETS $OCIAL

Rumors: Google (with a $1.42 billion, higher-than-

expected profit earning during first ‘09 quarter) may buy Twitter

Potential Twitter-partners include: Google, Microsoft, the News Corporation and NBC Universal.

Currently seeking a director of strategic partnerships to work on distribution partnerships

FINANCIAL ISSUES:WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT TWITTER GOALS

Fred Wilson (early investor in Twitter) is on board of micro-blogger from Day 1 that distribution of tweets = single most

important thing

Dom Sagolla (software engineer who helped created Twitter) says: more focused on building value before profit will soon have advertising partner with big web/media

company.

FINANCIAL ISSUES: THE TOTAL

Twitter does not sell ads. measures “tweet-views”:

# of tweets viewed x # of viewers.

Twitter wants to remain independent. Twitter’s CEO Evan Williams turned down

Facebook’s offering of 3.33% shares $500 million, if the 15 billion Facebook evaluation is

correct(set 1 year ago when Microsoft invested in Facebook.)

CEO Williams raised the other $22 million

In short:the revenue is needed to expand long-term viability.

LEGAL ISSUES1) INVASION OF PRIVACY

“revealing private information without express permission” (where you are, what you are doing, who you are with, etc.)

Complete strangers can access tweets via separate social networks (University of Texas designed algorithms linking private info with personal internet usage)

What investors need to be aware of: “Twitter is handing out the personal details of people

who register brand names on the micro-blogging service to big companies, without alerting the original registrant or performing any kind of standard due diligence.”This could be solved.

©3/09 Current TV, LLC. <www.current.com>

LEGAL ISSUES2) DEFAMATION

Damaging someone’s reputation with false information or seemingly harmless jokes.

Courtney Love: the first person sued for her defamatory tweets.

LEGAL ISSUES3) TRADEMARK VIOLATIONS

Lawsuits might occur if Twitter users: post tweets to dilute a trademarked name have a similar username/avatar as a company appear to have a relationship with a company or

product when does not exist

Nothing can stop users from making sites that mock or build upon Twitter’s own logo…

LEGAL ISSUES3) TRADEMARK VIOLATIONS (CONT.)

Twittermark: freely allows users to incorporate the Twitter mark or variations of it in third party applications.(Tweetdeck, Twitterific, Twittonary, Twitpic, etc)

The “Fail Whale”: purchased outright off iStockPhoto. Can the person who designed it continue to use it or exploit it?

The Bird logo: Licensed from iStockphoto for $10-15.(Artist Simon Oxley received the price of a sandwich: $6)

Unlike“Fail Whale”, bird can be licensed to anyone else who wants it via iStockPhoto

TWITTER ISSUES IN THE WORKPLACE

posting tweets from corporate networks exposing company secrets These conversations are legally binding subject to the legal rules of electronic discovery

tweets can be subpoenaed

trigger workplace retaliation and wrongful termination claims users will claim lack of just cause (protected tweets:

noting harassment at work or disclosing a safety violation)

TWITTER + ETHICS= TWETHICS?

Raising Twitcapital is fraught with red flags: Self-interest

Tweets are your thoughts displayed for the public. Advocacy

Social media rules change by those with the most leverage

Self-review Don’t let marketers tell you how to use Twitter. Make

your own!

KEEP IN MIND:Networking competitor, FriendFeed, already has a search

box.

TWETHICS AND TWETIQUETTE:FOR AN INDIVIDUAL

What is accepted? What is the motivation? Is my purpose clear? Are my contributions meaningful? Am I depriving users of their liberty? Do my Tweets deprive users of their

happiness?

TWETHICS AND TWETIQUETTE:FOR A COMPANY

Search Engine Marketing and Optimization (SEO)

helps business investors:▪go where the audience goes▪identify the major influencers

incorporate them as social marketing plan▪use Twitter streams as listening tools

receive feedback on products/services

TWITTER MOVING UP IN THE SOCIAL SPHERES?

TwitterHawk (spam) Privacy issues Interference at work Increased

advertising Collapse of “moral

health”

Increased social mobility

Follower management Stream analysis Increased accessibility

of information Increased advertising More profitable returns

for investment companies

More effective marketing campaigns

Harms Benefits

HARMS AND BENEFITS: AN ANALYSISTHE GOOD OUTWEIGHING POTENTIAL

HARM

Harms revolve around individual use and control of personal info

Personal choice to use social networks

Increased incentive to police networks constantly evolving fight to be ethical

Increased capital = more efficiency more accuracy more access

Harms Benefits

As capital investors stand to benefit down the line…

Quick advertweets = quick bucks Duty to treat investors equally, without familiarity Duty to not self-promote recklessly Right to actively monitor streams for useful info

For everyone else… Utilitarian: Investments increase efficiency, help search

engines, benefit users and investors alike. Right to control privacy settings (possible) and duty to

respect other’s tweets. Social media deontology: encourage, participate and

monitor responses, discuss opinions, promote without spamming

SOURCES

http://twitter.com/about#about

http://twitter.com/privacy

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/technology/internet/14twitter.html?_r=2&ref=business

http://yourbiz.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/02/18/1798785.aspx

http://www.main-vision.com/richard/blog/?p=986

http://www.blogherald.com/2008/05/05/copyright-and-twitter/

http://www.businessinsider.com/courtney-love-sued-for-twitter-defamation-2009-3

http://blogs.computerworld.com/node/13669/print

http://current.com/items/89953507_twitter-giving-personal-details-to-companies.htm

http://www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp?id=1202426964831

http://spamnotes.com/2009/03/19/trademark-issues-for-twitter.aspx