Hey, this is perfect. I was just thinking 'wouldnt it be nice if there was a way I could drive away all my twitter followers' and here we go, the perfect solution!
Kevin
· 10 months ago
This is not a good idea at all! You will now see a proliferation of people joining Twitter for the absolute wrong reasons. There seems to be other apparent flaws with model. Suppose I am receiving $150 for the month and I have a following of 500 members. This month, I don't have a lot to say and I only send out 1 tweet a day, meaning only 6 ad messages are sent out to my 500 followers. Does this mean the advertiser pays $150 for 3000 impressions? I'd prefer to spend $50 reaching a more targeted audience with Facebook or LinkedIn.
I'll say this. Sign up for this program at your own risk. I will not follow someone who is tweeting me ads.
PJ Brunet
· 10 months ago
As an advertiser I'd want a non-tinyurl option, for PR ;-)
John
· 10 months ago
I know people will be flocking to this because they want to make some extra cash, but at least right now, I would feel like a sellout if I signed up. Not sure why. Anyone else feel the same?
Pete Cashmore
· 10 months ago
Is this paying for tweets? It's not a good idea, imho. It's way too early in the evolution of this medium to do that, and the implementations aren't sensitive to how people use Twitter.
Jennifer Van Grove
· 10 months ago
John, I was tempted but I'd rather not offend my followers just yet.
Pete, yep it's essentially paying for a running ad (tweet) on a regular basis. Of course I'm with ya on the evolution of the medium thing.
Darko
· 10 months ago
That would be a very quick way to get you removed from my followers list...
Ryan
· 10 months ago
Bring it!
Kyle Maxwell
· 10 months ago
If a company Twitter included this, it would bother me a LOT less than an individual, because the nature of the relationship would be changing. I'm not actually a "friend" of @mashable but I am a "friend" of the actual people I follow.
This could be used for great evil. Then again, start pissing people off and you'll lose followers and eventually ads.
Shawn Hickman
· 10 months ago
@John I completely agree with you about feeling like a sellout. Twitter is a place I go to for learning every single day. It just seems like people would be profiting off of others for the wrong reasons. I could see the quality of Tweets going down as well. People would just Tweet stupid things so that they could get for advertisers to pay them.
Ferodynamics
· 10 months ago
It's paying for tweets but the match is double-authorized, so in theory you're making valuable connections.
Daniel Allen
· 10 months ago
I think it's going to depend on how it is executed. For example, if I have a lot of influence and my twitter account is about technology- and someone will pay me to tweet about a new product that I find interesting- and my userbase may find interesting, I don't see a downside there. I think everyone wins.
But I can see issues arising where users create an account intended solely for the purpose of building up users then spamming with ads- well I think we can all agree that that won't end well.
@danieldallen
arthurbarbato
· 4 months ago
excellent! Bon Chance! Let me know if you would like direct access to the insider (decision makers) for major brands, OK? Thank you for this interesting post! *blush* this came in today from @SingleEdition “I did not believe it when you told me 6 months ago that AdDataExpress® would change my life, but, boy were you ever right!!!! “ www.twitter.com/SingleEdition
Stephanie
· 10 months ago
Sounds awful to me. Running an ad that often I would expect to get annoying and, as with Magpie, cause one to lose followers.
Jennifer Van Grove
· 10 months ago
Kari, you do have veto power over ads.
Kyle, I totally disagree. I'd be much more disturbed if a brand started having ads in their stream. That would make the whole point to their Twitter presence pointless IMO.
Nick Wilsdon
· 10 months ago
This looks like it's setup wrong to me. Publishers should be searching for advertisers, not the other way round. That way twitter users can search for products or services which fit into the topics they normally talk about - the ads would seem naturally placed and they get paid. Think more word of mouth marketing with disclosure, rather than paid ad spots.
bob wan kim
· 10 months ago
@journik : Sure! Alienate my hard earned followers. Hell. If you are an advertiser and my followers are right for you, DM ME. I'll still say no... but its far less spammy.
Ferodynamics
· 10 months ago
Evolution my butt, please, we practically elected Obama President of the Internet. Online advertising is over 20 years old, older than most of you reading this.
Ryan
· 10 months ago
If you start sending ads to your Twitter followers, you are going to seem them drop off quickly. I know I wouldn't follow anyone that hit me with ads every 10 or 20 tweets.
nuance_intelligence
· 10 months ago
i will quickly stop following anyone who is advertising to me. i quit reading guy kawasaki 'cuz all he does is advertise. this is EXACTLY the same problem as advertising in social networks -- it completely takes the user out of the perceived value. if no one has figured it out yet, ADVERTISING IS NOT THE ANSWER. it breaks the feedback loop and queers social incentives. fine of old-school centralized one-way media, but not in true interactive web2.0 stuff. can't believe people have not figured this out yet. -- it's 2008, already!
Julie @SocialMedia411
· 10 months ago
As constructed this program is fraught with opportunities for abuse. One example is that people might start posting even more irrelevant tweets just to get their numbers up.
It seems that many streams are already polluted with an excessive amount of marginal content, why feed the bottom-fishers?
Ivan
· 10 months ago
As Jennifer points out, many are on Twitter to find creative ways to monetize their ___________ (fill in blank) but the key is personal relevance and it's hard to be personal and relevant when you're an ad on rotation. I already have a hard time keeping up with my tweeps and can't imagine adding advertisements to the mix.
Moreover, will the Twitter police even allow this to happen? Don't you think Twitter will close [advertiser] accounts? I do. Remember the @TweetBomb shut-down? They weren't even trying to monetize anything (that I know of)!
For me, the beauty of Twitter is that it isn't prostituting itself for a few bucks, or many for that matter. Yeah, I understand you need to pay your bills but come on, you can be more creative than ad-branding your background or wedging inline ads into your posts.
Attention creative people AND Twitter: Do something cool and keep it social. Let it be Twitter approved and allow us to share in the profits. Allow Twitter the control to keep things "proper" and generate some money for both Twitter and it's users.
Need inspiration? Think AdSense. AdSense was Google's way of creating unlimited ad space in a very controlled environment while making people happy because they could almost effortlessly generate revenue through ad publishing. Be creative!
zaibatsu
· 10 months ago
I might sign up for the adCause service and donate 100 percent of my earning to several charities (they give you that option).
It's an easy way to help.
Peter Kim
· 10 months ago
Interesting idea, but it's doomed and Google shows us why. In the face of global economic meltdown, Google reports +18% 4Q08 earnings based on the strength of their search PPC model. What we're talking about here is a display ad model. Good news for Tweeters who can secure a paid placement, only early advertisers will benefit until users acclimate and ignore.
The real question - why doesn't Google help users cash in by integrating AdWords/AdSense with a user's Twitter stream?
Jen
· 10 months ago
I do agree with a couple of the comments above that I would feel slightly like a sell out, but...
I also put my twitter stream onto my website. So my most recent tweet will show up on the frontpage of my website. If I could include those ads only within that - then that would make a bit more sense to me.
It wouldn't annoy my followers and it would be in a place where an ad would probably be more 'acceptable'.
Marcus
· 10 months ago
So if MagPie would have launched with a "give to a cause" option then this idea would have not even been thought of. Everyone on Twitter knows that ads in tweets is not the answer. How are these tweets being displayed? Is there a notification that this is a AD TWEET?
Advertisers FLOCKED away from MagPie the second they saw the negative feedback. I dont care if you throw in the worlds greatest charities..if those charities find out about this idea, and know that the Twitter community doesnt like ads in Tweets. That charity will exit stage left.
I give it 2 months. Tops. If the bugs dont take it down sooner.
Tim R.
· 10 months ago
This is reason #5,100 why Twitter needs to have developers apply for access to the API. This might be the dumbest ad model of all (out of Magpie, Twittad, AdCause). The pricing sructure doesnt make sense, like other posters have said; does the Tweet come across as just another Tweet or is it clearly an ad, ala #magpie.
Twitter needs to put a stop to all these ad ideas and either throw their support behind one and improve it, or wait until they all die. Either way the ads in tweets is a epic #fail IMO
Shawn N.
· 10 months ago
What a RIP OFF of crowdspring.com design. At least change the colors or something. hahaaa!
Tim R.
· 10 months ago
Shawn..LOL. Wow creative folks over at AdCause! This model is doomed.
Deborah
· 10 months ago
First thing I thought, Wow, way to lose your followers.
Marc
· 10 months ago
Someone must create a twitter app that can recognize when ppl are using adCause like services and have it auto block every 5th tweet or 20th...
Kim Randall (@SadiePippita)
· 10 months ago
You think there are too many Fail Whale issues now? Wait until multiple people are creating multiple accounts to try and make a quick dollar. Although the idea may be good there needs to be a more creative way to do something like this.
Lisa Hickey
· 10 months ago
What’s always been interesting to me about Twitter is that it’s both a broadcasting medium (like tv, radio, the web itself) and a conversational tool. Advertising is perfectly accepted in the first case, not at all in the second. Once scenario is that people will begin to have 2 twitter profiles/tweetstreams, one for “work†and one for “playâ€. The work one will be more informational, with links to found content and useful advice. People will allow ads on that, and “work†to keep the ads and content relevant. The play version of their profile will be used more for conversations, social interactions and fun stuff -- and will not include ads.
PS There has *always* been an outcry the first time advertising is incorporated someplace new.
Bruce E.
· 10 months ago
From what I've seen on Twitter in my few months tweeting, there would be nothing but ads flowing across my screen. I don't think it's a good idea.
Shawn K
· 10 months ago
An intriguing idea, but before I'd do it, I'd need a greater frequency range for ads, I don't want 5% of my tweets to be an ad.
Robert Dempsey
· 10 months ago
I remember a local company here called PayPerPost that received a lot of backlash for creating a paid blogging platform. I'm not sure how they are doing now though...
I follow a number of brands and expect them to hype their own stuff. For people like me who use their Twitter account for both personal and business use, I expect tweets about their company and products/services. For those who have a record of not doing any of that, if I start seeing ads in their Twitter stream, I'll unfollow them.
Sounds like the same effect of television commercials. I bet this company already has software to sift out those ads and will sell that to the masses quickly after this takes flight :)
Phoebe
· 10 months ago
I just signed up one of my niche Twitter accounts. I'm interested in seeing what kind of "ads" I'd be asked to promote in my timeline; and I'm interested to see what kind of response, including getting unfollowed, it will get from my followers.
I agree that there is huge potential for abuse. On the other hand, if it's a fairly innocuous promotion of a product or service that I can get behind and that would be useful to folks in that niche, I don't see the harm.
I don't know a thing about MagPie so I have no basis for comparison. For my part, I'm kind of excited to be in at the get-go and to be able to carefully test response. After all, my business is Internet Marketing; I think AdCause could be a cool tool, if used properly. Time will tell. ;-)
Ciprian Pantea
· 10 months ago
Hey!
It's kinda awkward to put in advertisments, it's something like you talk with some friend of yours and tell him "oh btw, I think you should buy this it would be really useful to you" and then you check in. The funny thing is that you say that every 5 phrases :))
Anuj Seth - Twitdom
· 10 months ago
adCause has been added to Twitdom - The Twitter Applications Database.
Daniel Tunkelang
· 10 months ago
I think this is a great idea. While it's usually easy to figure out who isn't worth following, encouraging them to include ads in their Twitter stream vastly simplifies the process. Although it would be slightly easier if they used "spam_" as a prefix in their Twitter ids.
I know the economy is tough, but I'd feel a bit like a sell-out to showcase ads to my followers.
Nigel Derbyshire
· 10 months ago
Isn't this just what Twitteriffic did with their desktop client... some people hated it, but to others it was just a odd tweet every hour or so that you just ignored.
I wonder how much money they make out of that?
Devakishor
· 10 months ago
populating your follower's timeline with ads so that you get paid! Spamming it is called.
AmorMD
· 7 months ago
I think it is overwhelming from your readers that the advertising is not going to work on Twitter.com I was kind interested. I have worked hard to get my followers and would like not to offend them with advertising.
All Comments
I'll say this. Sign up for this program at your own risk. I will not follow someone who is tweeting me ads.
Pete, yep it's essentially paying for a running ad (tweet) on a regular basis. Of course I'm with ya on the evolution of the medium thing.
This could be used for great evil. Then again, start pissing people off and you'll lose followers and eventually ads.
But I can see issues arising where users create an account intended solely for the purpose of building up users then spamming with ads- well I think we can all agree that that won't end well.
@danieldallen
Kyle, I totally disagree. I'd be much more disturbed if a brand started having ads in their stream. That would make the whole point to their Twitter presence pointless IMO.
It seems that many streams are already polluted with an excessive amount of marginal content, why feed the bottom-fishers?
Moreover, will the Twitter police even allow this to happen? Don't you think Twitter will close [advertiser] accounts? I do. Remember the @TweetBomb shut-down? They weren't even trying to monetize anything (that I know of)!
For me, the beauty of Twitter is that it isn't prostituting itself for a few bucks, or many for that matter. Yeah, I understand you need to pay your bills but come on, you can be more creative than ad-branding your background or wedging inline ads into your posts.
Attention creative people AND Twitter: Do something cool and keep it social. Let it be Twitter approved and allow us to share in the profits. Allow Twitter the control to keep things "proper" and generate some money for both Twitter and it's users.
Need inspiration? Think AdSense. AdSense was Google's way of creating unlimited ad space in a very controlled environment while making people happy because they could almost effortlessly generate revenue through ad publishing. Be creative!
It's an easy way to help.
The real question - why doesn't Google help users cash in by integrating AdWords/AdSense with a user's Twitter stream?
I also put my twitter stream onto my website. So my most recent tweet will show up on the frontpage of my website. If I could include those ads only within that - then that would make a bit more sense to me.
It wouldn't annoy my followers and it would be in a place where an ad would probably be more 'acceptable'.
Advertisers FLOCKED away from MagPie the second they saw the negative feedback. I dont care if you throw in the worlds greatest charities..if those charities find out about this idea, and know that the Twitter community doesnt like ads in Tweets. That charity will exit stage left.
I give it 2 months. Tops. If the bugs dont take it down sooner.
Twitter needs to put a stop to all these ad ideas and either throw their support behind one and improve it, or wait until they all die. Either way the ads in tweets is a epic #fail IMO
PS There has *always* been an outcry the first time advertising is incorporated someplace new.
I follow a number of brands and expect them to hype their own stuff. For people like me who use their Twitter account for both personal and business use, I expect tweets about their company and products/services. For those who have a record of not doing any of that, if I start seeing ads in their Twitter stream, I'll unfollow them.
I bet this company already has software to sift out those ads and will sell that to the masses quickly after this takes flight :)
I agree that there is huge potential for abuse. On the other hand, if it's a fairly innocuous promotion of a product or service that I can get behind and that would be useful to folks in that niche, I don't see the harm.
I don't know a thing about MagPie so I have no basis for comparison. For my part, I'm kind of excited to be in at the get-go and to be able to carefully test response. After all, my business is Internet Marketing; I think AdCause could be a cool tool, if used properly. Time will tell. ;-)
It's kinda awkward to put in advertisments, it's something like you talk with some friend of yours and tell him "oh btw, I think you should buy this it would be really useful to you" and then you check in. The funny thing is that you say that every 5 phrases :))
Still, I don't think they take the idea far enough. Ben Kunz proposed a more general approach: http://thenoisychannel.com/2008/12/30/reductio-...
I wonder how much money they make out of that?