Facebook and Twitter: Making Money Takes Back Seat to Growth Even in Economic Recession

Executives from Facebook and Twitter told Web 2.0 Summit attendees they were focused on growth and helping their users--rather than making money--despite the faltering economy.

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While Facebook has many monetization possibilities, the future of Twitter, the micro blogging tool that allows users to exchange short messages, remains less clear. During the morning keynote, Evan Williams, chief product officer at Twitter, was questioned by New Yorker magazine journalist Ken Auletta, who said rather bluntly, "Twitter isn't making money. How are you going to make money?"

Williams paused, letting out a prolonged "ah," which solicited laughter from the audience.

He then responded, "I don't think it's as big a dilemma as people seem to think it will be for us," Williams said. "We haven't focused on it yet and we can't say how it's going to work."

But Williams did hint that commercial avenues could open up on Twitter. Many companies—such as Dell, JetBlue and Comcast—have begun communicating with customers on Twitter. Because a Twitter user must decide to "follow" another user's handle on the service (even if it's a company), the model is attractive for consumers who want to hear from specific organizations whose product they feel passionate about tracking. Some business leaders have examined if Twitter could be used as an internal communications and collaboration mechanism for their employees..

"It's completely opt-in," Williams says. "It's one to many. There all kinds of companies using it to do sales. People are opting in for more marketing related messages. So if you look at it today, there is commercial value not just personal value. I don't think it's going to be hard to monetize that."