Image: Flickr user Eric Fischer
Twitter has cemented its role as the place where a global dialogue on everything from Israel's bombing of Palestine to Kanye West's relationship status unfolds--and it's already replaced television as the go-to resource for breaking news events. Now all the company has to do is figure out how to make money without turning off its 500 million active users.
The micro-blogging service currently gathers revenue through promoted tweets, promoted trends--in short, advertising. In an effort to maximize the profit from those sources, Twitter has been steadily updating its terms of service to make it more difficult for third-party apps to make money on its back. This has resulted in speculation that many well-known apps, including as Flipboard and Hootsuite, may have to find a business that doesn't rely on Twitter's API as much as they do today.
And Twitter itself is expanding beyond those 140-characters, it seems. The feed now includes photos and videos, and designated news outlets (including Fast Company) are able to show the headline and first few sentences of an article.
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