Twitter to try money-making methods

"We have patient investors and time for experimenting with revenue generating ideas and products," Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said late Thursday in response to an AFP inquiry.

"That being said, we'll start experimenting this year. We don't have to hit a home run right away but we're looking forward to showing some progress in this area."

Stone said in a public radio interview a day earlier that one method could be charging fees for commercial accounts used by businesses to spread messages on Twitter.

Twitter in February reportedly raised an additional 35 million dollars in funding from venture capital firms.

Stone said in the radio interview that Twitter remains focused on growth. The California-based company claims to have more than six million users and a "phenomenal growth rate" of 900 percent in the past year.

Twitter, which allows users to pepper one another with messages of 140 characters or less, has seen a dizzying surge in popularity since it was launched in August 2006 but has been unable so far to generate revenue.

"We are now positioned extremely well to support the accelerating growth of our service, further enable the robust ecosystem sprouting up around Twitter, and yes, to begin building revenue-generating products," Stone said in a February blog posting.

Stone said in his online message that Twitter's "small team will grow much bigger to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead."

(c) 2009 AFP