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The Twitter Effect

October 8th, 2009 by Erin Posted in Software Development, Twitter | No Comments »

There used to be a time when I thought Google was poised to take over the world.

I was wrong.

It’s Twitter.

The social networking/ internet messaging service/ micro blogging site (whatever you want to call it) has grown in gargantuan porportion.

An estimated $1 billion to be exact.

And, now, like the Apple iPhone app frenzy – Twitter is having its own profound effect on the app world.

Enter the state of Massachusetts.

The Bay State is home to many things: the Boston Red Sox, the New England Patriots, prestigious universities and hospitals – to name a few.

But, it’s also a hub for innovative tech startups –  companies, that have developed some interesting applications and services connected to Twitter.

And, unlike Twitter itself, these apps and services are actually bringing in money.

According to Boston Globe’s Scott Kirsner, here’s a look at how some companies are feeding off the Twitter effect – and what they’re bringing to the table.

- Oneforty - Offers a directory of software applications and services that work with Twitter. It helps direct new users and paying customers to them in exchange for a referral fee.

- Thoughtbot – Their Thunder Thimble helps companies track what Twitter users are saying about their brands. Subscription fees start at $9 per month.

- Tweetworks - Aims to help users who are interested in a topic create groups on Twitter and track strings of messages on a particular topic. No revenue model yet.

- Crimson Hexagon - Helps companies track conversations about their products on Twitter (as well as blogs and online forums).

- GraphEdge - Helps Twitter users understand trends among their followers. May soon start charging a monthly fee for Twitter users with a large number of followers.

- HubSpot – Twitter Grader analyzes how well a Twitter account is performing in terms of attracting followers and supplying them with content that they’re likely to pass along ( or “re-tweet”) to other users.

- Traackr – Generates lists of influential users of Twitter so that marketers at a company will know who to reach out to when testing a new product or website.

Anyone can see that by the amount of users (roughly 8 million new users a month) – and the endeavors of these tech companies – the Twitter effect is spreading.

The world is literally Twitter’s oyster.

Let’s hope the site doesn’t blow it by getting swallowed up by Google – or worse, Microsoft.

 Tags: tech startups, twitter applications, twitter services