DISQUS

howardlindzon · 4 months ago

how do you know our biz plan...


thanks dude. lots to do together now.

AngusRob · 3 months ago

Given your comment about cutting the umbilical cord, is StockTwits Desktop good or bad for Twitter in the longer term? Is it a case of building on the Twitter foundation, or of a first step in disintermediation?

graubart · 3 months ago

That's a good question, Angus.
IMO I think that any application that demonstrates business value through community and short-messaging is a win for Twitter. While StockTwits was smart to remove its dependency on Twitter (saw a few posts yesterday from users who could post to ST but not to Twitter), if they can show success with that model, it becomes compelling for other to follow. And, the quickest way to market for others will be to leverage the existing Twitter infrastructure.
It's also important to note that StockTwits has not abandoned Twitter. Their web site version is still on Twitter and I'd guess that it will continue to be there.
In essence, Twitter becomes a huge lead generation platform for StockTwits. Some of those users will move to the desktop version and some of those will then buy premium services over ST Desktop (sorry, I can't use the "STD" acronym as it has other connotations).
From that standpoint, the StockTwits model is a pretty interesting take on freemium. Build a community on the (free) open web product, give those users a new (also free) platform that has much more functionality. Then, use that platform as a pipe to deliver higher value (paid) services which generate subscription revenue. As the community moves to the new platform ST gets new revenue opportunities as the platform becomes more interesting to professionals as well.

howardlindzon · 3 months ago

you are freaking me out dude...who's leaking this shit :)

howardlindzon · 3 months ago

you are freaking me out dude...who's leaking this shit :)

howardlindzon · 3 months ago

yes a win for twitter long term...and i think a win for web...closed is the new open :)

AngusRob · 3 months ago

Thanks. I'm persuaded. Good luck to StockTwits. As somebody who remembers writing 80-character financial news flashes on paper teletype, it's nice to see an innovative new variant on the theme making headway.