(Repriese article)

Twitter, the microburst text message service that allows you to send messages to friends when not busily on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube or even here, to let them know what you are up to (I‘m in the shower, on the phone, walking the dog, etc.) just in case they forget, unplug and (gasp!) seek a life away from their desktop, laptop, Blackberry, iphone or the microchip planted in their brain by aliens overnight, announced two new investors Jeff Bezos, founder of amazon (a Twitter supplier) and Spark Capital to upgrade and modernise their offering.

Now they have a member yellow pages directory and still have not answered the market’s main question, why should we care?

The Twitter press release says that “Twitter will become a sustainable business supported by a revenue model. However, our biggest opportunities will be worth pursuing only when we achieve our vision of Twitter as a global communication utility. To reach our goal, Twitter must be reliable and robust. Private funding gives us the runway we need to stay focused on the infrastructure that will help our business take flight. We will continue hiring systems engineers, operators, and architects, as well as consultants, scientists, and other professionals to help us realize our vision.”

OK, business doing what and how? Where does the revenue come from on this one? I send a message to my network of friends. No advert reaches them, 160 characters go across to their screen or phone, I ignore the ads on the page and this is a communications utility doing what how?

Back in the 1990’s I did a project for Firestone (before Bridgestone). I was the grey hair called into the room as a bunch of kids were coming up with lots of great ideas. In this case the lead was devoting a lot of time to creating a map of Firestone locations across the USA and came to me all excited, “look what I got the computer to do! No matter where a trucker breaks down, he can go to the website and find the closest dealer.”

I let the moment sink in then asked but one question, “aahmm, Ted… how many truckers do you know (in 1997) are driving around with laptops and cellphone modems?”

Dead silence.

It never occurred to him that just because you can does not answer the question if you should.

Welcome to Twitter. I delete 80% of the news feeds on my Facebook page because at the end of the day how much do I really care about someone who has become my “friend” wants to challenge me to a movie quiz, buy or sell me or play a game of online Scrabble over the next month. I don’t know you that well and find no use for that amount of familiarity. Why would I tell you that I am too busy to go online because I am taking a dump?

The release says, “We’re thrilled with the team that’s coming together around Twitter and looking forward to more good things to come.” Bezos has certainly backed some winners against all odds. This one puzzles.

If the Bezos gang are looking for a business model, I’ve got one here for them to invest in. Twitter falls still into the why should I care model.