Twitter reveals plan for ‘business-class’ version ... at a price

TWITTER is considering charging users for the first time to boost its revenues, with a new “business class” version of its service.

The micro-blogging social network said it is assessing the level of interest in the option before pressing ahead with it. Subscribers would get access to a premium version of its Tweetdeck interface offering far more “bells and whistles” than its basic Twitter.com platform, which is likely to stay free.

In a survey of selected Twitter users, the company said: “This premium tool set will provide valuable viewing, posting and signalling tools like alerts, trends and activity analysis, advanced analytics, and composing and posting tools all in one customisable dashboard. It will be designed to make it easier than ever to keep up with multiple interests, grow your audience, and see even more great content and information in real-time.”

The survey also said the new service could include “more powerful tools to help marketers, journalists, profession- als, and others in our community find out what is happening in the world quicker, to gain more insights, and see the broadest range of what people are saying on Twitter. Whether you use Twitter for work or just want to be more informed on the latest news, sports, entertainment, political viewpoints, and information in today’s world, this advanced Tweetdeck experience will be designed to help you get even more out of Twitter.

“It would also offer extra features such as advanced audience insights and analytics, tools to monitor multiple timelines from multiple accounts and from multiple devices, including mobile, all in an ad-free experience.”

The survey included a mock-up of what the enhanced Tweetdeck might look like, with news alerts and information on what an account’s followers tweet about. San Francisco-based Twitter has struggled to boost advertising revenues against intense competition from newer rivals such as Snapchat.

A Twitter spokeswoman said it was “exploring several ways to make Tweetdeck even more valuable for professionals”. @JonPrynn

‘More powerful tools to help marketers, journalists, professionals and others in our community’ Twitter survey