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Category: Twitter

  • Twitter gives power to woman

    Twitter gives power to woman

    MUMBAI: In the last two years, Twitter has just seen a rise in the number of users. It has become a phenomenon. But the microblogging site was criticised time and again for gender imbalance in the top ranks. However, the social media platform seems to have rectified it by bringing on to board executive Marjorie Scardino to its director ranks.

    Scardino is not just Twitter’s first female director; she’s also one of the first person with an experience in old media. Scardino with whom the Twitter board to expand to eight members, is a former chief executive of publishing company Pearson and has served as an editor for the Associated Press, a publisher of a Georgia Gazette newspaper and is also the former CEO of The Economist Group and a former board member of phone maker Nokia.

     

    In a regulatory filing, Twitter said that Scardino will replace David Rosenblatt on Twitter’s audit committee. However, Rosenblatt will continue to be on the compensation committee.

  • Twitter: Strong IPO, followed by even stronger opening

    Twitter: Strong IPO, followed by even stronger opening

    MUMBAI: It began with a tweet on its twitter handle which stated: “We just priced our IPO.” Attached with the tweet was a screen shot of the offering announcement.

    And by the time Wednesday 6 November ended, the social networking site that has become a phenomenon across the globe had managed to raise $2.09 billion from its IPO, making it the seventh-largest US tech IPO ever, just ahead of Google, which raised $1.92 billion in its 2004 stock market debut, according to some estimates.

    But there was more in store for stockmarket observers and investors as trading began on Thursday morning. The Twitter share – under the TWTR ticker – spurted 90 plus per cent in value as it soared to $45 per share during early trades and then to a high of $50. This took up the valuation of the firm to $25 billion or 32 billion or so, at the time of writing.

    Yesterday’s $26 price valued the microblogging service at $18.34 billion, on a fully diluted basis. That is 16 to 17 times forecast 2014 sales, a premium to rivals including Facebook, LinkedIn and Yelp, according to some analysts.

    Twitter set an early price range of $17 to $20 for its IPO, which was considered cautious. But there was strong interest from investors, and the company was selling just 70 million of its 545 million shares, leaving an imbalance between supply and demand. That allowed the company and its bankers, led by Goldman Sachs’ Anthony Noto, to raise the range to $23 to $25 and then pick a final price above that.

     

    Analysts felt that the price should have been in the $21 range but the final pricing zipped past that. Other analyst and stock watchers had predicted that the share would go past the $40 market during day one’s trading. The IPO was as much as 30 times over-subscribed.

    While Twitter has a broad and powerful influence, its service is sometimes tricky to understand and use, which has reportedly limited the company’s growth. Twitter has about 230 million users, including heads of state and celebrities, while Facebook has more than one billion.

    However, Twitter lost $65 million in the latest quarter.

    Twitter is expected to generate $1.24 billion in sales in 2015, according to some projections. Its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margins will be roughly 6.5 per cent this year and 8.4 per cent in 2014, according to IPO underwriter forecasts that were shared with investors. In 2015, margins may jump to about 16 per cent, the estimates suggest.

    During an interview given to CNBC, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo is believed to have said that investors should not be concerned about the company’s current lack of profits, since its part of a plan to invest for the long term.

    It looks like the investment community and public is buying his story for now – at least.

  • Twitter has edge over Facebook in real-time TV, says report

    Twitter has edge over Facebook in real-time TV, says report

    MUMBAI: When it comes to so-called “TV talkers”, those who use social media while watching television programs, Twitter still has an edge over Facebook, a report said Thursday.

    As per the report, Twitter is still more attractive to advertisers and marketers than Facebook when it comes to real-time TV, according to eMarketer.

    “Facebook is further behind, but it has several advantages—such as its massive size—that will, over time, make it an attractive option,” said the report.

    Still, with more than a billion users, compared to Twitter’s base of more than 215 million, Facebook’s real-time TV promise is huge. A major reason is that, compared to Twitter, it has more user data for advertisers to tap.

    Twitter, the report noted, “integrated with TV shows and networks and developed ad products that align with marketers’ television advertising.” Twitter has reported that “95% of public social conversations around TV happen on its service,” the report said.

    Twitter’ strong TV potential has become more prominent as the San Francisco-based social network moves toward going public. Analysts sizing up the Twitter offering have consistently pointed to TV as one of its core strength.

    In a way, Twitter’s TV edge is based on how it quickly emerged as “a place where people have gone to discuss what they are watching on TV.”

  • Twitter and Viacom announce Twitter Amplify partnership

    Twitter and Viacom announce Twitter Amplify partnership

    MUMBAI: Viacom has announced a partnership which will see it deliver social video advertisements for its channels via Twitter Amplify.

    The collaboration will start at the 2013 MTV EMA on Sunday 10 November, and will provide followers of Viacom’s channels – including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central – with video extras of major shows and live events, including instant highlight replays, exclusive backstage interviews and extra content.

    The partnership was trialled successfully at the MTV Music Awards in August, and both partner companies see the experiment as an exciting opportunity.

    BeViacom MD ad sales unit Chris Shaw said: “We’re thrilled to be pioneering this initiative in Europe and across the world, creating a truly unique opportunity for marketers looking to join the global youth conversation around the ‘2013 MTV EMA’.”

    Twitter Amplify senior director Glenn Brown added: “We are excited to build on the success of our US Twitter Amplify partnership with Viacom by rolling it out internationally, including across the UK and Europe. The EMAs are the perfect way to start the program, allowing brands to tap into the conversations already happening on Twitter by offering people highlights and exclusive content across all devices.”

    Viacom’s programmes are already an influential Twitter presence, with the 2012 MTV EMA inspiring 5.7 million tweets, spawning 32 worldwide trending topics and at times notching eight of the top 10 trends during the show’s broadcast.