Twitter Inspires a Dedicated and Thriving Startup Economy
By Brian Solis, blogger at PR 2.0 and principal of FutureWorks PR, Co-Author Putting the Public Back in Public Relations and Now Is Gone
Twitter continues to amaze us. Its constantly evolving examples of change and connectivity persevere and reinforce how the “little microblog that could” is transforming media and communications while also silencing the most dubious of critics. At the same time, I’m confident that through our pioneering efforts and innovative developments, we also continue to amaze the team behind Twitter itself. As Jack Dorsey shared in his keynote today at the 140 Characters Conference in New York, “Expect the unexpected. Sometimes, be the unexpected.”
Twitter is making the news and it is also serving as the foundation for how we publish, share and discover news today and tomorrow. We are becoming “media.”
(cc) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com - Twitter, @briansolis
A recent study by ChubbyBrain is also demonstrating how Twitter is fostering a dedicated technology and business ecosystem. According to the report published today, angels and VCs have invested $23.27 million in Twitter-based startups while most others are self or privately financed. Recently, Howard Lindzon and his partners at Social Leverage launched 140Labs, a Twitter-only incubator.
John Borthwick of BetaWorks also presented at the 140Conf today where he revealed that over 3,500 companies are currently developing Twitter-related applications.
When Jesse Thomas and I released the alpha version of The Twitterverse, we focused on the leading applications for communications, research, community, and media professionals. The number of qualified, useful applications still numbered in the the hundreds.
ChubbyBrain detailed the most prominent startups that received significant rounds of financing (notice a pattern in the players?)
(cc) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com - Twitter, @briansolis
(cc) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com - Twitter, @briansolis
When we examine the startup trends fueling technology development, we see that the largest areas of innovation are concentrating on information provider (28%), search (18%), browser software/plugins (18%), the social web (18%),
(cc) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com - Twitter, @briansolis
Analyzing the dollars outside of startup volume and activity, search applications emerge as the predominate focus on innovation for Twitter.
To date, Twitter has closed $55 million in funding compared to the $23 million invested in the Twitter ecosystem.
(cc) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com - Twitter, @briansolis
Twitter will continue to inspire new development, which will attract modest to notable investments. What’s more important, is the innovation and associated capabilities and benefits we as consumers will earn as a result.
The Twitterverse will expand, shift, contract, and influence further development and will influence our culture, behavior and communication in the process.
(cc) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com - Twitter, @briansolis
Brian Solis is globally recognized for his views and insights on the convergence of PR, Traditional Media and Social Media. He actively contributes his thoughts and experiences through speaking appearances, books, articles and essays as a way of helping the marketing industry understand and embrace the new dynamics fueling new communications, marketing, and content creation. Solis is Principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning PR agency in Silicon Valley. Solis blogs at PR2.0, bub.blicio.us, TechCrunch, and BrandWeek. Solis is co-founder of the Social Media Club and is a founding member of the Media 2.0 Workgroup. Solis has been actively writing about new PR since the mid 90s to discuss how the Web was redefining the communications industry – he coined PR 2.0 along the way. Solis is considered an expert in traditional PR, media relations, and Social Media. He has dedicated his free time to helping PR professionals adapt to the new fusion of PR, Web marketing, and community relations. PR 2.0 has earned a position of authority in the Technorati blog directory and currently resides in the top 1.5% of indexed blogs. BrianSolis.com is also ranked among the most influential blogs in the Ad Age Power 150 listing of leading marketing bloggers. Working with Geoff Livingston, Solis was co-author of “Now is Gone,” a new book that helps businesses learn how to engage in Social Media. He has also written several ebooks on the subjects of Social Media, New PR, and Blogger Relations. His next book, co-authored with Deirdre Breakenridge, “Putting the Public back in Public Relations,” is now available from FT press. Connect with Solis on: Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, Social Median, or Facebook --Subscribe to the PR 2.0 RSS Feed
(cc) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com - Twitter, @briansolis