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Tag: Jack Dorsey

  • Jack Dorsey Vines His Trip Up The Bay Bridge

    Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey shared an interesting (and somewhat nauseating) series of Vines today, as he took his smartphone while he climbed the Bay Bridge. Thanks to Dorsey’s venture, we’re treated to a rather close-up look at the structure of the bridge and at what the scenery (and cars) look like below.

    Enjoy the ride (please allow a few seconds to load):

    Earlier this week, Twitter launched Vine for Android, and announced that the service already had 13 million registered users. Twitter acquired it in October before launching it for iPhone in January.

  • Square Opens Up in Japan, Its First Expansion Outside of North America

    Japan, say hello to Square. The mobile payments platform has just announced that it is now available in your country.

    Square is available in Japan with the support and partnership of Sumitomo Mitsui Card Corporation (SMCC). Responsible for introducing Visa to Japan, SMCC is widely recognized and respected for its ability to provide a wide range of solutions, including a comprehensive and highly secure credit card and payment solution.

    This marks the first international expansion for Square outside of North America, where they service over 4 million individuals and businesses. Square says that they are now processing over $15 billion in payments annually.

    And like in North America, Square will take a 3.25% cut of transactions in Japan.

    Here’s what Square co-founder and CEO, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, had to say about the move:

    “I am honored to introduce Square to a country with a rich history of design, innovation and tradition. Square shares the same values and attention to detail in our products. Our tools are made to enable business owners to create a delightful, seamless experience for their customers. I look forward to Square assisting in Japan’s continued economic growth and entrepreneurship opportunities.”

    Also, he’s been Vining the news:

    You can check out Square Japan here.

  • Twitter Finally Patents the Concept of Twitter

    Twitter – the actual concept of Twitter – is now patented.

    U.S. Patent 8,401,009 just went through, with Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone listed as inventors. It’s a vague and overarching concept of a “device independent message distribution platform,” first filed in 2007.

    Here’s the abstract (aptly titled, in the situation):

    A system (and method) for device-independent point to multipoint communication is disclosed. The system is configured to receive a message addressed to one or more destination users, the message type being, for example, Short Message Service (SMS), Instant Messaging (IM), E-mail, web form input, or Application Program Interface (API) function call. The system also is configured to determine information about the destination users, the information comprising preferred devices and interfaces for receiving messages, the information further comprising message receiving preferences.

    The system applies rules to the message based on destination user information to determine the message endpoints, the message endpoints being, for example, Short Message Service (SMS), Instant Messaging (IM), E-mail, web page output, or Application Program Interface (API) function call. The system translates the message based on the destination user information and message endpoints and transmits the message to each endpoint of the message.

    The patent makes it clear that the service is for messages that don’t have specific recipients themselves – messages that are maintained by a system and broadcast to all users, or “followers.”

    “Like many companies, we apply for patents on a bunch of our inventions. We also think a lot about how those patents may be used in the future, which is why we introduced the Innovator’s Patent Agreement to keep control of those patents in the hands of engineers and designers,” said Twitter in a statement, confirming the patent.

    “Look Ma, I’m officially an inventor (my dream as a kid)!” said Biz Stone in a tweet.

    [USPTO via The Verge]

  • Watch Jack Dorsey’s ’60 Minutes’ Segment [VIDEO]

    Twitter co-founder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey was profiled on 60 Minutes last night, in a segment titled “The Innovator.”

    You can watch the full interview below, in which Dorsey talks Twitter, Square, and his desire to be the mayor of New York City someday.

  • Zuckerberg, Gates, Dorsey, and More Advocate for More Programmers

    Zuckerberg, Gates, Dorsey, and More Advocate for More Programmers

    A new campaign looks to teach people about a “superpower” that is only being taught in about 10% of U.S. schools.

    We’re talking about programming, and an array of high-profile tech figures and celebrities are throwing their support behind the new initiative.

    Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, will.i.am, Chris Bosh, Jack Dorsey, and Gabe Newell are some of the big names that participated in a new ad called “What Most Schools Don’t Teach.”

    In the video, they discuss how they all got started in coding and why they think it’s important that more people learn the process.

    Check it out:

    The push come from Code.org, a non-profit foundation dedicated to increasing the amount of computer programming education available to everyone.

    “Our vision is that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn how to code. We believe computer science and computer programming should be part of the core curriculum in education, alongside other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, such as biology, physics, chemistry and algebra,” they say.

    Code.org was founded by entrepreneurs Hadi and Ali Partovi, who between them have been early investors in Facebook, Dropbox, airbnb, Zappos, and Indiegogo.

  • Square Launches In Canada, Marking First International Expansion

    Square announced today that it has launched in Canada, marking its first step into international territory.

    “Canada is Square’s first market outside the US,” the company says in its announcement. “Over 2 million individuals and businesses can already accept credit cards with Square, and Square is processing over US$8 billion in annualized payments.”

    “We are focused on making commerce easy for everyone. Square builds free tools for local businesses of all sizes and types to thrive,” said Alyssa Cutright, VP of International for Square. “We’re thrilled to introduce Canadian businesses and their customers to the most seamless and enjoyable way to do business.”

    It’s probably only a matter of time until Square starts penetrating other markets. Square CEO Jack Dorsey recently revealed that he is basically spending one day a week visiting Twitter, which he co-founded, and is placing most of his focus on Square. One can only assume that this focus will include significant international expansion.

    Now, Canadian businesses can get their Square card readers from square.ca.

  • Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Is Only Spending One Day A Week At The Company

    Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Is Only Spending One Day A Week At The Company

    The New York Times ran a piece this week about Twitter, saying that CEO Dick Costolo is “essentially running the business alone,” and that co-founder Jack Dorsey, who returned to the company last year after leaving in 2008, has assumed a reduced role at the company “after employees complained that he was difficult to work with and repeatedly changed his mind about product directions.”

    The report indicated that Dorsey no longer has anyone reporting to him directly, but that he is still involved in strategic decisions.

    Today, Dorsey took to Tumblr to address the piece and his role with the company, indicating that he is basically checking in with Twitter once a week, and dedicating most of his time to Square, his other company. Dorsey wrote:

    There was a great profile in the New York Times about Twitter’s CEO, Dick Costolo, which mentioned my work at the company. It’s not a common arrangement, so I’d like to clarify a few points.

    In Spring of 2011, Dick asked me to take an operational role overseeing product, design, and brand. Our shared goal was to get those organizations back under him as soon as possible, simply because it was the right thing to do for the company. We moved all of my reports back under him in January of this year after leadership was firmly in place. This allowed me to focus on refining our brand and logo, to work more with Dick and the leadership team on our direction forward, and ultimately return the majority of my time to Square, where I’m CEO. I’m back to going to Twitter on Tuesday afternoons, something I started before taking the interim operational role.

    We haven’t talked about this publicly because it’s not what people using Twitter every day care about.

    I’m fortunate in life to be a part of two foundational and mission-driven organizations, and I’m always going fight like hell to make them thrive. And they are! Now back to our work.

    Twitter began to see a great deal of change almost immediately as Dorsey returned in early 2011 with a new focus on getting people to understand what Twitter is and making Twitter usability less reliant on third party apps.

    Meanwhile Square has made a number of major announcements, including funding, Square Card Case, and a partnership with Starbucks. In June, Square hit the two million user mark.

  • Square Closes New Round Of Funding From Starbucks And Co.

    Square announced today that it has closed a Series D round of funding from Citi Ventures, Rizvi Traverse Management, and Starbucks Coffee Company.

    The company said in its announcement:

    One year ago, Square had approximately 150 employees and processed over $1 billion in payments on an annualized basis. Today, Square has over 400 employees and is processing over $8 billion in payments on an annualized basis.

    Square’s growing revenue and workforce precedes the company’s plans for international expansion later this year.

    Last month, Square announced that Starbucks had signed up for Square, but also that the company would invest $25 million in Square. Additionally, Starbucks Chairman, President and CEO, Howard Schultz, joined the company’s board. More on the Starbucks deal here.

    Square also recently announced a flat monthly fee for small businesses, who can pay $275 a month with 0% processing fees and no additional costs or contracts.

  • Starbucks Should Help Push Square Further Into The Mainstream

    Starbucks Should Help Push Square Further Into The Mainstream

    Square announced that Starbucks has signed up for the service, which is obviously a HUGE step in major Square adoption.

    “Square began with a really simple idea: everyone should be able to accept credit cards,” said CEO Jack Dorsey, in a letter to Square merchants. “It should be easy and free to get set up, it should use simple technology people already own, and, most importantly, it should instantly adapt to any size business—from the person chasing a dream to the largest organization on the planet. By embracing Square, Starbucks has validated these ideas as powerful tools—not just for small businesses, but for smart businesses.”

    “It’s amazing to think that Starbucks began as a single coffee shop in Seattle,” continued Dorsey. “The concept of taking a good idea and helping it grow is not foreign to them, and Starbucks doesn’t just view Square as the simplest way to accept payments. They see an opportunity to extend and accelerate a model they grew up with: the idea that business is local and that community plays a vital role in job creation and economic vitality. When Starbucks builds the Square Directory into their apps and in-store Digital Network, it gives Square new visibility, driving more customers to opt-in to Square. And with nearly 7,000 Starbucks stores soon accepting Square, these new payers will be able to find your business (including coffeehouses) and pay with their name, building community and creating value.”

    You can read the full letter here. Last night, he tweeted:

    Customers will be able to pay at Starbucks using Square’s payer application, from participating stores in the U.S. later this fall. They will also be able to find nearby Starbucks locations in the Square Directory. The company also notes that Starbucks customers will more easily be able to discover other businesses using Square, via the directory.

    Square will process Starbucks U.S. credit and debit card transactions, which Square says will significantly expand its own scale and “accelerate the benefits to businesses on the Square platform, especially small businesses, while reducing Starbucks payment processing costs.”

    In addition to all of this, Starbucks is actually investing $25 million in Square, as part of the company’s Series D funding round, and Starbucks Chairman, President and CEO Howard Schultz is joining Square’s Board.

    Now, if Dorsey can just get Starbucks to use his other product more. @starbucks hasn’t tweeted since July 27.

    It’s certainly worth noting, by the way, that Starbucks also accepts PayPal payments.

  • Square Inc. Hits the Two Million User Mark

    Square Inc. Hits the Two Million User Mark

    Square Inc., Twitter co-found Jack Dorsey’s latest venture, has really taken off lately. Just about six months ago, the company reached a milestone of 1 million users. Today, they reached another milestone and now have over 2 million users.

    Annually they are processing $6 billion in mobile payments and are being used by over 20,000 retailers. Square’s biggest threat comes from other payment providers like PayPal and possibly even Apple’s recently introduced Passbook application.

    While it is unclear whether the new Apple software brings anything imposing to the table, PayPal is a very real and immediate threat as it is well established, constantly forming new partnerships, and requires no additional equipment to take advantage of.

    Most recently, PayPal announced a new project collaborating with TiVo and Comcast cable to work on adding payment options to home television sets. The technology would allow consumers to make charitable donations and pay for products right from the comfort of their living rooms using their remote control.

    While there is plenty of room for competition in the mobile payments market, it seems like the giants are making progress fast and the little guys may get overlooked in the commotion. I suspect we’ll be seeing more aggressive action from Square in the very near future.

    Take a look at one hour of Square payment activity:

    square one hour

  • Square Inc. Doubles its Reach to Over 20,000 Retailers

    Square Inc. Doubles its Reach to Over 20,000 Retailers

    Back in April, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey announced that his newest venture, Square Inc was already processing about $5 billion worth of transactions per year, and being used at almost 10,000 stores around the country.

    Today, that number has doubled and Square is an accepted form of payment at over 20,000 outlets nationwide.

    For about ten bucks you can go to Walmart, Target, or Best Buy and get a Square reader for your iPhone, iPad, or Android device. There’s even an app that will let you pay at some shops just by telling the cashier your name. Pretty impressive! I guess that’s why they have over one million registered customers.

    But Square still has some pretty stiff competition to overcome by their biggest rival, PayPal. While payments on Square cost 2.75%, PayPal charges only 2.7% and it doesn’t require merchants to purchase any additional equipment. Payments are processed using either a PayPal card or a phone number and PIN ID.

    Also, PayPal’s latest initiative has them partnered with 15 extremely popular retailers including Abercrombie & Fitch, Advance Auto Parts, Aéropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Barnes & Noble, Foot Locker, Guitar Center, Jamba Juice, JC Penney, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Nine West, Office Depot, Rooms To Go, Tiger Direct and Toys “R” Us.

    So there’s some fierce competition to overcome before we can really consider Square Inc. to be a leader in the mobile payments arena, but last we heard, Jack Dorsey was out drumming up interest from prominent investors like Legg Mason and Fidelity, so another big breakthrough could be just on the horizon. We’ll keep you posted.

  • Square Hires Tesla Executive; Plans to Double Staff

    Square Hires Tesla Executive; Plans to Double Staff

    Bloomberg reports Square Inc. is making an effort to double their staff this year. Producing credit card readers for the mobile device industry, they handled over $4 billion in transactions just last year. Squares main competitors include Intuit Inc., and Ebay’s PayPal.

    This past November Square hired Apple executive Jesse Dorogusker to run their hardware division. In February they hired Alyssa Cutright of PayPay notoriety to run international business, and this week they add former Tesla and YouTube communications guru, Ricardo Reyes.

    This lineup is no joke, created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, they have been able to raise over $140 million from venture capitalists. Going up against some pretty stiff competition, it looks like they actually stand a fairly good chance at success.

    Dorsey comments on the advantages of Square’s services:

    “We remove all the fees, we remove the restrictions, we remove all the mechanical stuff you have to go through,”

    “We can actually make it a delightful software experience.”

    “A lot of what we’re doing this year is making sure the small businesses have the data they need to grow,”

    “We can say you know you sold this number of cappuccinos today, this number of people also bought biscotti, this is what happens on a rainy day, this is your busiest hour, and then they can make decisions based on all that.”

    Check out this CBS video where Dorsey explains a little about Square and we hear from some of his clients:

    It sounds exciting to me, Jack Dorsey is truly innovating the way we do business. First Twitter advertising, now easier ways for merchants to get paid; I can’t wait to see how he combines these two companies to work together. It’s always good to see ambitious people gain success.

  • Twitter Turns Six, Claims 140 Million Active Users

    At 12:50 pm on March 21st, 2006, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sent out the first ever tweet. It said “just setting up my twttr.” Now, six years later, Twitter is an indelible part of millions of people’s lives.

    That’s right, today is Twitters 6th birthday. It’s reading Berenstain Bears books, starting to get a little more coordinated with sports, and it’s language skills are improving.

    Well, we’re not too sure about that last one. One thing we are sure about is that Twitter is still growing (now officially faster than Facebook). And Twitter is reporting that they now have 140 million active users. Here’s what they had to say in a blog post:

    Six years may not be very long in human terms, but it’s been quite an enormous span for the thing we know and love as Twitter. When @jack first sketched out his notion in March 2006, no one could have predicted the trajectory of this new communication tool. Now it seems that there are as many ways to express yourself in 140 characters as there are people doing it. And at last check, there are more than 140 million active users (there’s that number again) — and today we see 340 million Tweets a day. That’s more than 1 billion every 3 days. However concisely, it turns out there’s plenty to say.

    Last September, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said that there were 100 million active Twitter users. He defined “active” as users who log on at least once a month. At that time, he said half of the active users log on every day.

    So, by this stretch, let’s just say that Twitter’s self-announced 140 million active users roughly translates into 70 million users that log on every single day. That’s a pretty big community. When you talk about just registered users, it gets even bigger. Twitter just hit 500 million of those last month.

    @jack
    Jack Dorsey    It’s 12:50. Happy 6th Birthday @Twitter. From 1 tweet to over 1 billion every 3 days. I’m so proud of our users and our team. 37 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Here’s to another happy six years, Twitter!

  • Square Comes To New York City Cabs

    According to various reports, and confirmed by CEO Jack Dorsey via Twitter, Square is coming to Taxi cabs in New York City.

    Lauren Goode at AllThingsD reports that the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission has approved a proposal to get Square in 30 cabs in a test set to begin in the coming weeks.

    @jack
    Jack Dorsey    I can’t wait to get back to NYC to use @Square in taxis! Favorite feature: swipe your card anytime during the trip instead of at the end. 2 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    In Decmber, Dorsey tweeted that over a million merchants were accepting credit cards with Square:

    @jack
    Jack Dorsey    Just as small businesses are growing with Square, we’re growing with them: Over 1 million merchants now accept credit cards via @Square. 79 days ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @jack
    Jack Dorsey    To put that in perspective: there are only 8 million merchants who accept credit cards in the US. @Square has added 1 million. 79 days ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Given the increasing popularity of Square in general, I wil be surprised if the test is not deemed a success and expanded. Presidential campaigns are even using it.

  • Twitter: Social Isn’t What Twitter Is Really About

    Twitter has historically tried to distance itself from the “social network” label. It hasn’t worked. People still think of Twitter as a social network. That’s not all that Twitter is considered, but if Twitter is not a social network, what is? Facebook? Google+? They’re all getting more and more like each other. Interestingly enough, Facebook has tried to distance itself from the social network label in the past as well. Google has considered Google+ to be a “social layer”.

    Anyway, at the DLD Conference in Munich today, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is quoted as saying that he doesn’t view Twitter as particularly social. Liz Gannes at All Things D reports that Dorsey considers the three most important words to describe Twitter to be: public, real-time and simplicity. Not social. Gannes quotes him:

    “We definitely see social as just one part of what people do on Twitter,” Dorsey said. “We think of it as an information utility and a communications network.”

    The point about simplicity is one that Twitter has made over and over again as well. Yet, Twitter keeps adding features, opting to become the platform for certain functionalities previously provided by popular third-party services.

    It has become clear that Google and Twitter are becoming greater competitors in the realm of real-time information too. Note how defensive Twitter became when Google started integrating its Google+ content into search results more heavily.

    Google has said in the past that it will likely bring back realtime search, which it once relied on an agreement with Twitter for. Last year, the two companies failed to renew their agreement. When Google brings the feature back, it intends to do so with Google+ content. Google+ now has over 90 million users, so the potential to do this is on the rise with the service growing.

  • 1/8 Of U.S. Merchants Who Accept Credit Cards Are Using Square

    Square, the other company that Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey runs, which offers a device anyone can plug into their smartphones to accept credit cards, has announced that 1 million merchants are now using Square.

    According to Dorsey, only 8 million merchants in the U.S. even accept credit cards. That’s some pretty good progress on Square’s part.

    Dorsey tweeted out:

    @jack
    Jack Dorsey    Just as small businesses are growing with Square, we’re growing with them: Over 1 million merchants now accept credit cards via @Square. 19 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    @jack
    Jack Dorsey    To put that in perspective: there are only 8 million merchants who accept credit cards in the US. @Square has added 1 million. 18 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    Square is only available in the U.S. so far, so that million merchant milestone is pretty significant. On the company’s website, it says:

    We are beginning to look into other markets, though at the time we can’t officially support banks, cards or merchants outside of the 50 United States and DC. There is no specific timeline for international availability, but rest assured that you’ll be among the first to know when it does happen. This includes US territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam.

    Square can process non-U.S. cards as long as they come with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover logo. There are, however, some caveats. Merchants who process international cards can’t do so through the manual entry feature. Processing the cards is subject to issuer approval, and cardholders may be charged for currency conversion.

    Square does not support payment processing outside of the United States.

  • Can Twitter Beat Facebook and Google+?

    Can Twitter Beat Facebook and Google+?

    As you might imagine, there’s been a lot of talk about social networks at the Web 2.0 Summit, and particularly the escalating three-way battle among Facebook, Google and Twitter. While Google and Facebook have had their fair share of announcements recently, Twitter just added some major firepower to its arsenal, courtesy of Apple.

    What do you think? Can Twitter win the social network market share war? Let us know what you think in the comments. Find this topic interesting? Why not share it on StumbleUpon, Facebook, Twitter or Google+?

    One thing does seem clear. Deep Twitter integration with Apple’s iOS is huge for Twitter.

    “The iOS integration is going to be absolutely huge for us, even better than we thought it was,” CEO Dick Costolo is quoted as saying at the Summit. “I didn’t realize how frictionless this would be. It’s so native.”

    As far as Costolo is concerned, it is Twitter’s simplicity that is its biggest weapon against Facebook and Google+ (although I’d say that iOS integration is a pretty helpful weapon). He says part of the reason that Twitter has become so popular is because of its simplicity, and the fact that they’ve refrained from adding too many features, implying that this will continue to separate them from the pack as competitors continue to add more and more features.

    That’s an interesting point, because Facebook and Google are basically in a “feature race” as Google’s Bradley Horowitz recently put it. In fact, Google CEO Larry Page touted the fact in the company’s earnings call last week, that Google+ added 100 features in 90 days.

    Facebook certainly keeps changing things up.

    Costolo’s comments are also interesting considering that this year, Twitter has perhaps added more features than any other time in Twitter’s history (since co-founder Jack Dorsey returned to the company). Dorsey, by the way, has recently even been called “the next Steve Jobs,” and by an early Apple employee. He does also run Square, which many see as a revolutionary product in the payments industry. It can’t hurt Twitter to have this kind of leadership at the core of its product development.

    Perhaps the more important battle, however, is that for identity, rather than features, and that’s another area where that tight iOS integration might come in handy for Twitter. Apple announced that in its first 3 days of availability, it sold 4 million iPhone 4S devices (which run iOS 5). iOS 5 is also available for the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad, iPad 2, iPod Touch 3rd generation, and iPod Touch 4th generation. Word is that a third of eligible devices have already been updated (which means potentially 2/3 more could still be upgraded), and Costolo says daily iOS Twitter sign-ups have already tripled due to the new iOS integration.

    The description of the Twitter integration from Apple says: “iOS 5 makes it even easier to tweet from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Sign in once in Settings, and suddenly you can tweet directly from Safari, Photos, Camera, YouTube, or Maps. Want to mention or @reply to a friend? Contacts applies your friends’ Twitter usernames and profile pictures. So you can start typing a name and iOS 5 does the rest. You can even add a location to any tweet, no matter which app you’re tweeting from.”

    Once iOS 5 was finally released last week, Twitter wrote a blog post about it saying: “Simply enter your Twitter login information into your device settings, and you’ll always be connected to your Twitter account. This means you can tweet directly from Apple apps like Camera, Maps, Photos, Safari and YouTube, along with third party apps, such as Chomp, Flipboard, LivingSocial, Instagram, MadPad, PopSugar, Showyou,SoundTracking and Zynga’s Words with Friends.”

    Twitter on iOS

    And it’s not as if you have to use iOS to use Twitter.

    “We think we can reach every person on the planet, we think the way to do that is to simplify it,” Costolo is quoted as saying. “Over time, Google+ and Facebook will be more and more different than the experience we want to pass onto our users.”

    On that note, the Telegraph has some interesting words from former Facebook President Sean Parker (who is still a shareholder), most notably, “The strategic threat to Facebook is that power users have gone to Twitter or to Google+.”

    That doesn’t mean that all (or even the majority of) power users have abandoned Facebook entirely, but if a lot of them are using these competing services more, that means less time spent somewhere.

    You know who else seems to be using Twitter more and more? The young.

    Back to that topic of identity for a second. There is a lot of controversy about identity and the Internet. Facebook and Google+ both want your real identity as your identity with their respective services. I’m Chris Crum in real life, so they want me to be Chris Crum on Facebook and Google+ (Google is even stingy about what pics it lets authors use on their Google Profiles). On Twitter, however, I’m CCrum237. If I wanted, I could be anyone else I wanted to be (as long as the name wasn’t taken). There are valid points to both sides of the Internet anonymity debate, but the reality is that our online identities are being tied much more to the real world. It’s not just about status updates and picture sharing anymore. It’s about paying for goods at a store (among other things). At least that’s the direction we’re headed in. But that’s a conversation for another article.

    4Chan founder Christopher Poole is quoted as saying at the summit that Facebook and Google approach to identity “degrades humanity,” and that “Facebook and Google do our identity wrong, Twitter does it better.” He’s just one man, but you better believe there are quite a few people who share similar views, and that is one clear differentiator of Twitter compared to its competitors. That’s one thing you can get with Twitter that you can’t get with Facebook or Google+. And that’s just another piece of the puzzle.

    Twitter is currently worth $8 billion according Costolo, who is quoted as saying, “Let’s just call it an even $8 billion.” I have a feeling that number is going to go up substantially.

    According to Costolo, Twitter users are sending out about 250 tweets per day. I’d be surprised if that number hasn’t increased significantly in another month.

    I wouldn’t go so far as to say Twitter will be dethroning Facebook as the most-used social network in the near future, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen one day. Remember when Myspace was on top? Either way, it’s going to be an interesting battle to watch, especially now that Twitter is heavily integrated with the ultra popular iPhones and iPads.

    What do you think? Will Twitter ever be able to surpass Facebook? Share your thoughts in the comments.

  • Twitter Opens Madison Avenue Office

    Twitter Opens Madison Avenue Office

    Twitter said hello to New York City today as they opened their new East Coast headquarters at 340 Madison Avenue.

    The brand new office will house 40 full-time employees, including engineers, designers and of course, advertising execs (it’s Madison Ave, right?)

    New York is a big city for Twitter, with over 65 accounts being operated by the city government. Those accounts have over 300K followers. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is also active on Twitter, hosting Q&A sessions on the service using the #askmike hashtag. Recently, Twitter was the tool that the NYC government used to get out updates involving the situation with Hurricane Irene.

    @MikeBloomberg
    Mike Bloomberg    Opening the @twitter NYC office with @jack 4 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    @SenGillibrand
    Kirsten Gillibrand    Welcome to #NYC, @Twitter! #TwitterNYC RT @ChrisCQuinn It’s a pleasure to welcome #Twitter to NYC at 340 Madison. #technology 3 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @jack
    Jack Dorsey    @SenGillibrand @twitter @ChrisCQuinn Thank you! Excited to be here in NYC. 3 hours ago via Mobile Web · powered by @socialditto

    “We are proud to welcome Twitter to New York City’s growing technology sector,” Mike Bloomberg said. “New York City has always been a place where big ideas are born, and we are working to ensure it’s the place where the next great tech success story is written – from incubating dozens of start-up ventures to bringing a new Applied Sciences school here. Companies like Twitter provide us with an important way to engage with citizens, informing and serving them in real-time.”

    Did you know that NYC has more Twitter users than anywhere else? Jack Dorsey lets us know –

    “Twitter and New York share the same constant pulse of energy,” he said. “We’re looking forward to growing our presence in a city that has more Twitter users than any other city in the world and is led by innovators like Mayor Bloomberg who engage, inform and serve residents in realtime.”

    So…Twitter and advertising? We’re guessing that the new Madison Avenue office location is not just a charming coincidence.

    Here’s the press event featuring Jack Dorsey and Mayor Bloomberg –

  • Jack Dorsey to Twitter Developers: Tell Us What You Need

    Jack Dorsey to Twitter Developers: Tell Us What You Need

    Twitter and its developer ecosystem have had a somewhat rocky relationship in recent months, particularly as Twitter has filled voids that were previously filled by third-parties by offering their own versions of things. Think mobile clients and photo uploading.

    Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, hoping to send a strong message to the developer community, today posted a “note from @jack to Twitter developers, thanking them for all that they’ve done, and asking how they can make things better. Here is the note in its entirety:

    As Twitter developers, you are a fundamental part of our DNA. Thank you for your many contributions to the Twitter ecosystem. Our ongoing commitment is to give you the structure, tools, resources, and support you need to build your businesses as you leverage the power of Twitter.

    So to help us do a better job with that, we want to hear from you. I’d like to ask for your candid feedback. We want to know what additional materials you need from us to help you build products, boost distribution and expand your reach. I’ve opened a thread, Listening to your feedback, in our Discussions group so that you can share your ideas and opinions with me and the rest of the team.

    In exchange, we will not only work to provide you with better tools and resources, but we will also bring you new opportunities. I’m particularly excited about what’s happening in the mobile world. With Apple’s upcoming deep integration of Twitter into iOS 5, there is an opportunity for us, together, to take the ecosystem to a new level.

    Very soon, anywhere there’s an iPhone or an iPad, you’ll always find Twitter. If you’re an iOS developer, you can add Twitter to your application to personalize the experience for your users, giving them easier and better ways to login, enrich their experience, share thoughts and content and help boost your distribution.

    I believe that our relationships with consumers and developers are a primary measure of our success. Thank you for helping millions of people around the world get more from Twitter.

    Twitter has made quite a few improvements since Dorsey returned earlier this year, but there’s no question that there is a whole lot more value to be added to the service with the help of third-parties, and this will be truer than ever as iOS comes to market.

    It’s definitely going to be in the company’s best interest to keep developers happy, particularly as Twitter’s own competition with rival social networks grows.

  • Square Is Glowing As New $100 Million In Funding Rolls In

    “We now have lots of glowing @Squares,” tweeted Twitter co-founder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey this week, attaching the above image. Square does have plenty to be glowing about, as the company has secured a new $100 million round of funding.

    In April, Square received an investment from Visa. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is now valued at $1 billion.

    This new round comes from a group of investors led by led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Marry Meeker of Kleiner Perkins is also now a Square Board member.

    @Square
    Square, Inc.    To continue to empower everyone to accept payments anywhere, we’ve
    raised $100 million in our Series C Financing, led by @kpcb. 11 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @jack
    Jack Dorsey    Thrilled to announce that Mary Meeker of @KPCB is joining @Square‘s board! And we raised $100 million. Putting more people into business. 11 hours ago via Twitter for iPad · powered by @socialditto

    Last month, Square unveiled Card Case, an ambitious project aimed at consumers as a way to set up tabs with merchants, and implement automatic payments with their mobile devices. The company calls it “your friendly neighborhood way to pay.”

    Square Card Case

    Along with this, came Square Register for merchants, which is a redux of the Square iPad app, allowing them to send customers Card Case links. These features should be key in Square’s strategy to compete with a growing number of potential major players in the mobile payments space, including PayPal, and the forthcoming Google Wallet.

    We’re still wondering if Twitter might get into this space with Dorsey’s obvious experience and knowledge of the field, and a major boost to Twitter-as-an-identity soon to come with the release of Apple’s iOS, which will see tight integration with Twitter throughout the OS and its apps.

  • Twitter Said to Be Launching Image Service, Acquiring AdGrok

    Twitter Said to Be Launching Image Service, Acquiring AdGrok

    Last week, Twitter officially announced its acquisition of TweetDeck, and if there is merit to the rumors emerging, the company also has some other fairly big news on the way.

    Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch is reporting, citing “multiple sources,” that the company is both close to acquiring AdWords keyword bidding platform AdGrok and launching its own photo service.

    AdGrok, backed by Y Combinator, consists of Antonio Garcia-Martinez, Matthew McEachen, and Argyris Zymnis, but as Tsotsis points out, Garcia-Martinez has actually changed his title on Facebook to Product Manager at Facebook, which raises other questions.

    It’s unclear exactly what Twitter would do with AdGrok. It could simply be a talent acquisition that could be used to develop its own advertising platform. The deal is said to be for less than $10 million.

    The other rumor is quite interesting as well, and frankly makes a great deal of sense. Twitter has become a place for people to quickly upload pictures, but they’ve always had to use third-party platforms, and TwitPic and YFrog have largely dominated this space.

    TwitPic May be in trouble

    Given Twitter’s acquisition of TweetDeck, it’s clear that the company is interested in the continued evolution of Twitter itself, and an image service is a fairly obvious element – especially in light of Twitter’s role in significant events, like revolutions.

    Things seem to be happening at a much more rapid pace at Twitter since the return of co-founder Jack Dorsey. It will be very interesting to see if this pattern continues.