Moving Forward

This blog generally covers using WiFi as a marketing tool. Specifically, Social WiFi. That is, using social media as the login portals. Because doing so provides customer-users with a higher level of security, and host-businesses with customer information to better serve customers' wants and needs.

That means news about each social medium/login portal is important. We keep small local businesses up to speed, because knowing what's coming is important to those businesses as well as ours.

In the last week, there were 3 different stories about Twitter. Each would lead to reader to draw different conclusions. Together, they foster a unique perspective. (OK, maybe that's just us.)

The first story, from TheStreet, was about Twitter's stock falling 36% losing ground since its original CEO Jack Dorsey came back in 2015. Investors are unhappy because Twitter added ZERO new "monthly active users" from April through June. Some blame this on Dorsey being CEO of Square, and a Disney director.

The second story was about 2 Wall Street hotshots launching a paid, private Twitter channel. Completely independent, it started midway through July because email is no longer fast enough for market analysts to deliver time sensitive reports to clients. Real-time financial analysis starting at $10/month.

The third story (possibly "damage control") is about another Wall Street hotshot (a former Goldman Sachs banker), who's really "leading the company". COO Anthony Noto wants Twitter to turn into a live video portal, delivering sports, financial news, and even political debates.

By latest count, Twitter had 328 million monthly active users. 328,000,000 people/month is nothing to sneeze at. But it didn't grow over 3 months. When the basis for a private company "going public" was to monetize its user list, no growth is bad. Think about it. There are only 2 ways to monetize an unpaid "subscribers" list: make them pay, or paid advertising (or paid accounts).

Advertisers - being in business - look for a constant flow of new customers to deliver their message to. No flow, less dough. This is why Twitter started using DAILY Active Users as a measurement 6 months ago. That metric leaves a better taste in the mouths of investors. Twitter's DAILY user base grew 12% over the same period last year. The 2 Wall Street hotshots from the second story already figured out the "paid accounts" angle (for themselves, not Twitter). It's likely that the former Goldman Sachs banker/COO of Twitter will try to use his Wall Street influence to bring Twitter to that table.

The live video portal idea is pretty strong, especially on the sports and finance fronts. Noto was CFO of the NFL in between Goldman Sachs and Twitter, and his Wall Street influence is almost certain to have an impact. The political debates idea could be a double-edged sword. There's no doubt that politics is a substantial reason for the daily active user growth. But Twitter, like most social media, tends to lean more strongly to one side, censoring the other. This could be the reason for ZERO new "monthly active users" from April through June.

That's actually pretty simple. Social WiFi lets local small business owners "Know Customers Like Family". Delivering NFL and other sports events live video on Twitter, available through a secure Twitter-accessible social WiFi portal will give every sports bar greater insight into their customers. Delivering live video on financial news through such a Twitter-accessible social WiFi portal will give restaurants, bars and hotels in financial districts greater insight into their patrons as well (none of those I know in the financial industry throw away money, so they're likely to use WiFi). We'll just have to see how the political debates idea works out.

Delivering timed, personal, and relevant customer-, patron- and guest-messaging matters.