Walt Ribeiro » Will MagPie Destroy Twitter?

Will MagPie Destroy Twitter?

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OK, so yesterday I heard about a service called MagPie. It’s basically like having Google Adsense but for your Twitter Profile.

How Does MagPie Work?

You simply tell MagPie how frequent you want it to send out tweets, etc. and what content your Twitter Profile is about. That’s it, they do the rest.

The end of Twitter?

I feel that this doesn’t mean the end of Twitter. Advertising never stopped the end of MySpace or Facebook. In fact, these advertising campaigns are welcomed by the community as long as they are tasteful and relative to the content you’ve subscribed to. I do a Music Lesson Show, so if I teach a Show on How to Read Music, then those who are watching would absolutely welcome it if I promoted a book on How to Read Music within that Blog post or Video Podcast for further learning. I do feel that it may be the end of your Twitter Profile. Maybe…

How Much Money can I make with MagPie?

Apparently, I can make up to $200 dollars a month using this service. But the ‘Up To’ part has me a little skeptical. There are just too many variations when it comes to Ad Campaigns, so I probably wouldn’t see all that money.

I currently have over 1,050 Twitter Followers

So I did some searches to see how much money some of the Most Prominent Twitterers could make :)

KevinRose of www.kevinrose.com = $17,000
StephenTColbert of www.colbertnation.com = $250
ijustine of www.ijustine.com = $7,000
MCHammer of www.dancejam.com = $3,000
Chris Brogan of www.chrisbrogan.com = $20,000
Leo Laporte of www.leoville.com = $4,000
Barack Obama of www.barackobama.com = $5,000
John McCain of www.johnmccain.com = $100
UstreamTV of www.ustream.tv = $2,500
TechCrunch = $14,000

You see, the community that you take so long to build day in and day out would feel rejected and ‘cheated’ on if you began to monetize your Twitter Feed, rather than connect with them. Besides, if you had that many twitter followers you could easily monetize your feed by simply negotiating with companies on your own time, and for more money. It may be good to get some extra cash, but ultimately, is it worth the price? Is that extra money really worth putting your community at risk and going for the quick ‘short-term’ profit?

So would YOU do it? Let me know!

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By WaltRibeiro on Nov - 7 - 2008 -- Categories: Blogroll

http://www.twitter.com/karlismiles karli

no!!!!

it may be nice to get an income from tweets, but it would be such a pain in the butt to see ads all over people’s tweets. i wouldn’t do it unless it was for a specific company that i would be tweeting about anyways…i don’t know.

but what i do know is that i don’t want to see people leaving “OMG! I FOUND THE MOST AMAZING CANDY! http://thisadisinsane.com/suck“
http://www.twitter.com/karlismiles karli

no!!!!

it may be nice to get an income from tweets, but it would be such a pain in the butt to see ads all over people’s tweets. i wouldn’t do it unless it was for a specific company that i would be tweeting about anyways…i don’t know.

but what i do know is that i don’t want to see people leaving “OMG! I FOUND THE MOST AMAZING CANDY! http://thisadisinsane.com/suck“
http://www.calebwhite.com Caleb

I don’t think it is bad to monetize yourself, its not like you are going to start charging for the weekly podcast. When we watch TV we have to watch commercials. Its how the bills get paid and how great content comes to us for free. :).
http://www.calebwhite.com Caleb

I don’t think it is bad to monetize yourself, its not like you are going to start charging for the weekly podcast. When we watch TV we have to watch commercials. Its how the bills get paid and how great content comes to us for free. :).
http://www.globalgeeknews.com/blog pcnerd37

I signed up for it 2 days ago and it has yet to put any ads in my stream. I did it to see if I can make some extra money without bleeding followers since I don’t seem to be making more than pocket change from blogging. I have it set to allow it to post an ad every 3 tweets but have yet to see anything. I’m curious to know if anybody else has had ads posted to their twitter feed yet.

If I start losing or really making my followers mad, I will stop, but at this point I am not getting any ads posted anyway, so it makes very little difference.
http://www.globalgeeknews.com/blog pcnerd37

I signed up for it 2 days ago and it has yet to put any ads in my stream. I did it to see if I can make some extra money without bleeding followers since I don’t seem to be making more than pocket change from blogging. I have it set to allow it to post an ad every 3 tweets but have yet to see anything. I’m curious to know if anybody else has had ads posted to their twitter feed yet.

If I start losing or really making my followers mad, I will stop, but at this point I am not getting any ads posted anyway, so it makes very little difference.
http://evanculver.com Evan

I can’t describe how jank i think this service is. Walt, you’re absolutely right about going out and gettin busy with the hustle (garyvee plug) and how it would yield much better results. I would have to think also, that if I started spewing out junk tweets, then people would unfollow. Seems obvious.
http://evanculver.com Evan

I can’t describe how jank i think this service is. Walt, you’re absolutely right about going out and gettin busy with the hustle (garyvee plug) and how it would yield much better results. I would have to think also, that if I started spewing out junk tweets, then people would unfollow. Seems obvious.
http://thefutureofads.com/ Cory O’Brien

I don’t think it will destroy Twitter, but I definitely don’t think it’s the monetization scheme that will work in the long run either: http://thefutureofads.com/2008/11/03/magpie-tries-to-make-twitter-an-ad-network-fails/
http://thefutureofads.com/ Cory O’Brien

I don’t think it will destroy Twitter, but I definitely don’t think it’s the monetization scheme that will work in the long run either: http://thefutureofads.com/2008/11/03/magpie-tries-to-make-twitter-an-ad-network-fails/
http://www.twitterrati.com Mark Evans

I honestly can’t see Magpie resonating with the vast majority of Twitters users. The idea of giving up your Twitter stream to an advertiser just seems wrong. My sense is Magpie will disappear into the woodwork, much like the pay-per-post concept didn’t stick.
http://www.twitterrati.com Mark Evans

I honestly can’t see Magpie resonating with the vast majority of Twitters users. The idea of giving up your Twitter stream to an advertiser just seems wrong. My sense is Magpie will disappear into the woodwork, much like the pay-per-post concept didn’t stick.
http://www.thelazyslacker.com Lazy Slacker

Yes! Finally! Wait, does that mean I have to look at all those other twit-ads? Boo!

There are many other good ways to monetize and make money. MagPie is not one of them.

I’m pretty sure that I’ll be unfollowing anyone who is bombarding me with that type of spam.

You heard me!
http://blog.yourwebcoaches.com Wendy Cholbi

Magpie won’t destroy Twitter. Twitter will destroy Magpie. Twitter is about real connections, Magpie is fundamentally dishonest because it fakes those connections. Real connections will get you real benefits (as you correctly point out, and as John Haydon points out here: http://www.corporatedollar.org/2008/11/how-to-get-the-universe-to-promote-you-on-twitter) that will long outlast twitstream ad revenue.
http://www.thelazyslacker.com Lazy Slacker

Yes! Finally! Wait, does that mean I have to look at all those other twit-ads? Boo!

There are many other good ways to monetize and make money. MagPie is not one of them.

I’m pretty sure that I’ll be unfollowing anyone who is bombarding me with that type of spam.

You heard me!
http://blog.yourwebcoaches.com Wendy Cholbi

Magpie won’t destroy Twitter. Twitter will destroy Magpie. Twitter is about real connections, Magpie is fundamentally dishonest because it fakes those connections. Real connections will get you real benefits (as you correctly point out, and as John Haydon points out here: http://www.corporatedollar.org/2008/11/how-to-get-the-universe-to-promote-you-on-twitter) that will long outlast twitstream ad revenue.
http://occamsrazr.com Ike

How incredibly appropriate.

Magpies steal eggs from other birds’ nests, and replace them with their own for their victims to raise.

Is there a more aptly-named Web 2.0 company?
http://occamsrazr.com Ike

How incredibly appropriate.

Magpies steal eggs from other birds’ nests, and replace them with their own for their victims to raise.

Is there a more aptly-named Web 2.0 company?
http://dannybrown.me Danny Brown

While I don’t have any problem with people trying to make money, I have a problem with the way Magpie will do this. I’ve had a lot of people say to me, “But it’s just like monetizing your blog, so what’s the problem?”

Simple – blogs advertise on THEIR time and THEIR space – they don’t force their ads onto your consciousness or time. Magpie forces you to have their ads interrupting your Twitter stream.

Although I’m loathe to say it, if I see too many ads coming from followers, I’d have to un-follow. If that’s harsh, I’m sorry, but forcing someone to accept something in their stream is a major no-no in my book.
http://psstrevealingreviews.blogspot.com/ Kara

Completely agree with the comments above. I do not think this service will resonate with the “true” twitter users who use it for a way to connect with like-minded people. I would feel bad trying to make a profit off the people that follow me. Think there is a much more unique and affective way to monetize without direct ads, it is just going to take more time.
http://dannybrown.me Danny Brown

While I don’t have any problem with people trying to make money, I have a problem with the way Magpie will do this. I’ve had a lot of people say to me, “But it’s just like monetizing your blog, so what’s the problem?”

Simple – blogs advertise on THEIR time and THEIR space – they don’t force their ads onto your consciousness or time. Magpie forces you to have their ads interrupting your Twitter stream.

Although I’m loathe to say it, if I see too many ads coming from followers, I’d have to un-follow. If that’s harsh, I’m sorry, but forcing someone to accept something in their stream is a major no-no in my book.
http://psstrevealingreviews.blogspot.com/ Kara

Completely agree with the comments above. I do not think this service will resonate with the “true” twitter users who use it for a way to connect with like-minded people. I would feel bad trying to make a profit off the people that follow me. Think there is a much more unique and affective way to monetize without direct ads, it is just going to take more time.
http://whatisnoise.com David Fisher

There’s better ways to make money with your tweets… umm, ask me how if you wanna know. Much more honest, and community oriented way.

http://scodal.com/ Scott Dallas

i want to know more scodal@gmail.com

http://whatisnoise.com David Fisher

There’s better ways to make money with your tweets… umm, ask me how if you wanna know. Much more honest, and community oriented way.
http://www.jonbishop.org Jon Bishop

I would personally find these types of tweets very annoying and would unfollow those people who use it.

Monetizing Facebook and MySpace is different then monetizing twitter. Facebook and MySpace integrate content with ads. MagPie is replacing the content with ads. Value goes down.
http://www.jonbishop.org Jon Bishop

I would personally find these types of tweets very annoying and would unfollow those people who use it.

Monetizing Facebook and MySpace is different then monetizing twitter. Facebook and MySpace integrate content with ads. MagPie is replacing the content with ads. Value goes down.
http://www.crashutah.com John Lynn

My biggest concern is whether the ad has full disclosure as an ad or not. If it does, then that’s cool. If it doesn’t, then it’s no better than paid posting on a blog. Albeit, much more automated.
http://www.crashutah.com John Lynn

My biggest concern is whether the ad has full disclosure as an ad or not. If it does, then that’s cool. If it doesn’t, then it’s no better than paid posting on a blog. Albeit, much more automated.
http://blog.tomabonciu.ro/ Toma Bonciu

Hi,

So what they want is this : I work hard and provide content and build a network of people with which I interact and exchange ideas. And that network of people brings me good quality traffic and then one day I decide to send them ads. No content just ads. They’ll think I got insane and pretty soon you’ll end up having too few friends to advertise to. I don’t think that this is making money.This is : how to lose what you’ve build very hard in just 7 days – crash course.

I don’t think that MagPie will destroy Twitter.

Thank you for your article
http://blog.tomabonciu.ro/ Toma Bonciu

Hi,

So what they want is this : I work hard and provide content and build a network of people with which I interact and exchange ideas. And that network of people brings me good quality traffic and then one day I decide to send them ads. No content just ads. They’ll think I got insane and pretty soon you’ll end up having too few friends to advertise to. I don’t think that this is making money.This is : how to lose what you’ve build very hard in just 7 days – crash course.

I don’t think that MagPie will destroy Twitter.

Thank you for your article
Paradis

Hmmm… I agree with most of what the others said, that there are better ways to make money. And I’m the type of person that really dislikes ads. I see too many already! And adding it to twitter…. more nerve wrecking for me. That’s my opinion.
Paradis

Hmmm… I agree with most of what the others said, that there are better ways to make money. And I’m the type of person that really dislikes ads. I see too many already! And adding it to twitter…. more nerve wrecking for me. That’s my opinion.
http://TheSplinteredMind.blogspot.com Douglas Cootey

I can’t imagine this service will go over well. I follow twitter users for conversation, news, and connections. I don’t follow them to be sold product or services from third parties. I will most likely unfollow anybody who starts throwing ads into my stream.

Still, I wonder how long the free ride can continue. Will there be a free twitter in the future that features ads and a paid for twitter service that does not?
http://TheSplinteredMind.blogspot.com Douglas Cootey

I can’t imagine this service will go over well. I follow twitter users for conversation, news, and connections. I don’t follow them to be sold product or services from third parties. I will most likely unfollow anybody who starts throwing ads into my stream.

Still, I wonder how long the free ride can continue. Will there be a free twitter in the future that features ads and a paid for twitter service that does not?
http://fearlessblogger.com faryl

Not sure how to articulate it, but something feels “off” about receiving tweets from people I trust and follow that are the equivalent of twitter spam to me.

I understand there is twitter “spam” out there and keep that in mind before opting to follow anyone who starts to follow me.

I also understand that some people/companies I choose to follow may use twitter to promote themselves or their products occasionally (or not so occasionally).

I think the difference is, I’ve chosen to follow these twitterers generally because I trust their judgment in choosing or am interested in the products/services they promote, or the frequency they may use Twitter to do so.

My gut reaction to services like Magpie is that they change the game. Even though I’ve chosen to be a “follower”, it somehow doesn’t *feel* permissive. Magpie opens the door to new services that may offer more revenue, but at the expense of subscriber control over frequency/content.

In my opinion, services like magpie “sully the feed” a bit and feel disingenuous to me.
http://fearlessblogger.com faryl

Not sure how to articulate it, but something feels “off” about receiving tweets from people I trust and follow that are the equivalent of twitter spam to me.

I understand there is twitter “spam” out there and keep that in mind before opting to follow anyone who starts to follow me.

I also understand that some people/companies I choose to follow may use twitter to promote themselves or their products occasionally (or not so occasionally).

I think the difference is, I’ve chosen to follow these twitterers generally because I trust their judgment in choosing or am interested in the products/services they promote, or the frequency they may use Twitter to do so.

My gut reaction to services like Magpie is that they change the game. Even though I’ve chosen to be a “follower”, it somehow doesn’t *feel* permissive. Magpie opens the door to new services that may offer more revenue, but at the expense of subscriber control over frequency/content.

In my opinion, services like magpie “sully the feed” a bit and feel disingenuous to me.
http://www.danohart.com Dano

Thats weird. I have almost 200 followers and it said I would make $360. I wonder if they take something else into account than just followers?
http://www.danohart.com Dano

Thats weird. I have almost 200 followers and it said I would make $360. I wonder if they take something else into account than just followers?
http://www.holisticliving.co.nz/PeacefulWarrior Stephen

…and Magpie’s can be bloody annoying, especially in Spring…
http://www.holisticliving.co.nz/PeacefulWarrior Stephen

…and Magpie’s can be bloody annoying, especially in Spring…
http://info.InterSource.net John Hrastar

If this becomes widespread then how long before someone makes a Twitter client that screens out the ads like a spam filter?
http://info.InterSource.net John Hrastar

If this becomes widespread then how long before someone makes a Twitter client that screens out the ads like a spam filter?
http://www.waltribeiro.net Walt

#9 Ike HAHA yes I guess that is kind of funny :)

I didn’t even know MagPie was a bird until I wrote this story.

#19 Dano I guess, but Leo Laporte apparently makes a fraction of what Kevin Rose would make, which I find strange too

#4 Evan Yea I think a service like this may not be that profitable. It’ll be interesting to see where it goes though. The thing is that my Twitter updates are posted on my website too. So the ads will show up on every social site that my Twitter Updates are shown on (Ustream, MySpace, my website, etc.)

Interesting none the less.
http://rexblog.com Rex Hammock

This is far more ridiculous than the pay-per-blog-post schemes that failed miserably — and I thought that was as ridiculous as it gets. Why exactly do you think you can monetize your Twitter account? Is the content you are tweeting so valuable that your followers won’t mind that 20% of your tweets are spam? When you’re talking on the phone, do you ask the person you’re talking with to pause for a message from your sponsor? Do you really think your ‘followers’ are so enamored with your tweets that they won’t click that ‘unfollow’ or ‘block’ button. The few cents a month you’ll make is not worth it.
http://www.waltribeiro.net Walt

#9 Ike HAHA yes I guess that is kind of funny :)

I didn’t even know MagPie was a bird until I wrote this story.

#19 Dano I guess, but Leo Laporte apparently makes a fraction of what Kevin Rose would make, which I find strange too

#4 Evan Yea I think a service like this may not be that profitable. It’ll be interesting to see where it goes though. The thing is that my Twitter updates are posted on my website too. So the ads will show up on every social site that my Twitter Updates are shown on (Ustream, MySpace, my website, etc.)

Interesting none the less.
http://rexblog.com Rex Hammock

This is far more ridiculous than the pay-per-blog-post schemes that failed miserably — and I thought that was as ridiculous as it gets. Why exactly do you think you can monetize your Twitter account? Is the content you are tweeting so valuable that your followers won’t mind that 20% of your tweets are spam? When you’re talking on the phone, do you ask the person you’re talking with to pause for a message from your sponsor? Do you really think your ‘followers’ are so enamored with your tweets that they won’t click that ‘unfollow’ or ‘block’ button. The few cents a month you’ll make is not worth it.
http://heyitsrachel.com heyitsRachel

Yah I actually signed up for that yesterday, I’m thinking of doing the 1/10 tweets… but I’m gonna make sure I warn my followers about it before I start up the program ;)

I wonder if once they post an ad, if you can delete it the next day and still get credit for the tweet? I don’t want my archives full of spam LOL
http://heyitsrachel.com heyitsRachel

Yah I actually signed up for that yesterday, I’m thinking of doing the 1/10 tweets… but I’m gonna make sure I warn my followers about it before I start up the program ;)

I wonder if once they post an ad, if you can delete it the next day and still get credit for the tweet? I don’t want my archives full of spam LOL
http://twitter.com/mari1ee marilee

I am not a fan of this. There are so many new services being built now, which is great. However, just because one *can* make a service like this doesn’t necessarily mean they should. I feel like the service taints the core of what people use Twitter for. The value of following someone will be diluted if they use MagPie.
http://twitter.com/mari1ee marilee

I am not a fan of this. There are so many new services being built now, which is great. However, just because one *can* make a service like this doesn’t necessarily mean they should. I feel like the service taints the core of what people use Twitter for. The value of following someone will be diluted if they use MagPie.
sisyphusjns

I would just make the point that your underestimating the value to the twitterer. Magpie pays in Euros, not Dollars, so 17,000 euros is actually closer to 30k in dollars.
sisyphusjns

I would just make the point that your underestimating the value to the twitterer. Magpie pays in Euros, not Dollars, so 17,000 euros is actually closer to 30k in dollars.
http://ScoDal.com Scott Dallas

i want to know more scodal@gmail.com