So there I was, minding my web business, and I saw a headline that really grabbed me:
“Can Twitter’s new CEO turn the company into a real business?”
The article — from the always dependable Venture Beat — got me asking a question:
Could you define “Real Business,” please?
First, let’s use the BUZZWORD test. “Disruptive?” “Innovative?” “Value-Added?”
Okay, they pass all three. So the real business test comes down to revenue, in the eyes of Venture Beat.
Because, after all, a “real business” does one thing and one thing only: make money. Right?
Wrong.
In fact, I am going to zero in on one word as proof that (1) Twitter already is a “Real Business” and (2) the money will follow:
Ecosystem.
Twitter has one. They have talked about it from the get-go. It has driven their product development, Evan Williams has made it a buzzword that, you could argue, Twitter owns.
Oh, and the new CEO? Dick Costolo didn’t just make a ton of money at FeedBurner, he built something that leveraged an existing ecosystem — Google — in new and exciting ways. So I think he understands the big-picture, revenue-focused, yet don’t-kill-the-culture mission of Twitter.
What Does This Mean For You?
There’s an ecosystem out there, right? Maybe it’s at your office, maybe it’s at the store you frequent, or the coffee shop. It could be the way a group of your peers communicates with each other, or it could be a new twist on an old technology, or an old twist on a new technology.
You can build one, or you can leverage one.
But go find one.