Twitter’s future: How high can it fly? For all its success so far, the social-media firm may not achieve the scale many investors hope for

Dick Costolo used to be an improvisational comedian. Quick wits can be useful in business too, especially when performing for a testy audience. On November 7th the company he runs, Twitter, celebrated its first anniversary as a public company. In spite of early applause, its reviews among investors have been mixed (see chart). No one can quite decide on its prospects. Some believe it could become the next titan of digital advertising, up there with Google and Facebook, while others think it will be stuck in a niche, albeit a fairly large one, and will ultimately be valued as such.Mr Costolo has made big, tweet-worthy promises to his followers. “Our ambition is to have the largest audience in the world,” he says. Since its founding in 2006, Twitter has been taken up by everyone from Queen Elizabeth to the commonest of commoners, while playing a role in political revolutions, including those of the Arab spring, and breaking news, such as America’s raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound. Its constant appearances in the mass media mean that “Twitter has received more free promotion than any company in the history of capitalism,” says Peter Stabler of Wells Fargo Securities, an investment bank.
www.economist.com/news/business/21631045-all-its-success-so-far-social-media-firm-may-not-achieve-scale-many-investors-hope