Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) may be trying to predict which tweets are going to go viral, if Owen Williams of The Next Web is right. He reports on the activity of “a mysterious new account” called @magicstats. The Twitter user’s bio reads simply: “I favorite the best tweets I see in real-time.”
How Twitter’s alleged account works
The account is actually protected, but Williams was able to see how it works this week. He says when any Twitter user tweets something the account believes will go viral, it makes the tweet a favorite within just minutes of it being posted. He reports that in the two times when the account made The Next Web’s tweets a favorite, they were retweeted more than 100 times in just a few hours.
Is this really Twitter’s account?
Williams admits that they don’t really know if Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is actually operating this account officially. However, he says that the design of the account and the wording that is used on it is “similar” to those used on other experimental accounts set up by the micro-blogging site.
He says this test could be in response to Favstar, which enables users to keep tabs on just how far their tweets travel and see how popular a tweet is before it turns viral.
Twitter looks to build revenue
Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) does have a policy on running experiments, so it would not be a huge surprise if this was yet another experiment. Also the company is now in the public eye after its initial public offering, so it needs to find ways to keep building revenue. Any kind of service which could enhance value for advertisers is likely to add to the company’s revenue.
One of the things we have seen with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is that as advertisers gain more understanding of how high the return on their investment is, they seem more willing to spend more with the social network. The same idea should hold true on Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) as well.
