Sports, especially the World Cup, was kind to Twitter last quarter. The social media site grew users and usage and exceeded its revenue projections. It also led, as CEO Dick Costolo suggests, new user engagement "from people checking out special feeds set up by Twitter. This gives
Costolo confidence that Twitter can build more 'experiences' around big
events and big topics in the future." Still, the service continues to lose money although at a smaller pace than the previous quarter.
So is the quarter a one shot wonder brought in by a rabid international World Cup interest or can Twitter figure out other ways for users to stay connected to the app ans use it for longer and longer periods? It certainly is an easy way to connect with fans over sports and live events. The Emmys are next month and the World Series in October but can they equal the impact that World Cup offered. Also, they are US centric events while World Cup was a global phenomenon that comes every 4 years. And while the Olympics are a couple years away, they hardly seem to deliver that same passion.
Twitter has a lot to be proud of while it continues to focus on monetizing its social engagements. Too much apparent advertising might spoil the process, too little won't pay the bills. Its a big job for Costolo to keep dollars flowing into the site.
