Monetizing Tweets: For those who Twitter, there are frequently value judgments made on individuals who incessantly tweet marketing messages or nonsensical drivel; beyond a certain threshold one decides to simply unsubscribe. Yet the other end of the value spectrum has just gotten more interesting: Would you pay a monthly fee to receive tweets from a timely, or funny, or insightful individual? @AirCongress, “the online voice of Capitol Hill,” is putting this to the test by charging $3 a month to view its Twitter stream of inside-the-beltway news and gossip. While problems exist with the business model (retweets?), it poses the question, “Is the daily smile I get from @micah worth ten cents a day?” Readers should be aware that @rockyradar will remain a free resource right up to the day we think we can churn some butter from this cream.
Google and the Energy Little Guy: It’s been over a month since Google announced it was testing the waters in the home energy management arena with its PowerMeter platform, allowing homeowners to track energy usage. Current testing of the product is underway by company employees but no public beta has been released to date. But startups have certainly begun take notice, as entire industries tend to change when Google enters a horse in the race. An article from Greentechmedia provides a nice overview of how other energy management technologies fit into the new Google-inclusive ecosystem. The article posits that the real shakeout of Google’s entry is yet to come, with most companies still hoping to play nice and partner with the giant. At first glance, the greatest threat may be to companies that hoped to license proprietary software (Google plans a free and open source approach), while makers of smart devices may sit in better position for partnering.
