Twitter Didn’t Need Trump

Twitter, in the fourth quarter, added 27% more “monetizable daily active users” (that’s profiles it can serve ads to). Scott Nover reports that the company expects 20% year-over-year growth in Q1.

“We are a platform that’s obviously much larger than any one topic, or any one account,” Jack Dorsey said.

 In Scott’s words: without explicitly mentioning Trump, Twitter mentioned Trump. 

While kicking off the president didn’t quell user growth, the platform’s broader efforts to stem election misinformation did have a “small but measurable negative impact” on user growth. 

That could pose some difficult conversations with shareholders as Twitter continues to work on content moderation. It already expects a slow down in growth once the pandemic related surge quietens down. That'll be why the platform has been on a little shopping spree of late, scooping up four companies in January 2021, including podcast company Breaker and newsletter publishing platform Revue.   

On Revue, you don't need me to tell you that newsletters are hot. But Twitter is also building out other subscription-related products that are more integrated, like letting people tip. How successful platforms will be in building out DTC revenue is one big lingering question.

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Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Lucinda

Lucinda.Southern@adweek.com

After a year in which DEI became a priority, the Big Game missed a chance to amplify the message.

The platform called out blurry, low-quality videos and those containing logos or watermarks

The supply-side platforms are raising $19 million as part of the deal.

Service's revenue expected to double in 2021, clearing $300 million.