Twitter Japan to introduce micropayments
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The Japanese version of the site, which already operates slightly differently to the other Twitter sites around the world, is understood to be introducing a tiered payment model that will charge audiences to view tweets from premium Twitter accounts, says Media Asia.
Kenichi Sugi, chief operating officer of DG Mobile, announced the changes at the Mobidec2009 conference earlier this week. He said that Twitter would be adding paid subscription options from January 2010 – which would allow account holders to charge audiences for access to their tweets, links to external websites and images.
Users who want to pay for full access to these premium accounts’ tweets can pay via a monthly subscription model using a credit card or have their mobile network include it in their monthly bill, or buy a pre-paid top up card at convenience shops. Prices will range from $1.15 to $11.60 and will be dependent on the figures set by the charging account holders. Twitter will take 30 per cent of all fees generated.
The Japanese version of Twitter has acted as a testbed for the company having previously launched products, such as a video-sharing service, exclusively in that country.
It is also thought to be the only country where the company has shown any signs of profitability – largely boosted by the permitting of adverts on each page – a feature not allowed on the site in any other location.
Twitter launched in Japan in April 2008 and rolled out its mobile site last month. The mobile version is expected to thrive in Japan – where internet mobile penetration levels are some of the highest in the world.
Kenichi Sugi, chief operating officer of DG Mobile, announced the changes at the Mobidec2009 conference earlier this week. He said that Twitter would be adding paid subscription options from January 2010 – which would allow account holders to charge audiences for access to their tweets, links to external websites and images.
Users who want to pay for full access to these premium accounts’ tweets can pay via a monthly subscription model using a credit card or have their mobile network include it in their monthly bill, or buy a pre-paid top up card at convenience shops. Prices will range from $1.15 to $11.60 and will be dependent on the figures set by the charging account holders. Twitter will take 30 per cent of all fees generated.
The Japanese version of Twitter has acted as a testbed for the company having previously launched products, such as a video-sharing service, exclusively in that country.
It is also thought to be the only country where the company has shown any signs of profitability – largely boosted by the permitting of adverts on each page – a feature not allowed on the site in any other location.
Twitter launched in Japan in April 2008 and rolled out its mobile site last month. The mobile version is expected to thrive in Japan – where internet mobile penetration levels are some of the highest in the world.
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