Home Selling Ads on Your Twitter Background? You’ll Love Magpie

Selling Ads on Your Twitter Background? You’ll Love Magpie

While Twitter has been less than forthcoming on how they plan to monetize their service, there is no shortage of ideas from third parties on ways to get paid for spending time with Twitter. From pay-to-tweet to selling off the real estate on your Twitter background, there are any number of ways you could be making money off the service.

Now, there’s another service that – much like RSS-based advertising – offers to pay you for advertisements that run in the midst of your tweet stream. Meet Magpie, an ad network for Twitter.

To make money off of Magpie, you give the service access to your account. And then, you earn cash when they tweet advertisements on your behalf.

“You allow us to twitter in your name. Thus, it’s primarily your followers who’ll see the magpie-tweets. We’re targeting them, not you.”

But how much money could you be earning? To test it, I ran a couple of user names through the Magpie estimator to see.

Personally, I stand to rake in an additional 55 Euros a month – roughly $70 US. Richard could earn more than three times that amount, 184 Euros. And Marshall could be reimbursed around 181 Euros a month.

But what about the heavily followed Twitter crowd? Kevin Rose, for example, could stand to make an extra $8,000 a month, Leo Laporte around $15,000 a month, and Barack Obama? A projected $64,000 a month. (Which, ironically, is more than he would make if he gets the job he’s gunning for.)

Now, I’m what you would call an “avid” Twitter user. And I have to admit that I’m capable of tweeting useless drivel and alienating followers with the best of them. But there’s something about the fact that I’m actually the one doing that inane tweeting that makes it slightly more palatable. I think.

Magpie changes all that. With Magpie, the annoying tweets could – ultimately – be beyond your control. In fact, this “ad in the tweet stream” concept is exactly what people fear Twitter will be doing with their tweet streams in the not too distant future – inserting advertising into conversations that heretofore have been wholly controlled by each user.

Magpie is promoting the service as a way to get into the tweet stream of “popular twitterers.” One has to wonder, if those Twitter users – especially those who are already seeing value in their Twitter use – are going to be willing to trade their influence for cash.

I, for one, will keep posting annoying drivel on my own – for free.

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.