Why No News from Twitter Was Bad News

(MoneyWatch)  And here I thought I was missing something when I couldn't attend yesterday's SXSW keynote session featuring Twitter founder Ev Williams (@ev). The hall, pictured at right in a photo Williams posted to Twitpic, was purportedly packed as the session got started. By the end, not so much.

For a start, rumor had it that Twitter would announce its long-awaited advertising platform. Instead, Williams revealed an "at platform," a sort of Facebook Connect that will allow Twitter conversations to happen on sites throughout the Web. Big disappointment. And then, participants were irritated by the interviewer, Umair Haque, director of the Havas Media Lab. Various posts described him as "a vacuous narcissist," "a notorious fluff-slinger" who asked "softball" questions and used the word "awesome" way too much.

Before this post dissolves into an endless Zagat review, here's my reading of yesterday's debacle. While much of the ire was directed at Haque (and, yes, some tweeters did morph his last name into "hack") the audience's foul mood had more to do with Twitter's not getting on with an ad platform so that it could make some money already. Haque's lousy interviewing stylings would have been glossed over if Williams had unveiled some substance. Group dynamics being what they are, the Twitterati decided it would rather shoot the messenger, Haque, than the still somewhat untouchable Williams.

But if yesterday's disappointment is any indication, the Teflon touch of the Twitter founders is wearing thin. SXSW attendees lined up to get a seat for the Q&A with Williams, thinking they were going to be in on something big. The anticipation was certainly heightened by last month's Interactive Advertising Bureau's conference, where Twitter monetization chief Anamitra Banerji hinted Twitter would soon unveil its ad platform. And what better venue to do it at than the Austin geek-fest, where Twitter launched in 2007?

But, no. Instead, the only substance in the whole event was the "at platform," dubbed @anywhere. As a new feature, it's a no-brainer -- especially since porting the social experience over to other sites has been so successful for Facebook. As such, @anywhere looks almost like a stalling tactic. If the angry crowd from SXSW is any indication, the next time Twitter executives speak in public, they had better be talking money.

Previous coverage of Twitter at BNET Media:

• Twitter to Advertisers: Let's Tweet
• Tweets Hit 50 Million/Day; Where is the Money?