I have been a long time Twitter user...longer than 98.6% of all users. It is my favorite social media site and I think the idea of it has real staying power. However, I do have some concerns if the Twitter turns 7 article is correct and Twitter goes public in the near future.
Like the article mentions, Twitter has been quite secretive about their finances. Some estimates project their revenue to reach nearly $1 billion by 2014. Once public, Twitter will be under increased pressure to increase ad revenue and create value for their shareholders. Personally, I am not a fan of the "promoted tweets" that pop up in your Twitter stream, and I'd imagine most Twitter users feel the same way. I think a likely outcome of IPOing will be an increase in the paid ads that all Twitter users will see, watering down the experience and disenfranchising loyal users. Facebook has struggled walking the fine line of increasing ad revenue while not bombarding their users with ads.
It might sound crazy, but I almost think Twitter is a public good...not on the scale of national defense, but maybe close to the Post Office? Who knows what would have happened in the 2009 Iranian presidential election or if the Arab Spring would have occurred if Twitter was chock full of ads
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