Jack Dorsey is a REGULAR GUY whose idea is revolutionizing the way the world communicates

**GUEST POST** Cody Ramlan is a San Francisco State senior whose taken several courses with me and has, like me, caught the Social Media Fever. Agreeing to guest “host,” he told me that he now intends to take his future into his own hands through the many resources available on the Internet.

Twitter is only as valuable as you make it

Jack Dorsey created Twitter in 2006 and remains dedicated to continually refining it, but he took some time from his busy schedule Thursday, April 30, to talk to Shari Weiss’ PR class at San Francisco State.

“Twitter sparks interaction”

“The Future of Advertising is all about discovery.”

The class spent well over an hour asking questions and gaining inside knowledge from the currently most talked about entrepreneur on the planet.

My favorite fact was that it only took $10,000 of marketing expenses to create the word-of-mouth that has made Twitter today’s Sensation. This is a testament to the culture Jack encourages in his company — making a product that sells itself.

Where the idea of Twitter first started in Jack’s mind:

Twitter’s 40 employees do this by listening to users and building a platform that supports what people want. However, Jack emphasized that it is important to know when to say NO in order to make a successful product because some requests may be too specific to benefit enough of an audience.

Is Twitter merely a fad? Jack’s response was that it is only as valuable as you make it. He believes that it was created with the flexibility to become a utility of life and that one day people will take it for granted like email.

Since Twitter doesn’t currently turn a profit, we wondered about the business model for the future. Many ideas are being considered including “verifications” involving companies and celebrities. No matter how they will monetize, Jack made it clear that his goal was to never force advertising on users.

Friendfeed an aggregator, and Twitter is not. It’s more of a communication tool:

In fact, he said that the future of advertising is all about discovery and introductions. “If you start with that and lead to a conversation, you will have the respect and attention of your audience, which is a much more productive form of relaying a message,” he said.

How Twitter has grown . . . since Jack was 16:

Twitter’s vision includes evolution through listening to users, and after hearing Jack’s discussion with us, I have no doubt that his company will be around for a long time to come.

by Cody Ramlan

Videos embedded by Shari — once I found out how to do it.

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