There's no doubt that Twitter was the new media darling of 2009. However, discussion of its skyrocketing popularity has frequently been tempered by observations that the fledgling company has yet to develop anything resembling a sustainable business model. Thus, news that the microblogging service is actually finishing out the year as a profitable entity might come as a surprise to some.
According to BusinessWeek's anonymous sources, Twitter owes its move into the black to $25 million worth of deals inked with Google and Microsoft. These multi-year deals enable the Google and Microsoft-operated Bing engines to search Twitter content.
Twitter's move to profitability was also due, in part, to a reduction in expenditures, thanks to its improved bargaining power with telecommunications companies. However, whether profitability can be maintained will depend heavily on how quickly it increases staff, notes BusinessWeek. It also remains to be seen how Twitter will incorporate advertising into its business model without disrupting the user experience.
