Twitter is not a household name just yet, and while some think it has the potential to become a web giant along the lines of Facebook or MySpace, the microblogging site may be reaching the point where it needs to take off or else become just another Google application.

Twitter is in the midst of securing close to $20 million in funding, and traffic is eight times what it was a year ago, according to Hitwise. Comcast even has a customer service representative whose sole job is to monitor Twitter for complaints (subscription) about Comcast service. However, recent outages seem to signal that a big IPO isn't exactly right around the corner.

"To get the funding it needs for its tech upgrade, and perhaps an eventual stock offering, Twitter needs to make a viable business case. If it falls short, Twitter is more likely to wind up as an application in a larger Web company, such as Google," said Stephen Baker of Business Week.

Baker conducted a brief survey of Twitter users, asking whether it was a fad or a growing giant. Some responses labeled Twitter a blogosphere killer, while others said it was even easier for networking than Facebook. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone sees it as becoming an indispensable part of the internet. "It can become a communication utility, something people use every day," Stone said.

In Baker's opinion, however, Twitter's future rests in how long people are interested in writing 140 character tweets and keeping up with their friends.

"It's not the core technology, which is simple, but instead the community. Twitterers find and follow the people they care about on the service," he wrote.