Twitter founder details commercial account plans

Biz Stone has been discussing plans to monetise Twitter [Photo: Joi]

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has further outlined the firm's plans to capitalise on the huge interest in its services and exploding user numbers.

Stone said in an interview with the BBC that Twitter is considering two ways to monetise its service. The first is "licensing and syndication" efforts which have already led to tie-ups with Google and Bing.

The second is offering commercial accounts which provide "a specific layer of access", according to Stone.

"People are very curious about exactly how we make our money and we're going to be entering into that this year," he added.

"Twitter will always be free to everyone whether it's commercial or personal. But you'll be able to pay for an additional layer of access to learn more about your Twitter account - to get some feedback, to get some analytics so that you can become a better twitterer."

Stone also reportedly told the BBC that he would "love to see what happens" if media giant Rupert Murdoch follows through with his plans to block Google from indexing his news sites.

"The future is in openness, not [being] closed," he reportedly said.