"Less altruistically, some businesses have discovered that Twitter is an effective way of communicating with consumers. Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) says Twitter has produced $1 million in revenue over the past year and a half through sale alerts. People who sign up to follow Dell on Twitter receive messages when discounted products are available the company’s Home Outlet Store. They can click over to purchase the product or forward the information to others."
Siegler goes on to propose that "If Twitter has made Dell $1 million in revenue, imagine how much it’s making for all of the companies it helps promote."
I'm not convinced. Twitter is a communication platform. And so is, for example, forum platform phpBB. And while I'm sure that many companies have made millions due to recommendations of their products that are daily given on numerous phpBB forums all over the net, I don't see why it necessarily needs to directly translate into revenue for the platform itself.