Twitter eyeing charges for corporate use

The blogosphere is buzzing today with reports that Twitter may be planning to charge companies using the micro-blogging service for commercial purposes.

The quote that kicked it all off came from co-founder Biz Stone, who told Marketing magazine that "we are noticing more companies using Twitter and individuals following them. We can identify ways to make this experience even more valuable and charge for commercial accounts."

The news will dismay many mobile games developers and publishers, who are using Twitter for everything from marketing and promotion to communicating with their peers.

Gameloft, EA Mobile and Glu Mobile all have Twitter feeds, as do hundreds of independent developers.

Focusing on our industry specifically, deciding what's commercial use would be a blurry line indeed, especially if you're looking at indie developers who Tweet about their daily lives as much as their games.

Stone himself has responded to the report, saying companies and brands have nothing to worry about.

Although he confirms that Twitter hopes "to begin iterating on revenue products this year", he maintains that the service will always be free to use in its basic form to everyone - individuals and companies alike.

"What we're thinking about is adding value in places where we are already seeing traction, not imposing fees on existing services," he writes on the company's blog.

"We are still very early in the idea stage and we don't have anything to share just yet despite a recent surge in speculation. When we do, we'll be sure to let you know."

If you're a mobile games firm on Twitter, would you pay for related services, and if so, which ones? Let us know your thoughts by posting a comment. We won't charge you for it...