What does Tweetdeck founder Iain Dodsworth think might have been his company’s biggest mistake? The name. Speaking as part of a panel session at the Geek’n’Rolla conference in London just now, Dodsworth admitted that the name Tweetdeck might have stunted its potential for bringing more Facebook users on board as a client of choice.
Admitting that the fact Tweetdeck has no revenue was the company’s biggest problem, Dodsworth explained that the company’s investors understood that it was more a “research project” than anything else at present.
While he admitted that it was a risk to base the company around third party services, Dodsworth said that it was a “Known risk” and “You’ve just got to go with it”. However, he thinks Tweetdeck has a secure place in the Twitter ecosystem, as it was target at a specific niche – one that Twitter itself values highly – power users. He was clearly chuffed to read Twitter’s recently returned Jack Dorsey’s support for Tweetdeck in an interview with Peter Kafka yesterday.
One thing Dodsworth wouldn’t comment on was those rumours of an acquisition by Uber Media, meaning that if it is still on the cards it hasn’t happened yet. He did, however, say that Tweetdeck was “his baby” and that no-one had offered enough money for the company yet.
Which leaves me wondering (and this is pure speculation on my part) might Twitter yet emerge as buyer in order to offer it as some kind of paid, ‘Pro’ account option?
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Oh, and if you’re a Google Buzz fan – watch out. Dodsworth says that Tweetdeck is considering removing Buzz support altogether.
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