Update: Calacanis has upped the ante, saying “My new offer to Twitter: $500,000 for three years for @questions as a suggested user in the sign-up process.” He also talks about how this could be the next Super Bowl Ad, and explains his reasoning for making the offer in the first place.
Original article: You have to give Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis credit. When his name has been in the news most recently for employing a felon, he has managed to overshadow that with the buzz created by his offering of $250,000 to Twitter for 2 years’ worth of Twitter’s “suggested Follows.”
Here’s a sample of what he said on Twitter:
Calacanis has told the media that the offer is real, and that he believes in five years the top 20 spots will be worth a million a year. Naturally, as Twitter has still yet to unveil a revenue-model, the blogosphere (and Twittersphere[?]) is buzzing about this.
For example, Henry Blodget at Silicon Alley Insider says, “Even if Twitter kills the ‘Suggested’ page, this exchange provides a hint of how powerful (and profitable) this company can eventually become,” says Henry Blodget at Silicon Alley Insider. “We continue to think it will eventually be worth more than $1 billion.”
Frank Watson at SearchEngineWatch says, “Nice to see a value put on something on Twitter.”
Calacanis told Eric Schonfeld that he has contacted Twitter’s co-founders and one of its investors, and that he is thinking of sending them the check anyway so “if it sits on their desk they might just cash it.”
Do you think Calacanis’s idea is good or bad? Share your thoughts.
