Why Does Twitter Keep Releasing Ad Products No One Actually Wants?

The problem with operating within a vacuum of self-importance is that you simply can't differentiate between a good idea and another so-so idea. That's the case, again, with Twitter this week.

The "define-it-however-you like" company is debuting yet another advertising format that it somehow believes will encourage users to tweet more often and talk about advertisers brands.

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The new ad format willenable brands to post a call-to-action that offers some sort of exclusive content that can only be unlocked with a tweet from a user. For example, that might include something like the ability to preview a movie trailer or gain access to some super secret club. The problem is, most enterprises are going to be unwilling to give somethign away for free and on top of it, pay for the priviledge of doing so.

The new ad feature, called  “Instant Unlock Cards,” is an extension of Twitter’s previously launched “Conversational Ads,” which give advertisers the ability to post images and videos along with call-to-action buttons that include customizable hashtags. 

Twitter is fast becoming a farce and they better hope Steve Balmer (or anyone really) is serious about acquiring the company because things don't look good from where we're sitting - even though we've provided the answer already on how the company can reverse course, and its fortunes in the process.