By Ryan Kim, GigaOM
/* Promo Alert */ .aapAlertPromo { background:#fff url('http://i.thestreet-static.com/files/tsc/v2008/css/images/aap_articlePromo.jpg') no-repeat; width:340px; height:70px; color:#000; } .aapAlertPromo a.findout { width:180px; font: bold 12px arial,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left:15px; margin-top:17px; color:#000; float:left; } #story .aapAlertPromo2 { background:#fff url('http://i.thestreet-static.com/files/tsc/v2008/css/images/aap_articlePromo.jpg') no-repeat; width:340px; height:70px; color:#000; } #story .aapAlertPromo2 a.findout { width:180px; font: bold 12px arial,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left:20px; margin-top:23px; color:#000; float:left; } #story .aapAlertPromo3 { background:#fff url('http://i.thestreet-static.com/files/tsc/v2008/css/images/aap_articlePromo.jpg') no-repeat; width:340px; height:70px; color:#000; } #story .aapAlertPromo3 a.findout { width:180px; font: bold 12px arial,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left:15px; margin-top:17px; color:#000; float:left; } #story p .aapAlertPromoNone { display:none; visibility: hidden; }Twitter has become a high-powered news, information andinterest network but it hasn’t really flexed its potential asa commerce platform. But a new Portland, Ore., startup called Chirpify is looking toleverage the exploding Twitter network to create a tool for brands,organizations and users to sell items, take donations and acceptpayments, all without forcing people to leave Twitter.
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Chirpify, formerly known as Sell Simply, is today unveiling itsTwitter commerce platform, an all-in-one tool that taps PayPal andallows users to monetize their tweets. The company said it’sthe first one to turn Twitter into a direct sales channel. Chirpifyhas signed up its first brand, PowerBar, which will sell productsdirectly through Twitter.There are actually three ways to use Chirpify. There’sChirpify Commerce for brands, Chirpify Payments for peer-to-peertransactions and Chirpify Donations for charitable organizationslooking to raise funds. Sell Simply, which quietly rolled out inJuly, offered a basicversion of the service, primarily for peer-to-peer payments.But now, the platform is ready for a formal launch as it fills outits offering as a commerce service. Here’s how it works: A brand with a following on Twittercan connect its PayPal business account to Chirpify and then starttweeting out items for sale through a simple dashboard. This couldbe time-sensitive deals or highlighted items that are on sale orneed to be moved. The tweet could say something like “Sale onX item. Reply ‘buy’ to purchase X.” When the userreplies with a tweet saying they want to buy the product, the moneywill get deducted from their PayPal account. Chirpify parses thetweet and then will fulfill the transaction if the user hasconnected their PayPal account to Chirpify using a quick OAuthpermission. If the buyer doesn’t have a PayPal account, theyare prompted to set one up and connect to Chirpify.Chirpify will take 4 percent of transactions from recipients whouse the free account. For $49 a month, sellers and recipients canlower the fee to 2 percent. And for bigger brands, they can pay$500 for no fees and deep integration into their back officesoftware. Right now, Chirpify can work with ecommerce softwareMagento, allowing sellers to list and manage items on Twitter fromMagento.“Brands are already tweeting about products, but those arejust broadcast ads trying to lure consumers from Twitter to afive-step checkout process,” said Chris Teso, founder ofChirpify. “We eliminate that and make commercefrictionless.”Chirpify is interesting because it brings payment and commercefunctionality to a platform that wasn’t designed for it. ButTwitter is increasingly where people are hanging out, followingfriends, celebrities and brands too. Being able to sell directlythrough Twitter allows a brand to not just push out advertisingmessages through a popular channel, but actually do some business.If pursued with moderation, it could be a powerful way to reach outdirectly to consumers and could result in a lot of impulse buying.And because it’s built atop Twitter, a popular item or salecould go viral, especially with the right supporters. Brands are trying to also leverage Facebook, but many try todivert consumers away to their own sites. Chirpify would keeppeople right inside Twitter. That could be helpful for somecompanies that have built good consumer engagement through Twitteror have seen their email open rates for newsletters and daily dealsdecline.But if taken too far, this could sour some users on a brand ifthey push too much of a hard sell. The items or sales will need tohave some significant value, or users may find the Twitterrelationship suddenly very pushy. Also, brands will need to beselective about what they sell, choosing straightforward items thatcan be described in a few words with perhaps an accompanyingpicture. And consumers will need to sign up for Chirpify andconnect their Twitter and PayPal accounts, which is pretty painlessbut still requires a couple steps.But I think this could still be pretty powerful if consumerssign up for Chirpify. Nonprofits could rake in a lot of money witha simple appeal. Celebrities could go directly to their fans withan exclusive deal or sale.Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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