Twitter founder details commercial account plans

Biz Stone says paid accounts will give users access to analytics.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has further outlined the social networking company's plans to capitalise on the huge interest in its services and exploding user numbers.

Stone said in an interview with the BBC that Twitter was considering two ways to make money from its service. The first was "licensing and syndication", which have already led to tie-ups with Google and Bing.

The second was offering commercial accounts that provide "a specific layer of access", according to Stone.

"People are very curious about exactly how we make our money and we're going to be entering into that this year," he said.

"Twitter will always be free to everyone whether it's commercial or personal. But you'll be able to pay for an additional layer of access to learn more about your Twitter account - to get some feedback, to get some analytics so that you can become a better twitterer."

Stone also told the British broadcaster that he would "love to see what happens" if media giant Rupert Murdoch followed through with his plans to block Google from indexing his news sites.

"The future is in openness, not [being] closed," he said.