Twitter has accumulated nearly $1 billion in investments since first launching in 2006, according to the social networking Web site’s fifth fund statement, released earlier this week.
The University of Texas Investment Management Company, which manages the endowments of both the UT and Texas A&M systems, reported a $3.1 billion increase in their own endowment fund, $30 million of which is directly attributed to Twitter’s fiscal expansion.
“UTIMCO has an investment in a venture fund that invested in Twitter,” said company spokeswoman Christy Wallace.
Currently, the media entity has no revenue and is entirely dependent on acquiring funds through venture capitalists who invest sums of money with the intention of receiving a return in the future. The more money investors pool into Twitter, the more a company’s initial investment grows. Officials at Twitter indicated earlier this month that plans for creating revenue will be introduced later this year.
The endowment growth comes six months after the investment company’s lowest reported earnings. In March, earning reports indicated a $6 billion drop in the endowment, or about 15 percent.
Since Twitter’s inception, the Web site has seen increasing growth. Studies released by Crowd Science Demographics and RJMetrics show the number of Twitter users increases by 8 million people per month and that Twitter is used more than any other social networking media in cars, movies, live performances and bathrooms.
While Twitter is often compared to the likes of Facebook and MySpace, the RJMetrics study shows that more than 75 percent of Twitter users have sent fewer than 10 Tweets and have fewer than 10 followers. Statistics indicate that users benefit more from the stream of information as opposed to its pure networking abilities.
The McCombs School of Business maintains a Twitter account to keep interested students, staff, faculty and alumni updated on the happenings at the school. Rob Meyer, spokesman for the college’s public affairs division, said the use of Twitter, along with other social media outlets, has produced results.
“We’ve had great success,” Meyer said. “It helps us build a community and stay in touch. Everyone’s got a Twitter now. It’s just a great way to interact with the community.”
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