Thriving social network Twitter has been valued at US$10 billion by investor GSV Capital Corp (GSVC) while individuals’ accounts and brand exposure are also growing in value.
Owed to increased advertising, the social site is now nearing a potential initial public offering (IPO) for micro blogging, Bloomberg reported.
The recent validation shows an increase of US$1 billion since the estimation of US$8 billion in January 2013.
HumanIPO reported earlier this month on Twitter as the fastest growing network according to the Global World Index (GWI).
GSVC owns 1.9 million shares in Twitter at a value of US$32.5 million, broken down to US$18.50 per share as announced last week.
Twitter’s full shares add up to a total value of US$9.8 billion, as per the corporation’s numbers.
California-based GSVC, well known for its tech investments, has invested in Twitter since April 2011.
Meanwhile, account validations of Twitter members are not for sale, but the value of brand tweets is continually contested.
The validation website SocialSellouts gives an instant validation of the individual’s Twitter account, but by the looks of Twitter’s policy no personal gain is allowed through account sales.
According to DigitalTrends: “Social networking isn’t all fun and games anymore.
“There’s a currency being minted with every like, tweet and favourite, whether we know it or not.”
Although it is known users have been offering their accounts on eBay, the worth is supposedly invalid without official permission.
There are however alternatives to monetise a Twitter account, such as Pay4Tweet which can link an account to PayPal and enables more advertising options.
Social media experts such as Dave Duarte has also pointed of the marketing boost a mention on Twitter can give.
