Why Twitter's Bet On Video And E-Commerce Are Both 'Long Shots'

Jessica Lessin, founder and editor-in-chief at The Information, was on CNBC Monday to discuss growth and changes Twitter Inc TWTR is making.

Is The Product Pipeline At Twitter Strong Enough For Dick Costolo To Deliver Something Down The Road?

“It’s a great question and I think it’s the right question more than Dick or not Dick, where is growth going to come from?" Lessin began.

"Two answers: video and e-commerce.”

“And I think they are both long shots right now for the company. I mean, its early days in terms of building new video products and commerce; it’s a story that Twitter keeps telling the potential around and we are going to have to see something in one of those two or both.”

Related Link: Cantor Fitzgerald Previews Twitter's Q4, Expects 'Solid' Results

Is There Enough Buzz Around The Platform Changes?

“See, I think those are tweaks, right?” Lessin said. “If we are talking about timelines still and getting engagement and more active usage, you got to do that, but what are some other pillars, right?"

"How are you going to grab ad dollars from from Facebook, Google, Pinterest and the likes and that’s the story they have to start telling.”

Is Twitter's User Growth Gaining Momentum Or Decelerating?

“It’s hard to say; in part because the user numbers are, we are going to see some funniness around them, because there have been all these apps that have sort of sucked in and inflated user growth like Flip Words and all these things."

"So, it’s hard to tell it and this why investors are answering; we just don’t know,” Lessin replied.