Why Twitter is Going to Decide the 2012 Election

140 characters may just decide the next four years of this country. There is a report on

this morning that Twitter will start to sell political advertisements this week, as it sees an opportunity to grow revenues at a key time in the company's history. As Twitter continues to find new ways to generate revenues for the four year old company, it may ultimately help decide the 2012 Presidential election, as the advertisements for the Presidential election could reach well over $1 billion. According to the report, at least five presidential campaigns, and party committees have already signed on for the initial launch. The advertisements will come in the way of sponsored tweets and will have small purple check-marks next to them to differentiate them from regular tweets. According to GovSM, which tracks politicians' use of social media, 81 Senators, 316 members of the House and all of the presidential candidates. As candidates try to get their messages out, they are increasingly turning towards Twitter. In a fast-paced world, getting your message out in 140 characters or less seems to be the way the winds are blowing. Twitter has over 100 million users, and as these numbers continue to grow, politicians will reach more and more of the population to get across their agenda, good, bad or indifferent. “We've had five years to watch and observe how people are using the platform organically and we know politicians are active on the platform, and we know that consumers enjoy the messages from those politicians,” Twitter's president of global revenue, Adam Bain, said in an interview with Politico. “We're excited about the election cycle, and we think that ads both in the timeline and in search are a huge opportunity.” “We should think of revenue like breathing — it's necessary for life, but it's not the purpose of life,” CEO Dick Costolo said recently in comments captured by Politico. More and more money is increasingly flowing to Twitter. It is changing the way the world communicates, along with Facebook, and other types of social media. Due to its ease of use, and constant user interface, some have even said that

. With a depressed economy, constant bickering from both sides of the political aisle, and a population connected to each other now more than ever, Twitter's increasing role in important social events is just starting to happen. We saw it happen with the Arab Spring, the Iranian protests, and we are beginning to see it happen here. Just last week, the protest against Wall Street, #occupywallstreet, started on Twitter. Whether you like Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Barack Obama, Ron Paul or whoever, the candidates are doing whatever they can to try to reach you in every way shape possible. Welcome to the 2012 election season. It's just the beginning.