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YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Startup Lets You Buy and Sell Stuff on Twitter

    By Todd Wasserman | Mashable – Wed, Feb 15, 2012

    A startup called Chirpify introduced a platform on Wednesday that lets you buy and sell things as well as donate money on Twitter.

    The Portland, Ore., company has linked up with PayPal to make Twitter-based transactions, a.k.a. "T-commerce" sort of like writing a check.

    [More from Mashable: Chris Brown Curses Out Twitter Critics Then Tries to Delete the Evidence]

    For instance, you can buy stuff from your favorite brand just by tweeting "@favoritebrand Buy" (assuming they use Chirpify, of course.) You can also donate by typing "@politician Donate."

    The platform also enables peer-to-peer transactions. If you owed your friend $20, for instance, you could "donate" the money back to him via a Twitter-enabled smartphone, making the check analogy all the more apt.

    [More from Mashable: Hashtag Marketing: 9 Ways to Avert Disaster]

    So far, PowerBar is the only brand using Chirpify. Starting this week, fans of the brand can buy merchandise from PowerBar using Chirpify over Twitter. Chris Teso, CEO and founder of Chirpify, says he hopes that PowerBar and other brands he brings on to the platform will help spread the word about his company.

    PowerBar fans, for instance, will see on the company's Twitter feed this week that such transactions are possible, but if they want to buy something, they will have to register with Chirpify. Teso says that the appeal for brands will be obvious: "It's a way to instantly monetize their followers."

    Teso launched a similar concept last year called Sell Simply that was designed more for small vendors selling via Etsy, eBay or Craigslist. Now his company has pivoted to go after larger advertisers. Though there have been a few other attempts to broaden Twitter's somewhat one-dimensional experience, like Blether, a Twitter app that enables private chats, Chirpify appears to be breaking new ground.

    What do you think? Would you buy or donate stuff over Twitter? Sound off in the comments.

    Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ymgerman

    This story originally published on Mashable here.

     

    1 comment

    • Badria
      Badria  •  Dubai, United Arab Emirates  •  3 mths ago
      I do shopping two times through e-bay and it was very nice i like there service, and i think if twettir have tha same definately i will try it once because i always meet my friend though it, and i think this is such a good step to be success and more famous.
     Post a comment
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