Social networking powerhouse Twitter is discovering its niche, so to speak, when it comes to building outs its ad network strategy. Reports claim CEO Dick Costolo and company are buying the two-year-old Niche, for a rumored $45 million to $60 million.
Niche makes software for ad creation and development. According to reports Niche is on track to hit 1 million in net revenue this year and had 50 ad customers as of last March. In just its first year the ad technology player raised $2.5 million in venture capital funding. It claims to now work with 6,000 creators, according to a blog post.
In a blog post announcing the acquisition Twitter said the purchase is a natural move as Niche has been a 'key partner' for Twitter and social network player Vine in the past year.
"The company has helped fuel the creator economy by developing leading technology, consisting of free, cross-platform analytics, as well as connecting the creative community directly with the world's biggest brands," states the Twitter blog.
"As we continue to invest in the growing media ecosystem, it's important to provide a wide variety of tools for content creators to distribute and ultimately manage all of their content."
The news comes on the heels of not-so-good news regarding Twitter and its security efforts. As Tech Times reported earlier this week hackers are clearly focused on Twitter these days. Newsweek's Twitter account was commandeered Tuesday by a group claiming to be connected with the Islamic State Tuesday for about 15 minutes and spewed threatening messages to First Lady Michelle Obama.
Earlier this month Twitter CEO Dick Costolo told users the social network site was turning its full attention to stopping trolls and abusive behavior on the popular sharing site.
"We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we've sucked at it for years. It's no secret and the rest of the world talks about it every day. We lose core user after core user by not addressing simple trolling issues that they face every day," said Costolo in the internal memo.
The business move Wednesday, according to Twitter and Niche, makes good sense and is viewed as positive move by both tech vendors.
"Our software supports much of the leading talent on Vine and Twitter, and we have been working closely with Twitter's Brand Strategy team to service some of the biggest brands in the world," states the Niche blog. "No matter the project, Twitter is a common denominator: a gateway to the social web's most compelling content and creators."
