Enter TWTR

The big new of the day is without a doubt the addition of yet another social media company on the New York Stock Exchange.

Following in the footsteps of big brother Facebook, and the more conservative cousin LinkedIn, Twitter is now making its trading debut. Pricing the shares at $26 on Wednesday, the total company would value the at around $14 billion - a fraction of Facebook's 122 billion.

A more relevant comparison would then be LinkedIn, which was listed on the NYSE in 2011. The stock
was priced at $45 on its initial public offering, but then roared out of the gates rising as much as 171 percent in their first day of trade on the New York Stock Exchange, and closed at $94.25, a total increase of more than 109 percent. The stock has since risen even more, valued today at $25 billion. 

A significant difference exists, however: while LinkedIn earned $ 3.7 million during the last quarter, Twitter has still some way to go to show a profit. For the year 2012 Twitter had a total revenue of $317 million, but still reported a net loss of $79 million. 

However, a lot of Twitter's attraction lies in the appeal of some of its users, rather than in its accounts. Every seems to be tweeting; form politicians and opinion leader, including President Obama, the Dalai Lama, the Pope Francis, a number of Nobel Prize winners to each celebrity with self esteem, keeps an active Twitter Account. Twitter is today a place for any exchange of opinion, both comical as controversial. 

For Twitters experts are predicting that the company's total revenue may increase to reach $620 million already this year. Operating profit is predicted to be $ 40 million, according to USA Today. The listing also adds a well needed $1.7 billion to Twitter's own financing. 

The real question of whether the listing will be profitable or not ties into what Twitter will do next to generate money. Is has speculated that mid-tweet ads are the future here. The fact that Twitter's core business is ads, means there's potential for Twitter to help marketers sell stuff, not just when users shop online or in stores after leaving Twitter, but right in the moment, within Twitter.com or a Twitter mobile app. Twitter has made it public that it sees huge potential here. In August they hired former Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard as its first-ever head of commerce.

So, how would Twitter commerce work? Twitter could use information about users' location and interests to offer products or deals. Eventually we can expect Twitter to allow users to link a credit card to their account for one-click purchases within Twitter. Twitter could also partner with the likes of eBay, Amazon or Etsy to link accounts, so users could make a purchase without inputting credit card information.

So, in or out? My best best is to get in as early as possible. By all accounts it seems as the stock is undervalued, and missing the train now may mean that you cant get on it at all later. 

What do you think of the Twitter stock? Leave your comments below.