海角大神

The 2016 elections were seen by some as a boon for Twitter, a kind of political lifeline for a company that has been struggling with declining advertising revenues and slowing user growth in recent years.

On the campaign trail and as president-elect, Donald Trump has taken to Twitter frequently to express his views and sometimes, make major announcements,聽rather than hold a traditional press conference.

But Mr. Trump may not be enough to fully salvaged Twitter鈥檚 financial problems, according to recent reports. While the company is working to attract new users and dollars, it will now also have to juggle its new role as an unofficial presidential loudspeaker 鈥� while steering clear of becoming a platform for hate speech.

It鈥檚 鈥渃omplicated,鈥� Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey said on Wednesday in response to a question about his views on Trump鈥檚 Twitter use, as reported by The Guardian.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 an important time for the company and service. And having the president-elect on our service, using it as a direct line of communication, allows everyone to see what鈥檚 on his mind in the moment,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely entering a new world where everything is on the surface and we can all see it in real time and we can have conversations about it. I鈥檓 not really sure. But it鈥檚 definitely been fascinating to learn from.鈥�

The social network has been battered in the stock market in the past year as its growth lagged behind its competitors, Facebook and Snapchat. Prior to the elections, it tried to raise its game by pushing out live videos and advertising products that target campaigns and political groups.聽

While it succeeded in seeing a record number of tweets posted during the elections and presidential debates this year, that surge has not translated to an increase of new users.

In an October earnings call, Twitter chief financial officer Anthony Noto admitted that the election had t鈥� on Twitter鈥檚 user growth,鈥� he said, according to Reuters. 鈥淲e really need to have a (presidential) debate on Twitter every day for it to meaningfully improve the quarterly metrics."

Its reputation also took a hit when the platform became a site of abuse, potentially putting off new users. 聽A report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that between August 2015 and July 2016, there was a surge of anti-Semitic tweets directed toward journalists, many sent from accounts of Trump supporters. Twitter suspended the accounts of several leaders of the alt-right white nationalist movement in November for what it considered hate speech.

When rumors over a possible Twitter acquisition by Salesforce ended in October, after the latter said they were 鈥渘ot the right fit,鈥� CNBC host Jim Cramer speculated that bidders for the company were put off after perpetuated by trolls on Twitter.

Trump has himself been criticized for using Twitter spread false information 鈥� for instance, a tweet聽and claiming that he won the popular vote 鈥� and for journalists, newspapers, and other individuals, according to a tally by The New York Times.

鈥淗arassment is going to be a huge issue,鈥� Jan Dawson, chief analyst at technology and research firm Jackdaw tells 海角大神 in a phone interview. 鈥淭hese issues existed before ... [But] it鈥檚 unique that someone at the position Trump is now is part of it.鈥�

Many don鈥檛 doubt that Twitter will continue being newsworthy. As the Monitor鈥檚 Gretel Kauffman previously reported, political experts see Trump鈥檚 use of Twitter as an effective聽strategy for him to communicate directly to his millions of followers.

But even if Twitter benefits from Trump's active use of the medium, getting more views from retweets and embeds of its posts,聽analysts say the company still needs to do a better job of monetizing this activity and encouraging passers-by to sign up for an account.聽

鈥淭witter is very newsworthy,鈥� Mr. Dawson says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not earning them money.鈥�