Twitter- a fad or here to stay?

You can't move for the column inches on Twitter and yet I can't help but feel why all the fuss now? Twitter has been around for a long time- in fact I set up my Twitter profile three years ago; only not to start using it until the last few months. Twitter is fun, it's good to see what your mates or people you are following are doing but what is it's value? Can it be more than just a fad? In essence, it's a one-dimensional Facebook; status updates on the move and yet we know that commercially it's still not quite sure what the end-game is/or what its nailed on revenue model is. And I can't help but feel that Twitter is about to find itself in exactly the same quandry. It definitely has value in its instantaneous and its regular updates- but consumers won't pay when they're used to getting it for free, it would get in all sorts of trouble if it tried to sell user data so that's that model out the window so perhaps it's the old chestnut of advertising and sponsorship. Perhaps brands will end up paying for their own Twitter channels, which can become personalised advertising or focus groups and perhaps media, content and rights holders will end up buying Twitter networks to broadcast updates, information and perhaps even access to subscription content. Twitter is definitely causing a stir at the moment but there's a long way for it to go before it becomes accepted as the 'next Google'. It's going to be an interesting journey to watch, the question is will consumers stay interested long enough for it to find out what its true revenue and business models are?