Group messaging coming for Twitter

Twitter users can expect easier ways to message groups of people and keep some group messages private, Twitter CEO and founder Evan Williams hinted today at the Online News Association conference -- even as he cautioned the audience he was not announcing any new features.

However, Williams did say that the need to elegantly message a group -- that is, to have some midway between the current offerings of either messaging one user in private or all of your Twitter universe -- has been a top feature request. "I certainly have that feeling daily," he said. ""I'm not announcing any features but you can imagine the evolution."

Indeed I can.

With Twitter lists now being tested, it didn't take much imagination to figure that the next step will be the ability to message a specific list. Lists were the #2 feature request, and as it happens, a useful foundation for that #1 request for better group messaging.

Twitter is also about to release geolocation abilities to developers. Every tweet will have the potential to be tagged with location, he noted. Twitter is also working on reputation system so users can have a better sense as to whether someone's tweet is worth notice.

Williams says he knows that it can be difficult for Twitter users to extract useful nuggets amidst the flood of tweets on the service.  "We're working on relevancy and search and helping people find what's interesting to them." In that sense, he added in an obvious nod to his audience, journalists can complement Twitter by a) helping to "curate" useful tweets from the Twitter stream and b) add analysis and verified information to raw reports from the twittersphere.

When asked whether Twitter might someday charge for use of its API, Evans said he doubted any API functionality currently offered free today would become a paid service. "We have thrived" in part because of third parties that have created applications using the API, he said. His conditions: He wants Twitter apps to used in a positive way, and if someone finds a way to make a lot of money from a Twitter app, he might seek to cut a deal.