Social networking giant Twitter expects revenue to jump from $US400,000 in the September quarter to $US4 million in the December quarter, according to internal documents that were stolen by a computer hacker.
The release of the stolen data by prominent tech blog TechCrunch, has caused an outcry on the web. TechCrunch received hundreds of complaints from Twitter users asking the site not to publish the data.
The documents contain sensitive corporate data, such as the names of people interviewed for executive roles, and include financial projections for the site, which still has not announced any money-making schemes.
According to the files, Twitter expects to record $US4.4 million in revenue this calendar year, followed by a massive $US140 million during the 2010 calendar year, with profit of $US46 million.
The documents released so far do not detail any programs for producing revenue, a topic the company has been discussing recently.
The documents also detail the company’s employee headcount, which is expected to increase from 78 employees by the end of this year to 345 by the end of 2010. Floor plans of the Twitter office are also included.
The files were obtained by a hacker named ‘Hacker Croll’, who has released the files to several tech blogs. The 310-page group of documents includes notes from executive meetings, agreements with partners and even floor plans and security pass codes.
The attack comes after ‘Croll’ allegedly gained access to chief executive Evan William’s email account, along with William’s wife’s account and the accounts of two Twitter employees.
Personal details of employees are also contained in the documents, including calendars, phone logs and even meal preferences, but TechCrunch has said it will not publish those files.
Twitter founder Biz Stone came to the company’s defense overnight, saying in a statement on Twitter that the documents are indeed official files from the company but do not contain any important information.
“It’s important to note that the stolen documents which were downloaded and offered to various blogs and publications are not Twitter user accounts nor were any user accounts compromised (except for a screenshot of one person’s account and we contacted that person and recommended changing their password). This was not a hack on the Twitter service, it was a personal attack followed by the theft of private company documents.”
“We have a culture of sharing and communication within Twitter and these stolen documents represent a fraction of what we produce on a regular basis. Obviously, these documents are not polished or ready for prime time and they’re certainly not revealing some big, secret plan for taking over the world.”
Other documents obtained by TechCrunch include the pitch for a television show about Twitter, which would see entrepreneurs accept challenges from the company to win a $US100,000 cash prize.
More documents are expected to be released on the internet over the next few days.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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