Why Twitter cannot pull the trigger on new products to take on rivals

The social media company has dreamed up new product ideas aimed at broadening its appeal only to abandon them for fear of alienating users

Two years after returning as Twitter’s chief executive officer, Jack Dorsey has pulled the company back from the brink, persuading people to spend more time on the micro-blogging site and attracting more advertising. Investors ratified his efforts this week, when Twitter posted a surprise surge in revenue growth and a first-ever profit. The shares rose 12 per cent.
 
Now the question is whether Dorsey can build on the momentum and turn his company into a true rival to Facebook. Twitter badly needs to attract new users—something it failed to do this past quarter. Facebook does it in part by