The Subtext of the Steven Colbert Interview with Twitter Co-founder, Biz Stone

On Last Night's Episode of the Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert interviewed Biz Stone, co-founder and creative director of Twitter. "I'll ask him every mundane detail about every moment of his life," said Colbert before Stone even took the stage. This was just one of the many expected and semi-subtle shots that were taken at Twitter throughout the course of the interview. The satirical host even feigned being unable to pay attention because he was too busy tweeting the message,"This isn't rude. This is the Future." on his iPhone.

However, all these snarky little jabs would not have made any sense (and wouldn't have been nearly as funny) if Twitter hadn't already transformed the way many of us communicate. This 140-character microblogging service has changed the way a lot of people interact, and the rest of the world at large has yet to figure out what the big deal is or why people seem to be broadcasting every single moment of their lives over a constant stream of text messages. As a whole, we as a society are in that awkward adjustment period where everyone has to learn the new rules of the communication culture (once we figure out what those rules even are).

We have all been through this many times before. Just look at how much has changed in the last 15 years. Remember when conversations were interrupted by someone looking at their pager and having to run off to the nearest payphone?. Cellphone Etiquette took awhile to be established, and many still don't agree on what is and isn't appropriate.

Biz Stone described Twitter by saying. "It's really the messaging service we didn't know we needed until we had it. " Although this may be overstating things a bit, to the few million users in the Twitterverse (which has expanded beyond early-adopters and is just starting to creep its way into the mainstream), he is right. To many, Twitter has become a form of mobile computer crack (the addictive kind), but Colbert picked up on what a lot of people have been talking about lately. With such a fanatic userbase, how does Twitter plan on monetizing?

"I assume that 'Biz' in Biz Stone doesn't stand for 'Biz'ness model," said Colbert. This was particularly timely since the blogosphere was buzzing with rumors of a Google Buyout yesterday. Twitter has already turned down a buyout offer from Facebook of $500 million in cash and stock prompting Facebook to recently redesign to try and more directly compete with Twitter.

Stone was quick to clarify. "We are recognizing a difference between profit and value, and right now, we're building value right. now." He discusses Twitter's strategy to give access to everyone worldwide, both through the web and through their cellphones, to a ubiquitous real-time network. Even the New York Times wrote about how more and more celebrities are using Twitter. Stone points out that the ability to directly communicate with fans not only gives them a deeper connection to the world around them, but it also enhances their ability to control their own messaging instead of being slaves to the tabloids.

Twitter is in its value-building phase right now. There will be more interviews, celebrities, and companies hopping on the Twitter bandwagon. Who knows. Maybe in a year, articles like this Business Insider plea for Google to buy Twitter for $1 Billion won't seem very outlandish at all.

Follow @markzabala on Twitter