How is that a simple vision? Closer to what???

Twitter is a tool for broadcasting.

Like blogging, but without permanence:

Instead of competing in the content business, Twitter is trying to train influential creators to use the service more effectively. For example, Mr. Costolo said, there are Twitter employees who work with celebrities, politicians, athletes and media outlets to hone the best use of the service. “We call them V.I.T.’s internally, Very Important Tweeters. It’s cute; we’re all about being adorable and cute,” he said.

With all of this content from V.I.T.’s and media companies, Twitter has grown as a burgeoning destination for advertisers.

Mr. Costolo noted that, over all, “the engagement rates on ads are great.” Promoted Tweets are seeing greater “percentage points of engagement” compared with traditional Web advertisements that are often only clicked at a rate of a fraction of a percent. Mobile ads are a perfect betrothal as people engage with Twitter more on mobile phones than the desktop, he said.

Yet even with the introduction of ads and content-branded Twitter destinations, Mr. Costolo still sees the company as a communication platform above all else.

“Our vision for the company is simple: Twitter brings you closer,” Mr. Costolo said in conclusion. ”You can say something now and broadcast and everyone around the world sees it immediately.”

But Mr. Costolo, that's what blogging is.

Tumblr and Facebook pages and Google+ offer the same thing.

The older it gets, the less differentiated Twitter seems.

Plus it keeps stopping other services from using its APIs. The latest casualty? Instagram: http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-blocks-instagram-find-friends-api-2012-7

Seems like Twitter's "vision" is targeted to advertisers: it brings you closer to the consumer. Remember: you're not the customer, you're the product!

We are not the customers of Facebook (or Twitter).

Advertisers are the real users of Facebook; people are Facebook's product.

This is just as true for Twitter.