As part of the social networking site's new terms of service, tweets now belong to the person writing them, not to the website.

 

The Twitter blog outlined some of the aspects of the web page will be affected by the changes, including marketing.

 

It stated it will "leave the door open for advertising" and reiterating the fact that the firm wishes to consider all of its options on the issue.

 

While the tweets themselves are owned by the author, the site has the right to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute them.

 

Furthermore, new rules surrounding APIs and spam have been outlined.

 

In a statement Twitter said: "It's important that everyone who tweets, develops apps, or is simply interested in Twitter understands that it's not about the technology, it's about how we all use the service that matters most."

 

A survey conducted by the Kamaron Research Institute recently revealed that most people who use the networking service do so to promote their business.

 

In fact, eight out of ten respondents claimed they publish company-related tweets.