Twitter, the micro-blogging social media platform, is set to branch out to Ireland as part of the IDA’s initiative. As part of a recovery plan for the Irish economy, Ireland’s Investment and Development Agency (IDA) has taken a special focus on attracting social media businesses to open up on Irish soil.

"Twitter is a good addition and if we get them early enough, companies tend to grow in Ireland," said Barry O'Leary, the chief executive of the IDA, in an article in The Telegraph.Twitter isn’t the first social media business to skip the pond - Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Zynga also have bases in Ireland.

The California office of the IDA, which set up business with the San Francisco based Twitter headquarters, is responsible for “combing Silicon Valley for start-ups that are likely to be successful and need a European base.” With over 100 million users, Twitter was an obvious and alluring choice.
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In addition to Twitter, the IDA will announce the investment of five foreign companies over the next week. Foreign investment is important to the recovery of the Irish economy as it generates 80 percent of the country’s exports Accordingly, the IDA has established more global offices in China, India and Singapore.

However, despite Twitter saying earlier this year that nearly 200 million tweets are being sent per day, there are still concerns about the sustainability of the five-year-old company that has . Twitter focuses on selling advertising as a means of revenue.

After opening an office in London earlier this year, it is still unclear whether Twitter will opt for Dublin or a UK-city to be its European headquarter location. As it expands internationally, Twitter said that it will "continue to evaluate the need to designate a location for our non-US headquarters."