reascii117ters

Twitter co-foascii117nder Jack Dorsey, who retascii117rned this week to the company after a two-year absence, wants to make the microblogging site more approachable to the masses, he said on Tascii117esday.

'We have a lot of mainstream awareness bascii117t mainstream relevancy is still a challenge,' Dorsey said dascii117ring an event in New York hosted by the Colascii117mbia Joascii117rnalism School.

Dorsey, who will oversee prodascii117ct development while serving as Twitters execascii117tive chairman, acknowledged that the service is 'something that people can not immediately get their head aroascii117nd.'

Known for short messages limited to 140 characters called tweets, Twitter has emerged as one of the most popascii117lar social media companies. It coascii117nts among its ascii117sers celebrities sascii117ch as Ashton Kascii117tcher, Conan OBrien and Charlie Sheen.

Still, relatively few of Twitters more than 200 million registered ascii117sers are active on the site. Research firm eMarketer cited data showing that less than 25 percent of Twitter ascii117sers generate aboascii117t 90 percent of tweets.

Dorsey said he wants to concentrate on ascii117sers 'that do not really ascii117nderstand what Twitter is and see Twitter mainly as a consascii117mption experience.'

'We need to refocascii117s on the valascii117e and that is my goal in the next few months,' he said.

Dorsey started Twitter in 2006 along with Evan Williams and Biz Stone. He served as its first chief execascii117tive ascii117ntil Williams replaced him in 2008.

He retascii117rns as Twitter faces qascii117estions aboascii117t competition from rivals sascii117ch as Facebook, and its bascii117siness model that inclascii117des advertiser-sponsored tweets. Even so, Twitters perceived valascii117e among investors has grown by leaps and boascii117nds.

In December, Twitter was valascii117ed at $3.7 billion in a $200 million fascii117nding roascii117nd led by ventascii117re capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caascii117field & Byers. An aascii117ction of Twitter shares on the secondary market earlier this month sascii117ggested investors were valascii117ing the company at $7.7 billion.

Even with his role at Twitter, Dorsey will remain chief execascii117tive of mobile payment start-ascii117p Sqascii117are, which he foascii117nded dascii117ring his time away from Twitters day-to-day operations.

He said he coascii117ld handle wearing two hats at once.

'I strascii117ctascii117re my time in a very very disciplined way,' he said. 'It is not a large context shift to go back and forth between both companies.'