As Twitter continues to grow and attract more and more users wondering why anyone would want to know that they just sneezed, the big question has been how to monetize the three year old site. Some have argued for paid placements, which would be about as annoying as receiving random text messages from Nike on your cell phone. Others have gone for the pay to play philosophy, where users could pay a fee for a premium account complete with a Twitter concierge service. Well not really, it was all tongue in cheek.

In the meantime Mashable.com has stepped up to offer an innovative way for companies to advertise on their site. They’re now syndicating Twitter accounts in their sidebar under the heading “Twitter Brand Sponsors”.

There’s a lot to love about this concept, particularly the fact that this is dynamic and engaging advertising. As a site visitor, I’d much rather see a small icon with a Tweet than a banner with a call to action.

Hopefully when Mashable has more data, they’ll provide share some insight as to the click through rates of banner advertising compared to the syndicated Twitter feed advertising.

Firms Seek Profit in Twitter’s Chatter [NYT]