Twitter fans will soon get their first dose of ad-added Tweets as the popular social networking site begins its foray into making money off advertising — finally.

The site’s leaders have resisted traditional Web advertising since Twitter was founded, but the lure of advertising revenue seems to have become too great to resist.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone blogged about the decision yesterday, and if anyone can understand his rambling, business-speak reasoning, we’d love to hear a translation.

Stone wrote: “Stubborn insistence on a slow and thoughtful approach to monetization — one which puts users first, amplifies existing value, and generates profit has frustrated some Twitter watchers.”

Say what?

As for why Twitter’s including advertising now, Stone issues forth this gem: “Over the years, we’ve resisted introducing a traditional Web advertising model because we wanted to optimize for value before profit. The open exchange of information creates opportunities for individuals, organizations, and businesses alike. We recognized value in this exchange and planned to amplify it in a meaningful and relevant manner.”

And so the convoluted and confusing rationalization goes.

The bottom line is that some Tweets will get ads. Which ones? It’s hard to tell. Who will see them? Again, not sure.

In a moment of semi-clarity, Stone writes that “Promoted Tweets” are ordinary Tweets that businesses and organizations want to highlight to a wider group of users. Translation (and we’re guessing here): If something a user Tweets makes folks want to buy a product or service from an advertiser, a search result for that Tweet could also return an ad.

Only about 2-10% of users will begin to see these sponsored tweets at the top of certain Twitter search results pages.

Among the companies to jump on this new Twitter program: Best Buy, Starbucks and Virgin America.

Of course, Twitter wants to make sure its users understand that this is all for their own good. Writes the ever-sincere Stone: “We strongly believe that Promoted Tweets should be useful to you.”

Maybe we should start thanking Twitter now.

Tags: ads, Promoted Tweets, Twitter