Given how critical Twitter has become to so many in the tech business, the fact that it’s perceived as a struggling company may come as a shock. But it is.

What looks suspiciously like the ouster of CEO Dick Costolo makes it look like the company is badly in need of a new direction, and that needs a firm product vision, argues Matthew Ingram:

The biggest problem is that Twitter has never had anyone with a strong vision for the product itself—at least, not since Evan Williams left—and that is certain death for a technology company, especially one where the consumer user is all-important. There have been no less than five heads of product at Twitter, and none were able to put together a consistent vision and get buy-in from a board and a CEO who were more concerned about protecting the stock price and their venture backers.

Certainly the change comes at an odd moment, just when Twitter seems to be preparing itself to win a chunk of the ever-growing messaging space.

There’s plenty of good advice floating around for Twitter. Let’s see if they can find someone to implement it…