Here’s an article from Wired about how the Twitter “Bird” was purchased from iStockphoto for $10 – $15.  Apparently some graphic designers aren’t happy about sites like iStockphoto and crowdsourcing in general.  This sounds to me like the same whining coming out of the mouths of developers upset about 99-cents iPhone applications.   With respect to this, the Twitter artist, Simon Oxley said:

“I believe a designer can only be ‘hurt’ when they stand in line — instead of constantly seeking new inspiration and producing new things with their ever-increasing experiences.”

I couldn’t agree more.  Sell your creativity.  However, I do believe Twitter needs to credit Mr. Oxley for his design on their website.