Is Google about to buy Twitter? Several sources say that the search giant is in negotiations to buy the micro-blogging platform. Is search about to get all shook up?
TechCrunch reports two separate sources claiming that Google is in the late stages of a deal to buy Twitter, while another says that the buy out is at a much earlier stage.
Nobody knows how much Google might pay for Twitter, or even if the rumours are true, but it’d make perfect sense for Google. We’ve looked at how Twitter could be pioneering a new type of realtime search, which had Facebook so worried it tried and failed to buy Twitter not too long ago with its own stock. Unlike Facebook though, Google is a public company, so those shares will be worth a set amount, which could make a deal much sweeter for Biz Stone and Evan Williams.
The only question is, would Google owning Twitter be useful for us? On the one hand, it’d be great to have Twitter search integrated into the Google homepage, but on the other, it’d be nice to see a genuine and growing rival to Google in search. We’ll keep you posted.
Out TBC | £TBC | Google (Via TechCrunch)
A rival to Google in search? Twitter? It’s as much a rival to Boeing in aircraft manufacture.
Of course it’s not even close to being a rival yet, but Twitter already does one aspect of search better than Google.
http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2009-03-24-n84.html
Google clearly wants in on realtime search. I know I find it very useful in work, and at the moment a site like Twitterfall is much better at tracking breaking events than anything Google offers. One way or another, Google wants in on what could turn out to be a new slice of advertising pie.