Either Google is acquiring Twitter this week or Michael Arrington is desperate for traffic and stirring up rumors. I think that given the buzz around the Twitter Google news, the former is in the making. Arrington posts on TechCrunch that two trusted sources have confirmed that Google and Twitter are in talks for Twitter to be acquired by the search and communications company.
If this is accurate, it’s a brilliant deal for Google – the value of Twitter is only going to go up over time. And it will be Twitter founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone’s second sale to Google – they sold Blogger to them just five years ago. But there’s one big question – where’s Microsoft in all this? Letting Twitter go to Google only hurts them, badly, in the long term search game. This is an asset they need to be competing for aggressively.
Of course, there are sound connections between Stone, Williams and Google, as the same team behing Twitter launched and sold Blogger to Google close to 5 years ago. I was under the opinon however that another Google acquisition of a Stone Williams property was never to happen again. We’ll have updates on this rumor throughout that day.
I think Loren’s intuition is correct. But I’m not so sure the acquisition is brilliant with respect to Google. However, after Twitter celebrated only its third birthday last month, its rapid growth is really something of envy. Maybe Twitter should hold out to compete in the search game.
Great for Messrs Stone and Williams.
Not so great for Goog – buying at the peak.
Next question – where’s the exodus from Twitter going to go?
I hope they don’t buy them.
I really have enjoyed speculating what Twitter will do with what they created.
What would Google do? Just ad in AdSense? Tie in Google accounts?
This is huge. I can definitley see the interest in wanting to acquire Twitter, although I’m not 100% sure I’m fond of the buy out. I’m very much looking forward to the truth in all of this.
This does not surprise me one bit. I wrote a post regarding the issue not too long ago Why Google for fear (or buy) Twitter.
It’s very understandable that Google might wish to acquire anything that has a whale of traffic. However I think Twitter is growing too fast, particularly with the apps, and I’m not sure whether Google will find it easy to turn this into a money-making proposition.
I really hope this deal doesn’t go through.
The only reason we haven’t seen anti-trust suits against Google is because there is so little legal precedent when it comes to these emerging web technologies.
Twitter should stand alone at least for another six months. They are sitting on a tremendous goldmine that hasn’t come close to hitting its tipping point.
My prediction is that Evan Williams aren’t in this for the money and so they’ll turn down Google’s offers. I certainly hope so.
I meant that comment to read “Evan Williams and the other founders” – but it’s a Friday evening and my mind has probably already checked out.
Lord I hope I don’t log on one day and find Google ads everywhere. I also hope that I don’t get Tweeted ads that look like legitimate Tweets only to be ads. Please don’t change the interface like Facebook did and ruin my ability to navigate. I am smart but I got a million things going on and the last thing I need in my world is to re-learn an SEO app. Peace.
I really do think this would be a great deal for Google (initially) and a great deal for Stone and Williams, but in the long run I’d see the users losing out. Twitter is a fantastic service and tool but I’m afraid I believe it may be completely un-monitisable. I could be alone in this feeling, but it’s driven by the thinking that any route to make money from the service would ultimately destroy the service. Users will leave. Google may or may not realise this, and they may even think they have a plan to prevent it. But ultimately I really do think the sale of Twitter would be its downfall.
Maybe good for Google but good for twitter users, perhaps not…
I think Arrington is a bit off base. If twitter turned down facebook’s offer of $500 million, why would they accept a Google offer of $250 million. Think about it. Also according to @biz they’re not interested in being acquired. I think that’s smart and if they need any guidance, they’re more than welcome to call me and my team.
Michael Murdock, CEO
What’s in it for Google? Oh, how about a huge refining of their search returns based upon human input. Let’s face it 8-9 million twitterers isn’t that big a deal for a behemoth. I don’t know how you’d incorporate Twitter results in the google returns, but I know for current info, Twitter is my search engine of choice. Crowdsourcing works for search. Google is smart enough to figure this out.
Why does google have to own the net? I kind of like the separation of companies. But if someone offered me $250 million, I’d take it in a heart beat. Twitter is still relatively new and with 7 million unique visitors last month alone, i think google is making a pass to acquire what will grow to who knows. There are reports that twitter plans to turn a profit by offering analytics. I am sure google wants a piece of that.
I quess its still doing the American way is to fear competion then the one with the most money just buy it. Hope Twitter stays the same, or gets better. One thing I dont want to see is a flood of adds.
Real-time search trending and Twitter integration with Gmail is a formidable combination, one that neither Yahoo nor MSFT bring to the party.
@jack – I understand you don’t like advertising. If not ad-supported then, I’m assuming you would pay a healthy amount each month for a premium ad-free account, right? The money must come from somewhere. You run a farm. You’re a businessman. I know you know that
@dan – you’ve seen enough Google purchase of product. This is white-hot like YouTube was rather than, say, Jotspot or others. I’m sure Google would let the brand stand for now and focus on the scalability problems. (They could do that for Gmail too, and I would be happy)
I’m sure Twitter is a perfect match for Google. And the cocktail of adwords and Twitter could be pretty interesting.
So perfect for Google .. but for Twitter I really don’t know!
I think it’s still a good purchase. Yes, too bad for Google for not acting on this earlier, but better than wait until it doubles in price/value.
Twitter is a waste of time and an awful fad. 100 million users who never look at the site. If you’re a celebrity, or someone paid by celebrities to represent them on twitter, maybe people read on, but ultimately, nobody cares. It’s something to do, maybe.
Google should avoid this idiotic waste of internet attention. If they MUST have it, spend a weekend and program a better one. Lord knows they have the resources. How many people have a gmail account? There’s your target user base. Have at it, geniuses. Wanna waste a half billion or so? Go buy that stupid site and park it next to live journal, friendster and everything else people got tired of.
Twitter… pfft. Micro blogging is pointless.
How is that Blogger working out for you, google? Do you not notice twitter is basically blogger, but worse? Kudos.
I’m done with this. Learn how to code, searchenginejournal.com, then maybe you won’t gussy up websites with zero use.
May twitter fail and burn in the sewer from whence it came.
PEACE OUT!
-$$$ thug money lol
thankks you
sohbet chat
Can’t see really why they would want except if they own it, it’s not competing with them in any way. As mentioned there a re a lot of up and coming semi-popular that Google has acquired only to do nothing with once the majority of people lost interest. Who knows the logic or lack of it in these deals, I’m sure there is something behind it. Perhaps it’s worth taking them on just in case it is the next big thing. But I don’t see Twitter accepting any offers now they’ve just declared they are now making a profit. Well, none as low as 250 million.
The price will deinitely go up in the next months and years – in my opinion it is better to buy it today and not waitin for another chance. It is crazy how twitter grew in the last months; there will be dfinitely more advertising when it get sold, and what is with the accounts and personal datas? I do not know where all that “let everybody know everything of me” leads to in the next years…