Filed under: Internet, Text, Google, Search
Google isn't buying Twitter, but I wish they would
Ok, maybe TechCrunch blew it again (they certainly have enough other sites talking this morning). Maybe Google isn't in "late stage talks" with Twitter regarding a purchase, but I sure wish they were. Oh well, that's what happens when you cite "unnamed sources."
Reality aside, the move could make sense for Google, who already command more than 60% of the search market. Twitter's rapid rise in popularity and use has left it bursting at the seams with content yet there's still no profit making going on. Who better to step in and turn a giant pile of searchable data into a steady stream of cash than Google?
Although, since the content is already on the web anyway, why would Google need to buy Twitter? Once they figure out a better way to integrate Twitter results, they can monetize it with AdSense like everything else on the Internet.
I, for one, would love to see this happen anyway. Maybe Google would put together a Labs team and start rolling out test features like an auto-refreshing home page, the ability to selectively hide @replies or filter specific keywords, and a search feature that isn't quite so clumsy.
Hell, Twitter has been teasing us with search on the home page for months and it's still being handed out like the key to the executive washroom. The rest of us have to be content with installing Userscripts to hack in the functionality ourselves. Maybe we'd see that change if someone else entered the picture.
It would also be nice to kiss the damned Fail Whale goodbye forever, and if anyone has the ability to do that, it's Google - what with all those fancy, hand-made servers they have at their disposal.
If nothing else, it would certainly be fun to see an off-target post by TechCrunch actually come full-circle and become true.
Reality aside, the move could make sense for Google, who already command more than 60% of the search market. Twitter's rapid rise in popularity and use has left it bursting at the seams with content yet there's still no profit making going on. Who better to step in and turn a giant pile of searchable data into a steady stream of cash than Google?
Although, since the content is already on the web anyway, why would Google need to buy Twitter? Once they figure out a better way to integrate Twitter results, they can monetize it with AdSense like everything else on the Internet.
I, for one, would love to see this happen anyway. Maybe Google would put together a Labs team and start rolling out test features like an auto-refreshing home page, the ability to selectively hide @replies or filter specific keywords, and a search feature that isn't quite so clumsy.
Hell, Twitter has been teasing us with search on the home page for months and it's still being handed out like the key to the executive washroom. The rest of us have to be content with installing Userscripts to hack in the functionality ourselves. Maybe we'd see that change if someone else entered the picture.
It would also be nice to kiss the damned Fail Whale goodbye forever, and if anyone has the ability to do that, it's Google - what with all those fancy, hand-made servers they have at their disposal.
If nothing else, it would certainly be fun to see an off-target post by TechCrunch actually come full-circle and become true.
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Todd said 12:41PM on 4-03-2009
Firefox plug-in to set automatic page refresh time:
http://reloadevery.mozdev.org
...and you can turn off @ replys in your Twitter account settings.
At least you didn't whine about putting followers into groups ( Which Sideline does, by the way)!
: P
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R said 4:51PM on 4-03-2009
Why would Google buy Twitter to begin with? They bought Jaiku, didn't know how to make any money from it, and then they cast it aside. I have a feeling the same would have happened if they bought Twitter.
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Generic said 8:46AM on 4-04-2009
No no no. I don't want Google to buy twitter. Twitter should always be unique, and if Google takes over, it will be turned into a white page optimized for performance. Google isn't the holy grail of the internet, really. Google is Google and not twitter.
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Ajay said 3:50PM on 4-04-2009
If Google busy Twitter, we're most likely seeing the loss of a really good micro-blogging platform.
They took over Feeddemon and over the past few months, it's been a mess. Support is an all time low and I'm sure Twitter will just follow suit!
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Korangulation said 4:04PM on 4-04-2009
I still fail to see what the point of twitter is, and I don't know anyone who does either. I know people who use it, mostly because they hear so much about it from blogs and feel like they SHOULD be using it, but they don't see much value in it either...
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Quikboy said 1:30AM on 4-06-2009
Why does it need to be monetized? If it's running fine without it, why the sudden the need to monetize it? Is that why you want Twitter to be bought? So Google (who coincidently has a stake in AOL who owns Weblogs Inc.) can get some more moolah? I know there's always a Google slant, but this is just ridiculous.
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