Twitter, Twitter, Google?
Posted: April 22, 2009 | Amanda Fildes
It seems like wherever you turn you can’t help but encounter Twitter. The formerly under the radar tool has come main stream in full force. In the last few weeks I have heard it discussed on no less than 7 news programs-entertainment and otherwise. Even Martha Stewart’s dogs are getting into the action!
But the one story that generated the greatest buzz was about the possibility of Google acquiring Twitter. Whether you think the story is true or false, you likely have an opinion about Twitter and potentially about Google owning it.
Those who use (and love) this micro-blogging functionality fire off frequent updates known as tweets that readers devour. By contrast, there many of people who haven’t hopped on the Twitter bandwagon say that they couldn’t imagine creating or receiving tweets so often. The line between these groups is clear.
What is less clear is whether users think Google buying Twitter is a good idea. Much of the feedback I have come across online and heard from Twitter users has to do with fears of Google ‘changing’ Twitter by adding adds or charging for use. Other people think that Google can bring welcomed stability and increased functionality to Twitter.
So I guess the question you have to ask yourself is; can you deal with a few Google ads if it means doing away with the famous Twitter ‘fail whale’?
Twitter offers Google far more than just one more notch in its digital belt. The biggest advantage in the joining of Google and Twitter is to enhance what Google does best - search. People look for answers to questions in Twitter by using Google’s search engine and the search function on Twitter can find you results on topics from the weather, to business, or even a plane landing in the Hudson River. The joining of these two platforms could greatly enhance Google’s position as a search leader by offering a new variety of results.
Only time will tell if Google will join forces with Twitter, but one thing that is for sure, Twitter could give Google the capability to integrate real-time content into search results and change the way Google delivers information.
