Google to Twitter: Let's Make a Deal

E-Commerce Times reports that Google is seeking to acquire Twitter, the wildly popular 140-character-or-less micro-blogging service. This is after the world's largest social network Facebook made an offer of $500 million ($100 million of that in cash!) for Twitter last December, which was rejected.

Why does everyone seem so anxious to get their hands on Twitter? Silly name notwithstanding, Twitter has revolutionized both social networking and blogging in one fell swoop. From its simplicity, to its large audience, to its usefulness, to its just-plain-cool-ness, Twitter is taking the world by storm. First and foremost among the threatened is Facebook, which even recently re-designed the way its service works in March in order to more closely imitate Twitter.

Will a deal with Google be completed? At this point, it's hard to say as all the talk is merely in the form of rumors. However, with the chatter becoming louder and louder one can only imagine that Google at least plans to make an offer, even if it is turned down.

Why might a deal not be completed? Twitter just received $35 million in additional venture capital funding in February, enough to sustain its business for at least another year. Plus, if everyone wants what Twitter's got, why not hold out for a higher price from, say, Microsoft or Yahoo? (Or even a higher second bid from Facebook or Google.)

This much is clear: everyone wants Twitter, and someone will end up getting their hands on the company.