Why Apple will buy Twitter

http://www.alexmuir.com/2011/08/why-apple-will-buy-twitter/

by AlexMuir • 15 years ago

6 10 15 years ago

nagnatron• 15 years ago

This article should probably be titled: "I really, really wish Apple would buy Twitter!".

AlexMuir2• 15 years ago

I'm not sure I do wish it. I don't use Twitter and am no fan of it. I do hold shares in Apple but I suspect a Twitter acquisition would reduce their value if anything (at least in the short term).

michaelpinto• 15 years ago

I think if it was going to happen it would have happened by now -- the problem is that at the end of the day Steve Jobs believes in professional content over user generated content. So either you're the Beatles or looking to share photos of the kids with your grandparents. The Hulu deal would have made much better sense since it's more top down than say a YouTube. Also you get the feeling that they really enjoy building great products from scratch and hate legacy. So my bet is that you'll see Microsoft buy the company or even a Yahoo! rather than Apple.

idlewords2• 15 years ago

My favorite reason is "Apple could provide the missing revenue that Twitter needs." Synergy!

morisy• 15 years ago

These arguments boil down to fun reasons Apple should spend money to lose money, possibly long into the future, with no business upside. Dodgeball, MySpace and Orkut are all great warnings about companies that don't already "get" social from buying their way in.

AlexMuir2• 15 years ago

I agree, but at the same time I think if anyone could buy Twitter and keep the key people around and happy, it's got to be Apple. I'm not entirely convinced of my own argument, but my intuition says that Twitter needs some sort of plan, and Apple need some social elements. They've tried doing it themselves and failed.

Twitter is lossmaking because all it's selling is adverts that don't really work. Apple are selling products and if Twitter helps them to sell more products or lock customers in, then it may cease to be lossmaking.

idlewords2• 15 years ago

That's like saying 'it would be great if Santa were our principal'. I'm sure the people at Twitter would love it, but Santa is far better off employing industrious elves in foreign lands.

jemeshsu• 15 years ago

Does not seems like a good fit for me. Apple is probably rethink its social networking strategy after Ping fails. Twitter API from within iOS is just more like a testbed. It has some form of messaging in FaceTime and the upcoming iMessage. It has a successful GameCentre social networking platform. We probably will see some social networking feature in iCloud v2 but I'm guessing it will serve a purpose such as for iTunes (Ping) or for games (GameCentre). Maybe for mobile payment purpose? Apple has the foundation for a commercial social networking platform as there is a large percentage of Apple ID that is tied to credit cards. We probably will see some hints of what to come at WWDC 2012.

Commercialisation is one reason why Google+ wants you to use real name. And I believe whatever Apple build, it will not be just Facebook like but rather have hints of social networking here and there.

theotherdouche• 15 years ago

Apple is in the business of selling hardware. How does owning Twitter make it easier to sell hardware?

Besides, their foray into the ad business (iAds) was a miserable failure.

musket• 15 years ago

The points listed in that post are all perks if apple would actually buy twitter, but it doesn't explain why would apple want to buy twitter in the first place.

Why Apple will buy Twitter

Related Stories