Whilst Kara Swisher at All Things Digital denies that Google are ‘not in late stage talks’ to buy Twitter, the groundswell of thought is that it makes perfect sense for both parties. Twitter lets users post short 140-character messages and increasingly has moved beyond simply the friends following friends scenario into a serious news delivery platform. Twitter was initially hindered by server outages and still has some way to go in confirming features currently enabled by third party apps but is offering users an easier and faster way to connect than Facebook.

Whilst Twitter turned down an offer from Facebook recently the Google rumours perhaps make more sense. Google’s business model is about search and so far it has not been able to offer a compelling social space. Twitter users are seeing how the service is not simply about viewing someone’s status but can also be about search. This is crucial to Twitter’s business model because whilst social hubs carry huge amounts of users they often struggle to find ways of generating revenue. However search can make money as proven by Google. 

Where Twitter works well is in near real-time results. If Google can tap into this and then strive to combine the excellent functionality of so many third party Twitter apps then this could be a very powerful tool indeed.

Where does this leave Facebook? Recently the popular social networking site came under attack by millions of its users who found the new design and functionality confusing. The simplicity but power of Twitter and the external third party apps tapping into the Twitter API mean that this social hub now might steal people away from an increasingly bloated Facebook.