

Why Apple will buy Twitter - AlexMuir
http://www.alexmuir.com/2011/08/why-apple-will-buy-twitter/

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michaelpinto
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.

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

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AlexMuir
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).

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morisy
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.

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AlexMuir
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.

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idlewords
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.

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jemeshsu
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.

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

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theotherdouche
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.

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musket
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.

