Google vs Twitter vs Facebook: BATTLE!
Raise your hand if you want to own Twitter. Now that you only have one hand free, you are going to need to offer something neither Facebook nor Google has (including more than a quarter million dollars in cash apparently). Based on Biz Stone’s recent post about negotiations with Google, I am going to assume Twitter won’t be getting acquired any time soon.
Twitter, Google, and Facebook each offer unique value, but obviously they are linked whether they (or we) like it or not. Until recently, Facebook was the news-maker and Google was the understood powerhouse of the Internet. Google is still the undeniable heavyweight champion of the world…but is there a contender? And can Facebook only make news these days if it attempts to buy Twitter?
We already know why Facebook is Scared of Twitter (Basically, Facebook is afraid that Twitter has a better community building mechanism, and businesses and celebrities are able to connect with customers/fans better). Should Google be scared as well? It has been no secret that a major chunk of Twitter’s value can be found in the search abilities. Why else would Twitter jump all over Summize (well, formerly Summize – search.twitter.com* now)? The question is not whether real time search is useful, but whether real time search competes with Google search.
TechCrunch posted this week that “[Twitter] holds the keys to the best real time database and search engine on the Internet, and Google doesn’t even have a horse in the game.” Apparently Google thinks real time search is a threat, but they are confident that both can not only survive, but are necessary. I agree.
So, Twitter is now valuable for community building and real time search. Which is more important to Twitter and the market? I appreciate that Twitter has hardly even flinched at the mention of a buy out because I want them to develop the product as they see fit rather than primarily influenced by search or community driven goals.
Twitter has pitted Google against Facebook. Search vs Coummunity. Until further notice, Twitter, the middle man, is winning this three-way battle. I believe the Twitter community could survive without search, but the search function of Twitter could not survive without a strong community. On the other hand, searching Twitter allows the community to grow and be useful for business…
What do you think? What is Twitter’s main purpose or value? Will Twitter sell out? Would the community’s worth slowly diminish without an effective search platform?
*If you haven’t heard of, seen, or been chosen to try the new interface Twitter is testing, you are missing out. While it is much more enjoyable to look at, one of the best parts is a search box in the sidebar and a list of trending topics directly below that. Miss out no more (view it here)!
Nice post Scott…apparently we had similar thoughts because we both blogged about it within minutes of each other. I’m all for Twitter. I like its simplicity and getting information such as updated news and cool sites and blogs that I might not have found without Twitter. I think they might sell out (especially if the money is right).
I love the fact that Twitter has basically thrown the online balance off of its axis at this point. It’s a whole new fork in the road that people should have seen coming and didn’t, and now things are all willy-nilly in the online community.
That said, I think Twitter’s value is that it covers two bases more efficiently than anything in the online world. If someone wants, his or her account can be primarily business-focused. If someone else just wants to be in touch with friends, they can. Want to combine the two? Go for it.
And that’s where it’s just too much for anyone else to handle. Facebook isn’t much of a place for “business” in my mind (for the most part). Google is really no place to build relationships (beyond helping you find blogs you are interested in reading). To Twitter’s credit, they didn’t just come in and try to fill that hole – they came in and smashed the boundaries of that hole to smithereens.
The Twitter community is more close-knit and intertwined than Facebook’s (in my opinion), and the search function is more beneficial in terms of brand management and awareness than Google. Would Twitter’s value diminish without a search function? Yes. But that’s like asking if Facebook’s value would diminish if you could ONLY connect with college friends or saying you could ONLY search websites (not photos, videos, etc.) on Google. I think search is a part of Twitter that takes Twitter from “cool” to “essential.”
In that vein, I’d say Twitter should spend some more time figuring out what other capabilities it can capitalize on (meaning, if they’d sold out before Twitter Search/Summize had been introduced, they wouldn’t have had anywhere near as much potential profit). If they spend 6 months to a year without any groundbreaking additions (or goals for additional elements they’d like to create), then they should consider an option to sell out. Until then, I say keep stalling and build that value.
Of course, I’d probably sell it sooner than later. Because millions of dollars is quite a bit of money, if you ask me.