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Will Apple Buy Twitter?Valleywag reports a deal’s in the works.by Eric Johnson on May 05, 2009Owen Thomas of Valleywag reports this morning that Apple is in serious negotiations to buy Twitter, for up to $700 million. Thomas attributes the information to a source who “has been recruited by Apple for a senior position.” According to the source, the deal is set to go down by June 8, when Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference launches in San Jose. Thomas, who has been critical of Twitter on his blog, analyzes the deal today and concludes it is not so much about revenue, but has more to do with peripheral values Twitter might bring to Apple. “What does Twitter, an adorable but unprofitable startup, have to do with a hardware company like Apple? The iPhone is the obvious driver of the deal: The many iPhone apps like Tweetie that people use to post Twitter messages are hot sellers for Apple.” The biggest benefit, Thomas concludes, is the culture that comes with the super-startup. “While Apple might have its pick of hardware designers and software engineers, Web developers are a breed apart — and they have balked at working at a company like Apple, which may look innovative to the world at large, but seems fusty and hidebound to the Mission hipsters who build websites. You'll hear the complaints: Apple's secretive and paranoid, resistant to the wide-open ways of the Web. Twitter, of course, is open in both nature and spirit. “If Apple buys Twitter, it won't be about making money. It will be about making a statement. In 140 characters or less. In related news, Valleywag reported yesterday that Thomas was leaving, perhaps to join the San Jose-based NBC11: “After terrorizing tech managers, Owen Thomas has decided to join 'em. … He's keeping mum on his new gig, but we hear it involves the letters N, B, and C and will focus on Bay Area news.” by Eric Johnson on May 05, 2009 |
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