An increasing number of important people believe Google should acquire Twitter
AP / Getty Images / Justin SullivanTwitter CEO Dick Costolo and Google founder Larry Page.
Last month, we told you some gossip that was making the rounds at the big Engage 2015 social media conference in Prague. The theory is that Twitter's new deal with Google - in which advertisers are now able to buy ads on Twitter through Google's Doubleclick buying system and Google will display real-time tweets as search results - is a test-run so that Google can see if Twitter is worth acquiring.Since then, the drumbeat for this theory has gotten louder:
- Twitter investor Chris Sacca - one of the company's biggest stockholders - told CNBC "From the Google side, it's an instant fit. This is the thing Google has never had."
- Bloomberg digital editor Joshua Topolsky agrees.
- As does respected tech writer Om Malik, who said it was "the most viable exit option from an investor standpoint."
- A couple of days ago, sources reminded Business Insider that when Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer was at Google she believed Google should buy Twitter.
- And Socialbakers CEO Jan Rezab, one of Twitter's bigger advertising clients, also backed the #Twoogle theory.
Whether this all adds up to actual pressure on Google or Twitter to do a "Twoogle" deal is a whole separate question, of course. Google doesn't need Twitter from a financial point of view (although full access to tweets would help its search engine's quest for relevancy). And Twitter doesn't need to be owned by Google, it can survive just fine on its own.
Two of the seven members of Twitter's board are founders of the company and another is CEO Dick Costolo. These guys doubtless favour their company's independence.
So don't hold your breathe. But still... it's surprising how quickly this theory has grown legs.
Disclaimer: The author owns Twitter stock.