Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Apple Reportedly Considering Huge Investment In Twitter

Posted by Soulskill on from the keeping-up-with-the-googses dept.

The NY Times reports that Apple has internally discussed an investment into Twitter to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. From the article: "There is no guarantee that the two companies, which are not in negotiations at the moment, will come to an agreement. But the earlier talks are a sign that they may form a stronger partnership amid intensifying competition from the likes of Google and Facebook. Apple has not made many friends in social media. Its relationship with Facebook, for example, has been strained since a deal to build Facebook features into Ping, Apple's music-centric social network, fell apart. Facebook is also aligned with Microsoft, which owns a small stake in it. And Google, an Apple rival in the phone market, has been pushing its own social network, Google Plus. 'Apple doesn't have to own a social network,' Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said at a recent technology conference. 'But does Apple need to be social? Yes.'"

7 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. Anyone here by darkfeline · · Score: 5, Funny

    actually use twitter? In my mind, all it is is vendor-locked-down RSS feeds for monkeys with short attention spans. Does that intersect with Apple's userbase at all?

    1. Re:Anyone here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes, totally

  2. Great by undulato · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now I'll _have_ on to Google plus..

  3. Re:What else are they going to do with the cash? by knuthin · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...rather than buying startups like Microsoft. Time will tell.

    I had to read this twice. You probably meant "rather than buying startups, like Microsoft does."

    --
    Some apps are WYSIWYG. Some others are WYSIWTF.
  4. Re:How about they improve the Finder instead? by Tough+Love · · Score: 4, Funny

    I heard that Apple plans to introduce a one-button keyboard.

    --
    When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  5. Re:How about they improve the Finder instead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah: and the button is called "PAY"

  6. Re:What else are they going to do with the cash? by jhigh · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm not certain what the OP meant, but I believe that Google acquiring Twitter would be a huge step forward for G+. The biggest problem that G+ has is that, while lots of people may have accounts, no one actually uses their account. If I could integrate Twitter and post to my G+, I would do so in a heartbeat. You would suddenly be taking a great deal of content from Twitter and cross-publishing it onto G+ where others could comment on it, share it, etc.

    I think that it could make G+ a real player in social media.

    --
    Social Engineering Expert: Because there is no patch for stupidity.