Facebook to Buy Twitter? Not Likely.
2 Comments Published by Rodney Rumford September 25th, 2008 in Facebook, twitter.
Is it just me or has anyone noticed how often people are using their twitter tweets to update their facebook status? This is a growing trend that we have noticed. There is actually a facebook application that ties your accounts together here: http://apps.new.facebook.com/twitter It goes down frequently; kind of like twitter. 
Facebook has put a stake in the ground in twitterland and has 637 followers and zero updates and they follow no one. Is this yet another example of a hijacked brand on twitter or is something going on that we are not aware of? If it is in fact hijacked facebook will have no trouble getting it back.
It might just make some sense for facebook to purchase the twitter micro-blogging platform for several reasons. The biggest reason just might be to take control of the twitter API which has spawned over 200 new start-up sites that are built off of the twitter API. Twitter has done an excellent job of letting their data flow outside of the walls of twitter. The likelihood that facebook would purchase twitter in my estimation is very very low.
I use Facebook a lot more than Twitter, so I use TwitterFeed, which updates my Twitter status with my Facebook status.
An acquisition like that makes sense in theory because both platforms are relationship-focused, but I think the differences of a microblogging service like Twitter and a comprehensive social networking product like Facebook are too vast to form a cohesive strategic partnership, and would end up diluting both brands. Especially because, for a majority of users, Twitter usage has dwarfed that of Facebook. The ease of being able to interact regularly, quickly, and in real time on Twitter offers far greater relationship-building benefits than joining a slew of groups on Facebook only to be spammed by the admins on a daily basis.
Facebook is a chore, creating another inbox to maintain with overwhelming amounts of fan pages, groups, and apps whereas the ease of Twitter makes it seamless to integrate into your daily routine — and maintain on an ongoing basis. Sustaining a brand long-term is the key, and despite all of the technical issues, Twitter has been able to maintain a leadership role in the microblogging space. And the Twitter spin-offs that continue to pop up are testament to that. In my opinion, Twitter would be better served in getting their act together, correcting their [abundance of] technical issues, and expanding their offering to solidify their position in the market. In doing so, they will regain any share of voice they lost while creating a solid social interface that is able to meet multiple user needs.