Should Google have bought Twitter instead of coming up with Buzz?

It has been over a week since Google introduced Buzz to the world. Some have liked it, others have not really thought it to be very useful. I am somewhere in the middle with my opinion on Buzz. The whole idea of a mash-up of Twitter and Facebook was very exciting. That mash-up is Google Buzz.

Google Buzz is available at Gmail. The constant chatter on Buzz can be a little irritating if not downright offending. Some have wondered why did Google not just create a separate landing page for Buzz like they have for Docs, Calendar and Search. I do think it would be a better way to handle Google Buzz and won’t be surprised if Google does come up with Buzz website very soon.

I think Google Buzz has made its way into the Gmail because of how Yahoo Meme went. Yahoo Meme was supposed to the next Twitter killer and ended up killing pretty much nothing. I won’t be surprised if sometime in the future Yahoo itself kills off Yahoo Meme.

This leaves me to the question on why did Google not just buy Twitter? Would it not be a great idea to have Twitter integrated to Gmail instead of a completely new social media called Buzz. I do not think I would use Twitter any less because of Buzz and it is not that I would stop using Buzz.

Twitter does not have any business model which means they do not operate on revenues as they have not monetized. Google would really make a killing if they bought Twitter and worked on it as a provider of local news or trends. It’s local search capabilities would be very highly useful. Just apply the concept of Page Ranks to Twitter profiles and Adwords to Tweet links and you have a winning model for revenues.

So what do you think? Do you think Google should have bought Twitter instead of coming up with Google Buzz. Do drop in your comments with your views on Google Buzz and Twitter.

8 Comments

Rishabh February 19, 2010

“Just apply the concept of Page Ranks to Twitter profiles and Adwords to Tweet links and you have a winning model for revenue”

>>Claps!!<>umm.. maybe, maybe not. With Buzz, the time I spent on gmail has increased exponentially. But I guess, if google would’ve bought twitter, things would have been much more interesting!

vivek jain February 20, 2010

sound like this is coming straight from Microsoft’s strategical team.. i mean “buying out the competition’ is microsoft’s mantra..

Aditya Kane February 20, 2010

@vivek: On contary.. I think Google does great things when it buys stuff.. Great example is Google Earth ( Keyhole Inc) and You Tube.. Ofcourse not much has been done to Orkut but then Twitter being a Google company could be very exciting.

Gaurav Agrawal February 20, 2010

Buzz is most under-developed Google Product,
Or should I Say
I Hate it because I am tired of Social Networking Sites,
No point in making same thing again and again…

Pushkin February 20, 2010

i think google buzz sucks it’s just a boring thing or nothing

Richie S. February 20, 2010

Nevertheless that twitter in Gmail would have been a stupendous achievement for Google, buying out a company, and especially a largely successful one like twitter, has its implications and many other complicated stuff.

Of course there were rumors (or weren’t they?) that Google was in talks with twitter about buying them out (http://techcrunch.com/2009/04/02/sources-google-in-late-stage-talks-to-buy-twitter/), but for someone like twitter who has the capability in them to change the way the game is being played, I think I can safely assume that twitter won’t be going to any company soon.

Himanshu September 30, 2010

Nice insights Aditya. With the increasing impact of Facebook, Google should do something big in reply. Creating new and unimpressive services like buzz is not a solution. Acquiring establish mediums is the best solution. Yeah, you are right. Google should buy Twitter to compensate its losing visitors impact.