Recently beat down by poor earnings, Twitter (TWTR) has become
more attractive to potential suitors - but who fits the bill best? In my
opinion Microsoft (MSFT) stands out as the very best fit.
Why?
It's simple, having just acquired LinkedIn (which will hopefully soon be integrated in the ubiquitous Office suite), Twitter would give the software giant a powerful social network component to round out Office.
Twitter claims to have over 300 million active users every month. However, its total reach is said to approach 800 million people. This, of course includes tweets that appear outside of Twitter - such as those on the bottom of reality TV shows, news and sporting events, etc. etc.
Unfortunately, Twitter reported recently that the number of current quarter users increased only 1% over the prior quarter. Needless to say, that did not help its case with investors.
To counter this apparent stagnation in growth, Twitter has recently created a new client app by the name of Nuzzel. This new app shows traditional Twitter users which links are sent out the most with those that a user follows.
Additionally, a new moments tab was added to bring even more relevant content directly to users.
Yet, one of the biggest problems facing users is still how to find the vast volume of content that Twitter continues to accumulate. For example, how can a student doing research, or a professional looking for information on a specific topic search through Twitter to gain access quickly?
But, what if Twitter were acquired by Microsoft and integrated into the Office suite?
Now, just imagine, having the social network power of tweeting directly from Outlook. An email (or sections of it) could easily be tweeted out to group(s) with speed of a few mouse clicks - right before it is sent to its intended recipients.
Or, imagine during composition of a Word doc the ability to tweet out all (or part) of a doc to selected groups?
Excel would benefit by again allowing all (or part) of a spreadsheet to tweeted out to a group(s).
In PowerPoint, (and yes even Publisher) entire presentations could be tweeted to selected groups too. The near instant feedback alone would be worth the price.
Sadly, only Access might be left behind - the need to tweet tables or an entire database would not be at the top of most user's needs.
In my humble opinion, at its current valuation, Microsoft should take a serious look at Twitter - before another suitor grabs hold and a bidding war ensues.
Why?
It's simple, having just acquired LinkedIn (which will hopefully soon be integrated in the ubiquitous Office suite), Twitter would give the software giant a powerful social network component to round out Office.
Twitter claims to have over 300 million active users every month. However, its total reach is said to approach 800 million people. This, of course includes tweets that appear outside of Twitter - such as those on the bottom of reality TV shows, news and sporting events, etc. etc.
Unfortunately, Twitter reported recently that the number of current quarter users increased only 1% over the prior quarter. Needless to say, that did not help its case with investors.
To counter this apparent stagnation in growth, Twitter has recently created a new client app by the name of Nuzzel. This new app shows traditional Twitter users which links are sent out the most with those that a user follows.
Additionally, a new moments tab was added to bring even more relevant content directly to users.
Yet, one of the biggest problems facing users is still how to find the vast volume of content that Twitter continues to accumulate. For example, how can a student doing research, or a professional looking for information on a specific topic search through Twitter to gain access quickly?
But, what if Twitter were acquired by Microsoft and integrated into the Office suite?
Now, just imagine, having the social network power of tweeting directly from Outlook. An email (or sections of it) could easily be tweeted out to group(s) with speed of a few mouse clicks - right before it is sent to its intended recipients.
Or, imagine during composition of a Word doc the ability to tweet out all (or part) of a doc to selected groups?
Excel would benefit by again allowing all (or part) of a spreadsheet to tweeted out to a group(s).
In PowerPoint, (and yes even Publisher) entire presentations could be tweeted to selected groups too. The near instant feedback alone would be worth the price.
Sadly, only Access might be left behind - the need to tweet tables or an entire database would not be at the top of most user's needs.
In my humble opinion, at its current valuation, Microsoft should take a serious look at Twitter - before another suitor grabs hold and a bidding war ensues.