When Google buys Twitter

I’m out on a limb for this one. I think it’s just a matter of time before Google swoops in for Twitter.

Now, while you may be thinking “…but Google already owns Jaiku”, let’s be real - Jaiku ain’t no match for Twitter. The sheer growth of Twitter users over its rivals puts it in a firm position to lead the microblogging space for years to come.

The events of 2008:

1. Pownce gets bought over by Six Apart and shuts down its service.
2. Google indexes Twitter tags (e.g. #mumbai) and displays them in search results.
3. Twitter changes its mind about complying with the OpenMicroBlogging specification.
4. Twitter experiences tremendous growth and attracts massive press coverage in 2008.
5. Twitter does an excellent job at providing near real-time updates during the Mumbai terror attacks.
6. Twitter plays a key role in Senator Obama’s winning online strategy.

If the above events are of any indication, we should see the acquisition happening quite soon this year.

After buying Twitter:

1. Twitter will no longer experience any downtime.
2. We’ll get to search news and events (almost) at the speed of conversation.
3. Google will index (and possibly monitor) all conversations happening in the Twittersphere.
4. Google will develop a social ranking algorithm using a combination of Twitter authority and other factors.
5. Mobile tweeting will increase dramatically as devices running Android will come pre-installed with an easy-to-use Twitter client.
6. Mobile tweeting will replace SMS as the most popular short messaging system within 3 years. Telco revenues will decline significantly as a result of this.

Feel free to add your thoughts to the above.