With the wild popularity and significance of online social networks, it is becoming increasingly important for tech giants to be either a part of the whole social experience or risk becoming irrelevant. Apple may indeed enjoy the top position in the smartphone as well as the tablet market but the company is still absent from the world of social networks. Is it about time that Apple entered it?
Facebook and Apple had been in talks in the past. The talks primarily concerned the building of Facebook features into Apple’s so-called social network, Ping. However, the two companies couldn’t come to an agreement and that, in turn, greatly damaged the relations between the two.
Ever since then, Apple has been trying to be somehow a part of the social media. According to an analyst, “Content was a key pillar in the success of the iPhone. Down the road, social engagement may dictate how consumers spend.” And that is precisely why it is becoming really important for Apple to enter the online social realm.
It is probably in this vein that Apple and Twitter have been reported to be in talks. Apple, it is said, is considering an investment of millions in the wildly popular micro-blogging network. Twitter currently boasts 140 million monthly active users and is growing at a fairly good pace. Even with a user base that is much smaller compared to Facebook, Twitter is very significant in the social media due to its unique nature of content and monetizing model.
In the past, Twitter and Apple have enjoyed a very fruitful relationship. Apple has helped Twitter a lot by integrating it deep into its iPhone and iPad devices. In fact, the company has added support for Twitter in its latest Mac OS release too, thus making Twitter relevant for its desktop users too.
And Twitter is indeed obliged by it and looks up to Apple. According to the CEO of Twitter, Dick Costolo, “Those guys are a great partner. We think of them as a company that our company looks up to.” In fact, this relationship is so significant for Twitter that it has assigned a vice president, Kevin Thau, to work full time with Apple. In the context of all this, it is not surprising that Apple is considering a formal investment in Twitter.
Twitter may not need it but a formal partnership will indeed be a win-win situation for both companies. Twitter can then ask for an even tighter integration in iOS and Mac OS devices whereas Apple can profit from finally breaking into the social media.
Source: NYTimes
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