Twitter Spreading Like Swine Flu: No One Is Immune

Posted by Mihaela Lica as social media

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After calling it a “poor man’s email”, Google finally adopted Twitter by creating a “Google News” account and announcing it proudly on the Google News Blog. Could this be the beginning of something “deeper?”

Google News aggregates stories from over 25,000 news sources updated continuously. Starting today, we’re offering users an additional channel to follow the news by posting links to top stories as they become available on the new @googlenews Twitter account.

But the “news” is not news, because the first Google account on Twitter was reported February 26, when also the first “purchase” rumors emerged.

Google never confirmed the rumors, and Schmidt never viewed Twitter as a direct competitor, despite the obvious search advantages offered by Twitter over Google. One of these is the real time search capability, that already convinced many marketers that Twitter could be a Google killer.

Discussion about a collaboration in the search sector between the two are not news either, but as you know, there’s never smoke without fire (or was it the other way around?).

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25 Responses

Lillie Ammann

April 29th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
1

Mig,

So far I’ve resisted Twitter. Not sure if I’m permanently immune,

Lillie Ammann’s last blog post..Bloggers Unite for Hunger and Hope
Mihaela Lica

April 30th, 2009 at 7:19 am
2

I know you have, Lillie. It’s actually fun once you start – I just hate the hype.
Wilson Pon

April 30th, 2009 at 8:00 am
3

Hehe, guess I’m was one of them who getting infected by this “Twitter Flu”, Mig. By the way, the Swine Flu is outbreak so quickly and the condition is getting worse day after day.
Mihaela Lica

April 30th, 2009 at 8:27 am
4

Well, if Google got infected I can only wonder who is next. They’ll probably buy Twitter – there’s no way out. Twitter is growing too fast – Google doesn’t like what they cannot control. I am actually pretty sure that they already have a kind of agreement in this regard.

About the swine flu: I am a bit worried myself. I am seriously starting to consider not going out of the house till this is over.
Conner Collins

April 30th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
5

Twitter is actually pretty clever. What makes it so is the many number of ways to stay connect to it. I dig it anyway.
gagan

May 1st, 2009 at 3:11 pm
6

hehe twitter is much more dangerous that swine flu its spreading much faster
Mandy @ Chicago business scool

May 1st, 2009 at 8:35 pm
7

Twitter is good for PR and certain business adventures, but those stupid personal updates…what’s up with that???
Mihaela Lica

May 1st, 2009 at 9:34 pm
8

Mandy, the personal updates are anything but stupid. The main purpose of Twitter is to let people broadcast themselves – the purpose should not be PR. We do use it for PR, yes, it’s a channel of communication, but we should first respect the community and its values.
Mihaela Lica

May 1st, 2009 at 9:42 pm
9

@gagan – you know you are right!
Luke

May 2nd, 2009 at 4:54 pm
10

I love twitter, good call by google to pick it up, hopefully it works out for them
Nick

May 3rd, 2009 at 12:19 am
11

I have resisted twitter for a very long time now. recently all the buzz has been driving me crazy. Its all over tv and the radio. i would love to go one whole day without hearing about twitter.

Nick’s last blog post..Back Links Required to Achieve a Certain Google PageRank
Shaun

May 4th, 2009 at 10:47 am
12

There is a slight difference in the way that Twitter and Google display your search results.

If you do a search via Twitter, then it will provide you with a pure list of tweets that use the keywords you search for.

In contrast, Google uses it’s search engine algorithm to filter the search results to try to provide you with the most relevant search results possible.

In some cases I prefer searching via Twitter becasue whatever I search is what I get. In other instances, I appreciate the filtering that Google does on my search query to make sure that the most relevant results appear. I can’t help wondering what I’m missing though via the Google filter

Shaun
gilbert

May 4th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
13

Yes i agree, twitter is spreading like swine fllu everyone is crazy having this witter..whether for business or for personal use..but how about the plurk?..it can be a tough competitor twitter also?..
Bhing

May 5th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
14

Well.. we all know how twitter affects each other’s lives as far as the internet thing is concern.. It has been very good and becoming popular..

Bhing’s last blog post..Video of Pacquiao Versus Hatton Match
shelly

May 6th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
15

I’m not sure if I agree Mandy, I like to twitter a lot and its rather enjoyable that people don’t need to call me every 5 min to ask where I am
Jason

May 8th, 2009 at 11:57 am
16

twitter is on world domination now. everyone in my office is just twittering around all the time.
Merry

May 9th, 2009 at 12:15 am
17

We just had an event where the main speaker discussed ways to use Twitter and other social media platforms, and I just posted on that, myself.

It took me a while to get used to Twitter – I liked blogging better and didn’t get the need to filter down to 140 characters when it’s so much nicer to be able to expound on a topic you’re excited about. But the nice thing with twitter is that it gives you a chance to at least catch up with a lot of different people at once. If you want to discuss something a little more indepth, you can always shoot them an email. But just to be able to have a little face time and touch base with so many clients/collegues in a short amount of time can be really helpful in staying the loop without getting off schudule on your actual work.

Merry’s last blog post..Taking the Work Out of Networking – 140 Characters at a Time
Melayu Boleh

May 11th, 2009 at 12:12 am
18

Yes Twitter is actually pretty clever. What makes it so is the many number of ways to stay connect to it. I dig it anyway
Hesham

May 15th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
19

Twitter is great because it’s very easy to use, and implemented on other websites, I can see some companies using it on new projects all the time!

Hesham’s last blog post..Download eBusiness WP Theme from Elegant Themes
comforterdown

May 17th, 2009 at 5:52 am
20

I prefer searching via Twitter becasue whatever I search is what I get. In other instances, I appreciate the filtering that Google does on my search query to make sure that the most relevant results appear.

comforterdown’s last blog post..Comforter Down – Long Bed Skirt
Nico

June 28th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
21

Everybody in my office is using Twitter, so I guess no one is indeed immune. I have a designer friend who use Twitter to update his clients if he will be having new creations. I love Twitter, it is very helpful for people in different walks of life…for housewives, businessmen, freelancers, reporters, students, etc. Everybody can use Twitter. So, I am not really surprised to learn that Google finally adopted Twitter.
Ruri

July 17th, 2009 at 6:55 am
22

That’s why Google try to buy twitter. But I don’t have clue what happen next. It seems Google fail to buy twitter. One bad thing about twitter, they spend money more than make money.
Ruri´s last blog ..Parenting: Which Road Do I Have To Take To Rear A Good Child?
Jason Quick

December 21st, 2009 at 6:35 pm
23

I feel that there is no stopping the twitter outbreak taking the world by storm. On the other hand here is a vaccine for the swine flu which should get it under control at some point. Theres nothing out there to stop the twitter bug from biting each and everyone of us.
Harra45

January 19th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
24

Everywhere you go we are all talking about “Twitter”. But let us not cloud the issue – Swine Flu is serious and we need to take precautions to stop the spread of this disease. I urge everyone to use Twitter and spread the word. “How To Survive Swine Flu” is a great read. Thanks all
Harra45´s last blog ..Everything You Wanted To Know About Swine Flu
Luke

January 25th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
25

Yes This is true. Twitter is spreading all over the globe and its mostly use in USA and UK. People like to share there news with this open discussion.
Luke´s last blog ..Sony XEL-1