There’s been a lot of talk these past few weeks about whether or not Google is going to acquire Twitter and whether such a move would be smart. At this point we’re fairly certain that there’s no way Google is actually considering buying Twitter, and it probably never will, but I’m not alone in saying that it would be a great idea, one that would prove to be beneficial to both companies as Google continues to recover from Google+ and Twitter continues to struggle with user growth.
Twitter should be a Google company… I am far from the first person to propose this. I don’t even like saying it, but the future of my favorite social network – who knew that was a thing you could have? – does not look good if it continues in its current rut. User growth is sluggish, its executive team is unstable and the idea that iCEO Jack Dorsey can drag it onto the sun-dappled uplands of success is more than likely wishful thinking. Dorsey ran Twitter before, he’s the co-founder whose initial idea is still the kernel of what makes the service special. But (at least) half of his heart is with Square and dreams of a Jobsian renaissance at Twitter feel like misty-eyed fantasy. Dorsey wants to be Jobs (allegedly) but he isn’t. Nor, should he try to be. Jobs was the industry’s saintly asshole, but we don’t need more of that in the world. The hero tech deserved, but not necessarily the one that it always needed.
