Twitter may buy Virginia-based Summize, a Twitter search engine, says Jason Calacanis. A source close to Twitter says that the two companies have been in discussions around a merger over the last couple of weeks, but won’t comment on whether an actual sale has occurred, or the terms.
The deal certainly makes sense. Unlike rival Friendfeed, Twitter still lacks a search feature. And Twitter has relied on Summize in the recent past to help reduce load on the Twitter API. Summize is also one of (or the only) Twitter partner that has access to their XMPP stream.
Summize employees have recently been spotted at Twitter HQ as well, although that could be explained by the close working relationship.
Summize has raised just $750,000 in an angel round of financing. Twitter has raised over $20 million.
Makes perfect sense.
Why do something that someone else can do better? (search)
just make twitter work 24/7 . hire more engineers
This would rock. Power users have a browser tab open to Summize anyway (if they aren’t using a client with Summize built in).
Slight draw back to Summize, currently, is protected posts (those not in the public time line) are not included in Summize search results.
I agree with @drew, this SHOULD happen. I recently reviewed the search functionality of Summize against many of its competitors, as well as commented on how Summize can effectively create AdHoc social networks for Twitter based on search parameters: http://linkbun.ch/jmv
That certainly sounds like a logical thing to do with some of the VC money they’ve got. If they do purchase summize, I hope they leave it alone and don’t screw it up.
I was just looking for something like Summize. Thanks!
Today at the Twitter HQ:
Biz Stone: “We suck at keeping our service running, we need a decoy.”
Evan Williams: “I know!… Let’s buy summize so all the blogs write about that instead of our lousy service.”
Biz Stone: “What a great idea! As long as we keep ignoring the real problem with Twitter (uptime) maybe people will be too distracted to complain about how terrible the core of our service really is.”
Evan Williams:”High Five Biz! (smack)”
Biz Stone: “High Five Evan! (smack”
For the record, we would like to explicitly deny the acquisition of Twiddict (http://twiddict.com) by Twitter as well.
nicely put.
Rgds
Muvar
Do you want me add a full Twitter search to pattwit.com ??
It would cost about 10-15k in development time and 2-3 weeks for me to do this.
How?
Spider
http://google.com/search?q=site%3Atwitter.com
To grab Twitter usernames.
Then index them, legally as by their own robots.txt
twitter.com/robots.txt
Or do it with the Twitter API, but that could overload.
Then create a fast cache SQL buffer in memory with C++ to pump out results at lighting speed.
This mod is too big to do for free, since I have to finish my PHPSocialize script, but if somebody wants to underwrite it, I can do it cheaply. I had built an entire search engine framework last year.
I’ve spent the last couple weeks developing with the Summize API and I’ve found it to be a rock solid service (everything Twitter isn’t). But, I question the motivation behind the acquisition. I’ve longed for Summize to incorporate other services into their aggregation, not just twitter. This acquisition dampens those hopes.
I don’t like this move. I’d like Twitter to invest in Summize, as well as anyone else who wants to build a Summize like service. I want 5 services like Summize out there competing with one another, not one service that Twitter gives preferential treatment to as the only ones with the XMPP feed. And I want some of those services to not give Twitter preferential treatment and incorporate other sites like Pownce & Identi.ca into their aggregation. Whoever can filter & deliver the microblogging to the masses will be the big winner in this trend.
Follow me (@derek) for updates on my project using the summize api, they’ll be coming soon.
Way to go Summizers, I can recalled that when Summize launched their Twitter search, it was just a feature of their Summize search.
I would have to say, it was in part a good strategy that turn that around and changed the focus of summize.com towards Twitter.
But then again if the negotiation fell thru, I’m sure Twitter could use their API and provide a search feature ? No?
I was literally thinking this morning that Twitter should buy Twitpic (http://twitpic.com/photos/andygadiel) - it’s really handy and provides a great added value feature.
“Why do something that someone else can do better?”
WHAT exactly do they “better”?
Twitter can add a searchbox in minutes…
How much for the FailWhale?
$23?
Wait. Someone explain to me why they don’t just build their own search engine and cut off Summize’s access to the stream.
@16, They would have to cut off Google, MSN, and Yahoo as well then.
Twitter doesn’t have the users to become a walled garden yet.
http://scobleizer.com/2007/08/.....ter-video/
They also don’t seem to have enough people to build a good search engine.
What’s really hard to find is people interested in building services on top of yours.
It would be pretty wild to duplicate all these Twitter services that Mike Arrington blogs about as an open source project. Even the search. As I am not a fan, I wouldn’t dedicate free time to it other than to spite people.
@Graham @Tobsen
Because they can’t even keep what they have running and you expect them to build more? hahaha, you ARE joking right?
This makes perfect sense. As the best twitter search engine, Summize provides capability that is better than what twitter can do themselves. I blogged about the story earlier, too, http://twittermaven.blogspot.com/
Makes perfect sense. I blogged about it a few weeks back … they also have an awesome API here is an example of something really cool you can do with it. … http://labs.laan.com/blog/summizereader/
google or ms can provide search and also pay money for exclusivity…twitter killed another revenue opportunity here!!!
How would Twitter integrate summize into their system?… simply integrate it so that users could use the engine search twitter info?… what type of engine is it… natural language…semantic… etc?… check it.. http://www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?RTA=web2
I’m glad to know that Twitter and all of the fanboys are out solving problems that real people have.
@Robert Basil I’ve seen your inane Twitter comments pop up WAY too much over the last couple months. If you think the guys at Twitter are just sitting around twiddling their thumbs then you’re the real idiot. Hope you’re hungry because over the next couple months you’re going to be eating a whole lotta crow.
“Because they can’t even keep what they have running and you expect them to build more? hahaha, you ARE joking right?”
But other apps getting data via the twitter-api “can” do it 24/7? haha
…and there’s their revenue strategy. They’ll soon begin selling ads on the search engine. They’ll be the google of microblogging. So quick…if you think you can write a better engine that works against ALL the microblogging platforms, you better hurry up. That’s a money maker!
“So quick…if you think you can write a better engine that works against ALL the microblogging platforms, you better hurry up. That’s a money maker!”
Indexing microblogs isn’t very challenging. There isn’t funding for this.
This totally makes sense: summize is a great service, twitter needs search, the two things are already perfectly integrated so there is zero integration cost.
Twitter should buy Zimbabwe.
Well I was just thinking that with the tens of millions of dollars they just raised they could hire someone to build a search engine for their own db at a fraction of the cost of buying out a company that just raised a mil in capital.
destroys summixe’s brand value to be associated with twitter .. lol
Twitter with $20.4M funding and still lacks a search feature? Does this indicate to Twitter private investors & VCs that the risk in pouring money to a company that doesn’t have unique technology is too high? Besides developing a search feature wouldn’t take quarter of a million. Does any one know what the $20.4M funding is being used for?
Chris said…
I had built an entire search engine framework last year.
What’s your search engine based on? Link-based search or document/content based search?
this is a good day for tech. something that make sense. i even see a great way to monazite in the search and now twitter has some money coming in. but i love the service and glad to see a great add on to a already great site. minus the server slowdowns the service does the job for me. now will summize open its api to talk to gtalk and can we start tracking like it was before? It don’t have be twitter that does this i just need this on again.
@24
Wow, thanks Peter, I’m so glad I have a fan! I’m very hungry, but I’m currently getting fed at http://www.jaiku.com thank you very much.
As Calacanis said in an interview: “The best services are going to be the ones that use multiple systems.” Twitter should let Summize do their own thing while they keep (start?) to fix their own platform.