Apple to acquire Twitter?

Although most sources seem to be unaware of the Apple negotiations, tech reporters and media observers are wasting little time in dissecting a potential deal.

Speculation on the deal
Two popular tech blogs, TechCrunch and ValleyWag, reported that Apple may be looking to buy Twitter, the microblogging website, in an all-cash deal.

"Apple is in late stage negotiations to buy Twitter and is hoping to announce it at WWDC [Apple's World Wide Developers Conference] in June," said TechCrunch's unnamed but "normally reliable source."

However, neither publication is able to substantiate the rumors or clarify the strategy that would motivate Apple into such a deal.

"If these discussions are happening, Twitter is keeping them very quiet indeed," wrote TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, declaring that he would have ignored the rumors totally had they not made an appearance onto other technology blogs.

To the tech-experts, Apple’s acquisition of Twitter doesn't make sense. Their businesses are quite different from each others’, and what benefits Apple might get out of an acquisition deal with Twitter is not very clear too. May be the rumors are an attempt to link Twitter to a company that has cash flow as well as recognition, in order to increase Twitter's apparent value.

On the contrary
Debunking the rumor, Wall Street journalist Kara Swisher stated that both Twitter co-founders, Evan Williams and Biz Stone, were in New York on Tuesday to attend the 2009 "Time 100″ dinner and haven't been in any serious talks with Apple. The only serious talks Twitter had were with Facebook at the end of last year which fell flat when the former turned down the $500 million offer.

About Twitter
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that lets users broadcast short messages of up to 140 characters, known as tweets, to other users who subscribe to the site.

Twitter usage has acquired immense popularity in recent months, as celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Britney Spears adopted the service as means of communicating with their fans.

According to TechCrunch there are nearly 25 million Twitter users worldwide, a figure rising at a rate of 40 percent each week ever since Oprah came abroad.