The big buzz of the evening is that Twitter, a San Francisco-based startup that allows anyone to post short (up to 140 characters) messages to its platform and thus broadcast them to one or many using different media such as web and mobile, is about to acquire Summize, a Potomac Falls, Va.-based startup that uses the Twitter API to search and find relevant messages on Twitter.
The rumors of the deal were first reported by a little-known blog (not anymore, of course) by Josh Chandler. Subsequent to the news, I made a few phone calls and did confirm that it is not just a rumor and a deal is certainly in the works. It is likely to be announced as soon as next week. I’m still trying to dig up the financial details and will report further when I get hold of them.
The deal would be a good move by Twitter, and would be putting some of its recently acquired $15 million in VC funding to decent use as it would help the company get hold of of a business model. Here is why. Most people think of Summize as a Twitter search utility, and it is a mighty fine search service. It is so good that there are nearly half a dozen other startups using the Summize API. At first blush, it seems like Twitter could bolt on search on their platform and make it more useful. I think it would be thinking about Summize in a limited sort of a way.
“We monitor collective attitudes being expressed right now on the web,” is how Summize describes itself. In other words, it can quickly look at data coming from conversational sources — RSS feeds and Twitter tweets — and offer a quick opinion as to what is being talked about. For example on this page you can find out what people really think of this deal between Summize & Twitter deal. All the data is coming from the Twitter stream.
In a conversation earlier this year, CEO Jay Virdy, formerly of AOL, told us that they had developed a way to geocode public timeline tweets (short messages). This allows one to find out what people are saying about John McCain in Phoenix vs. San Francisco.
In other words, Summize has come up with a clever way of peering through Twitter’s vast data stream and finding out what’s hot, where and how. The results are essentially keywords — topic-, person- or location-based — and thus can be used to show contextual advertising next to the pages that show these results. Summize has thereby developed an ability to monetize conversations without being intrusive.
Summize could have easily done this on its own and started to make money. It would surely need to compete with Twitter for attention and figure out ways to keep generating more traffic. Instead, if Summize is bolted onto Twitter, that can help the tiny startup get instant traction.
Just as AdSense serendipitously turned Google into a giant cash register, with Summize, Twitter can take the first step towards a business model. Of course, Evan Williams & Co. have to quickly figure out a way to fix their patchy-at-times service before everyone decides to switch loyalties to one of the many Twitter rivals currently being plotted by clever minds.
P.S.: Since Twitter doesn’t want to charge me for having too many followers, and it doesn’t cost me anything, go ahead and follow me on http://twitter.com/om. Not that you are going to read the tweets anyway :-)
P.S.#2: My jet lag has finally hit so if you notice errors/mistakes, please excuse my tardiness. I will rectify when I wake up.
31 trackbacks so far
11:28 PM PT
[...] 2: A deal is definitely in the works, GigaOm’s Om Malik was able to confirm. It could be announced as soon as next week. Tags: co:summize, co:Twitter [...]
11:35 PM PT
[...] integral part of the service, rather than a third-party implementation. UPDATE: A deal seems to be in the works, and the overall [sentiment][2] seems to be fluctuating between “so-so” and [...]
1:09 AM PT
[...] spread through Twitter as a virus and featured on all the big American technology blogs - ending at GigaOM confirming the deal. Now it’s time for an European tech blog to shine a light on this [...]
6:33 AM PT
[...] rumor is also still a good bit unfounded. GigaOM wrote that “it is not just a rumor and a deal is certainly in the works.” Silicon Alley [...]
6:43 AM PT
[...] Apparently the unlikely source was in fact true. Om Malike has dug up a source to confirm the rumor. Apparently an announcement will come next week. Posted in News [...]
6:45 AM PT
[...] money of $15 million on the new venture. The deal is likely to be announced next week, according to GigaOm. Both the companies are yet to have an official word on the [...]
7:30 AM PT
[...] Malik explains: In other words, Summize has come-up with a clever way of peering through Twitter’s vast data stream and finding out what’s hot, where and how. The results are essentially keywords - topic, person or location based - and thus can be used to show contextual advertising next to the pages that show these results. Summize, has thereby developed an ability to monetize conversations without being intrusive. [...]
7:35 AM PT
[...] rumor is also still a good deal unfounded. GigaOM wrote that “it is not just a rumor and a deal is certainly in the works.” Silicon Alley [...]
7:45 AM PT
[...] Josh Chandler likely didn’t know the rumor avalanche he was going to start when he posted yesterday that a “source” informed him that Twitter was to buy Summize, the conversational search engine. Neither Twitter nor Summize have confirmed or responded to requests for answers, but Om Malik over at GigaOm claims to have confirmed the deal. [...]
9:18 AM PT
[...] = “http://www.localseoguide.com/summize-sentiment-search-still-needs-some-tweaking/”; Apparently Twitter has acquired Summize, which has figured out how to search Twitter and deliver some interesting results. They also have [...]
10:40 AM PT
[...] the cusp of a major acquisition — and a business model along with it. Technology blog Gigaom reports that Twitter is about to buy Summize, which uses the Twitter API to search and find relevant [...]
12:59 PM PT
[...] the service. Of course, today comes the news that twitter might buy summize, quasi confirmed by Om Malik. Lesson to you grad students — if you come up with something clever, file an invention [...]
2:56 PM PT
[...] análise que ele faz, no artigo “With Summize, Twitter to Buy a Clue” é bastante interessante e aponta a compra como um possível (e acertado) caminho em [...]
5:00 PM PT
[...] leads with rumors that microblogging service Twitter might acquire search engine Summize next [...]
6:45 PM PT
[...] Is this an Online Election? - GCN Twitter to Buy Summize - TechCrunch -Why it’s Good - Gigaom Why Not Kool-Aid Pong? - [...]
9:40 PM PT
[...] this last kind of search that gets me particularly excited about Summize (and intrigued by the possible Twitter acquisition of Summize). Summize Labs have taken things a step further with Realtime Twitter Sentiment. Now I don’t [...]
5:32 AM PT
[...] With Summize, Twitter To Buy a Clue - GigaOM The big buzz of the evening is that Twitter, a San Francisco-based start-up that allows anyone to post short up to 140 character messages to its platform and thus broadcast them to one or many using different media such as web and mobile, is about to acqu (tags: twitter) [...]
10:33 AM PT
[...] reported and discussed in this GigaOm post, Twitter is likely to purchase Summize, which is a popular third-party application that searches [...]
9:36 AM PT
[...] my friend Om Malik pointed out when the rumours first emerged last week, acquiring Summize and some of its search-related services [...]
9:36 AM PT
[...] main offering. After the rumors of the deal were reported by Josh Chandler last week, I was able to confirm that the deal was done, and would be announced on time. So right on time, the two companies made a joint [...]
9:44 AM PT
[...] and shaky denials. An under-the-radar blogger, Josh Chandler, reported the news first; GigaOM’s Om Malik was the first big name to “confirm” [...]
9:52 AM PT
[...] and shaky denials. An under-the-radar blogger, Josh Chandler, reported the news first; GigaOM’s Om Malik was the first big name to “confirm” [...]
9:57 AM PT
[...] this morning: Twitter bought Summize. The deal, covered as a rumor a week ago by our parent blog GigaOm, brings Twitter some more smart engineers and a potential route to monetization. But what does it [...]
10:37 AM PT
[...] of the Summize team members will now move to San Francisco to work with Twitter. GigaOM’s Om Malik had previously confirmed the deal last week though all the details were not known at the [...]
11:24 AM PT
[...] main offering. After the rumors of the deal were reported by Josh Chandler last week, I was able to confirm that the deal was done and would be announced on time. So right on time, the two companies made a joint [...]
5:24 PM PT
[...] main offering. After the rumors of the deal were reported by Josh Chandler last week, I was able to confirm that the deal was done and would be announced on time. So right on time, the two companies made a joint [...]
9:30 AM PT
[...] only that but the technology may prove to be a killer feature for Twitter and also their path towards a business model by bring an advertising model to the now-web of tracking people “ideas, concepts, names, [...]
5:10 PM PT
[...] and shaky denials. An under-the-radar blogger, Josh Chandler, reported the news first; GigaOM’s Om Malik was the first big name to “confirm” [...]
11:37 PM PT
[...] founder Evan William interviewed by Michael Arrington on the Summize Acquisition, scaling issues and future [...]
11:36 AM PT
[...] biedt zelf een zoek functionaliteit (na de overname van summize) waarmee alle tweets kunnen worden doorzocht. Dit biedt organisaties de mogelijkheid om met [...]
1:36 PM PT
[...] is offering search functionality (after the acquisition of summize) which allows you to search through all tweets. This offers organizations the opportunity to [...]
7 comments so far
5:29 AM PT
Finally, once I see twitter do something that sounds sensible as well as in the right direction. I hope the remaining 15 million funding is fully utilized to make our twittering life easier :)
10:30 AM PT
Hope this move will bring much needed relief and sanity to much beleaguered Twitter. Whether this will eventually end all of Twitter’s woes remain to be seen: Pondering the Fate of Twitter(http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=619&doc_id=158331&F_src=flftwo)
1:18 PM PT
im pretty sure this is an acquisition based on an architectural decision. not a business model. search is a more efficient way to power the public timeline.
2:42 PM PT
I just hope they can buy some uptime as well…speaking as someone who runs a product that is based in part on Twitter’s API, they really need to do something! Fast!
5:10 PM PT
I want to Digg this post, but your advertisement is blocking the Share/Send dropdown in Firefox browser (it shows up behind the ad).
5:42 PM PT
Hey Derek: Thanks for the heads up. This is an issue with some ads. I’m working on a fix now. In the meantime, just hit refresh, odds are you won’t get the same troublesome ad twice in a row.
7:54 PM PT
Hopefully this will improve the way we use Twitter.
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