Daily Debrief: Twitter this--why do a Facebook deal?
[ Music ]
^M00:00:04
>> The economy may be sucking a raw egg, but that does not mean that deal making is moribund, especially not in the tech constellation. Welcome to the CNET News Daily Debrief. I'm Charlie Cooper here with CNET News' editor-in-chief, Dan Farber. And we've got a lollapalooza of a story to talk about today, Dan. Apparently Facebook has been talking deal with Twitter. Kara Swisher, of "All Things D," say we're talking 500 million dollars, but the deal, for whatever reasons, didn't go through. Look at it from the other side. Why would a Facebook-Twitter deal make sense?
>> Well, currently, it doesn't really make sense because I don't think they can come up with the proper valuation. I think as we read in Kara's story, the deal was 500 million dollars in stock at the 15 billion dollar valuation, which is a little bit excessive for Facebook. So it probably ended up being maybe 150 million dollars in real money. But that's still stock, and I don't think that the Twitter people thought it was enough and want to go their own way. Much in the same way, culturally, that Facebook has wanted to go its own way and forego all the talk about any soon [inaudible] And of course, in this economy, that's not gonna happen.
>> Good point. But when you talk about these two companies -- it's interesting. I mean there somewhat iconic as far as the Web 2-oh constellation goes.
>> Well, there iconic in the sense that they're two companies that have tremendous amount of buzz, and not much revenue to show for it. And I think that's part of the problem, which is, in the case of Facebook, to take on a Twitter, which to me makes a lot of sense because it's a notification system and one of the technologies that Facebook actually pioneered. And it's gathered a lot of momentum. So you put those two things together, 120 million Facebook users and about 6 million Twitter users -- and both growing faster than anything else on the Internet -- and, you know, that's a combination for owning a lot of really important territory with technologies that are very similar and complimentary.
>> And this is not a technology that Facebook by it's own could come up with?
>> Months and months ago I talked to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about Twitter, and saying, you know, "Isn't that something you guys should be doing?" It's really a notification system. The difference is that it's a broadcast notification system. Has this idea of followers and following, which is very similar to what Facebook does. And, you know, he really wasn't too forthcoming. He thought -- and he said subsequently -- thought he thinks that Twitter's doing a good job. I think it just turns out that it's hard to pull off financially.
>> It's going to be hard to pull off financially, and for Twitter going forward, obviously it's management and investors felt they should go it alone for the time being. But as a solo act -- again, the old question about Twitter -- how do they monatize what is a very popular service?
>> Well, one of the founders, who is the current CEO, Evan Williams, who sold a company previously to Google, has stated that he thinks that there's an enterprise business, which is to use Twitter for private enterprises and intranets. And there are already a few companies in that market such as Yammer and Presently. That seems a bit far off, and I think that over time, both Facebook and Twitter need to come up with a way in which advertising or marketing can be a part of what's embedded in their systems. And I think that Facebook had a false start with its Beacon system, in which a user would recommend something. And that recommendation would get pushed to their friends. And it was a form of marketing, and the marketers could get in on that. I still think that's going to come back.
>> Ah, you're a betting man, same time next year, what are the odds that Twitter remains solo?
>> I think Twitter has the money to remain solo. I think it's more a question of whether Facebook is willing to pony up with enough money.
>> Okay. We'll hold you to that one. On behalf of CNET News, I'm Charlie Cooper.
^E00:04:00
Up Next
What is the Fediverse?
Up Next
What is the Fediverse?
The Missing Piece to Apple's Eco-Friendly Mission
The Missing Piece to Apple's Eco-Friendly Mission
Boston Dynamics Retires Its HD Atlas Robot
Boston Dynamics Retires Its HD Atlas Robot
Apple and Disney's Unique Bond: Why Vision Pro Needs the Mouse
Apple and Disney's Unique Bond: Why Vision Pro Needs the Mouse
The Ocean Cleanup's System 03 Collects Plastic Pollution at Record Levels
The Ocean Cleanup's System 03 Collects Plastic Pollution at Record Levels
Latest iOS 18 Rumor Roundup: New Designs, AI Tricks
Latest iOS 18 Rumor Roundup: New Designs, AI Tricks
Apple to Talk AI in June: This WWDC Is a Big Deal
Apple to Talk AI in June: This WWDC Is a Big Deal
What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like
What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like
Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here
Microsoft Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6 Are Here
Everything Just Announced at Google's AI Health Event
Everything Just Announced at Google's AI Health Event
Tech Shows
Latest News All latest news
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Apple May Give FineWoven Accessories One More Season
Apple May Give FineWoven Accessories One More Season
US vs. TikTok: What Happens Next
US vs. TikTok: What Happens Next
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
What to Expect at Apple's May 7 iPad Event
What to Expect at Apple's May 7 iPad Event
Did a Week With the Apple Watch Make Me Use My iPhone Less?
Did a Week With the Apple Watch Make Me Use My iPhone Less?
Most Popular All most popular
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Latest Products All latest products
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
Latest How To All how to videos
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro