Executives at both Facebook Inc. and Google Inc., among other companies, have held low-level talks with those at Twitter Inc. in recent months to explore the prospect of an acquisition of the messaging service, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks have so far gone nowhere, these people say. But what’s remarkable is the money that people familiar with the matter say frames the discussions with at least some potential suitors: an estimated valuation in the neighborhood of $8 billion to $10 billion.
As promised last year, NBC Local Media stations are rolling out “The 20,” an initiative that taps the top Twitter influencers in each market to help curate local news and issues.
Raycom’s ABC affiliate KAIT Jonesboro, Ark., has found ways to gain about the same number of social media fans and followers as some of the country’s top newspapers.
NBC’s owned-and-operated station sites will soon integrate tweets from the “top 20 Twitterers” in each of its 10 markets. Called “The 20,” the top Twitterers will be invited to discuss hot topics trending in the city, and excerpts will be featured in on-air segments.
Twitter established itself as a quiver in the modern communications arsenal, indispensable to some. Now, after Twitter co-founder Biz Stone’s talk at the recent Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford event, some media reports suggest a Twitter newswire service could further be developed. It would serve up breaking information in real-time to support news agencies and media partners.
