Microsoft CEO lauds Twitter’s independence

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said Tuesday that the popular microblogging site Twitter, long the
subject of takeover speculation, may be better off remaining
independent.

San Francisco-based Twitter Inc.
itself, meanwhile, was publicly outlining more of its developing
business plan, by announcing that updates posted by users will appear
in search results at smaller companies including Kosmix Corp. and CrowdEye Inc.

“These companies range from funded startups to
part-time, one-person operations so we came up with a fair way to
license access that scales with their business,” Twitter said in a
posting on a company Web site.

Microsoft and Internet search rivals including Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. have already secured similar partnerships with Twitter.

All three companies see those deals as a means to make their search results more vital and up-to-the-minute.

Virtually since its launch, and amid its meteoric rise, Twitter has been targeted by speculation that a company like Google or Microsoft would ultimately acquire Twitter outright. But Ballmer said during an appearance at a technology conference in Santa Clara, Calif., on Tuesday that Microsoft’s partnership with Twitter may be more valuable to the software giant than acquiring it would be.

“I would hate to not have that partnership,” Ballmer said, according to a transcript provided by Microsoft. “Whether we need to own the company or not I think is far less clear.”

“As an independent, they have a lot of value and a
lot of credibility, I think, with their user community,” Ballmer
continued. “Would they have that same credibility with the user
community if they were captive? Not clear.”

Twitter enables users to post spontaneous messages
limited to 140 characters. The service has become a wildly popular
platform for everyone from celebrities to large corporations and
journalists.

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