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Apple Acquires Social Analytics Firm Topsy for $200 Million
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It could play that way. It could also create lots of new causal links in the company. I mean as the diverse teams needed to run a whole company spread out in various parts in the company they would make new friendly colleagues in those areas but also keep their old lunch buddies as well. Potentially generating a lot of new interaction in the process.
Also in smaller company two employees might be going head to head for promotion, yet in a larger company they both have room to expand their role and pay packet.
I suspect in the end it would be a bit of both.
Lilo777...How are you doing? Good to see you posting.
Don't you mean: He's buying everything he can put his hands on? I'm thinking you are not from the U.S. Am I right? Have a nice day. 
Social TV. Think that but also Netflix but smarter. Couple with gesture and voice controls it'll be the first truly smart tv.
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You never comment on Twitter while watching TV?
Meh. It would have been easier if Apple had just bought Twitter three years ago, when it was still cheap.
Much of the complexity with analytics is in data gathering. Data gathering systems tend to be complex to design and highly bespoke. That is where the value is here, in getting all the experience that has been built up by this companies employees over the years and in the systems that they will have already put together. There will almost certainly be some good IP there as well in areas that Apple is pretty weak in at the moment.
I actually have a hard time believing it has anything to do with Twitter trends. Topsy currently has access to the so-called Twitter Firehose, but Twitter could easily revoke that access at a whim if they didn't fancy the new competition or whatever.
I think this has more to do with the spirit of Topsy and their knowledge in algorithms to monitor and surface interesting trends. Maybe for an "iTV", sure, but hardly by using Twitter itself. In that case, I think they would use other data, perhaps user reviews and purchase patterns from the App Store. *shrug*
Maybe Apple wants to completely revise all their "Genius" features scattered around their ecosystem. I they currently are pretty stupid. "You may like this because you downloaded that! *lists some completely random app just in the same category*"
Could perhaps also be used to breathe new life into iAd by giving more interesting statistics for advertisers, that they will be willing to both pay more for, and develop iAds for in the first place.
I think this has more to do with the spirit of Topsy and their knowledge in algorithms to monitor and surface interesting trends. Maybe for an "iTV", sure, but hardly by using Twitter itself. In that case, I think they would use other data, perhaps user reviews and purchase patterns from the App Store. *shrug*
Maybe Apple wants to completely revise all their "Genius" features scattered around their ecosystem. I they currently are pretty stupid. "You may like this because you downloaded that! *lists some completely random app just in the same category*"
Could perhaps also be used to breathe new life into iAd by giving more interesting statistics for advertisers, that they will be willing to both pay more for, and develop iAds for in the first place.
What Utopian society do you live in? All we are is numbers and algorithms these days.
Anytime I see the words "Apple" and "social" in the same sentence I can't help but think of Ping.
Apple acquires a company for more than $200m:
"Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
Apple acquires a company for $1b:
"Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
Apple acquires Google:
"Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
LMAO!
! Thanks for a much needed morning laugh I almost spilled my coffee, that last line is a classic!
Twitter needs to be owned by Apple.
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You fried?
They don't need to buy twitter. Too expensive which is why they bought this company. A cheap entry into collecting everything twitter w/out disrupting the ecosystem or paying too much.
200 million to follow twitter accounts? Please! There is something far far deeper to this young Frodo.
Probably analyzing trends to increase iAds. With more people using icloud and Apple servers for email it's time to ramp up those targeted ads!
We appreciate your wisdom, but a bit of reasoning might help us to appreciate it more
In case you didn't notice, this is sarcasm, and everyone knows that you will take any opportunity to badmouth Apple, and that you don't need any particular justification to do so.
Ping 2.0
It's not a 'social network', it's a social network analysis company. Major difference.
I'd rather have recomendations from people I follow on Twitter rather than blind advertising, or the 'genius' feature.
Couldn't Twitter shut off the firehose now that Apple acquired Topsy?
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Isn't this the point of buying a company like this?
"An Apple spokesperson confirmed the acquisition with the company's standard line: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.""
You mean they have more than one spokespeople? What do they do all day???
You mean they have more than one spokespeople? What do they do all day???
If stoned means "For realizing that your post makes no sense" then yes, he is.