To Sell or Not to Sell?

Purchase sets up battle with Twitter for real-time search market

(NEWSER) - Facebook is buying fellow social networking site FriendFeed for nearly $50 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. Friendfeed, a 12-employee outfit founded by former Google engineers, allowed users to share information across multiple social media services but never took off beyond a core techie user base. The purchase may help Facebook in its battle with Twitter, which it failed to buy last year and which is outpacing Facebook in the lucrative area of real-time search. More»

Social network valuations head to the sky

(NEWSER) - Facebook and Google are among the companies circling Twitter and considering a colossal buyout deal, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . The talks haven't gone anywhere yet, but the price under discussion is somewhere between $8 billion and $10 billion—roughly 100 times the amount of revenue Twitter, which lost money last year as it invested in expansion, expects to earn this year. More»

Families boot up computers, phones on waking

(NEWSER) - When it comes to morning routines, the modern family has a new set of priorities, many of which require a screen, the New York Times reports. “It used to be you woke up, went to the bathroom, maybe brushed your teeth, and picked up the newspaper,” says an expert. Now, “I’ll be the first to admit: the first thing I do is check my email.” More»

(NEWSER) - Apple is closing in on a $700 million, all-cash deal to buy Twitter, Gawker reports. Silicon Valley sources say an agreement could be announced as early as next month at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, and the iPhone is reportedly the force behind the deal: Its users already post countless Twitter messages on Tweetie and other Apple apps. More»

Two insiders put price well above $250 million

(NEWSER) - Google is in the last stages of acquiring Twitter for a price well above the microblogging site's recent $250 million valuation, reports industry blog TechCrunch, citing anonymous sources. Twitter recently rejected a $500 million offer from Facebook—although much of that price was in stock that may be overvalued. A rep from Google refused to comment on "rumors and speculation." More»