Microsoft and Google are preparing to do battle again in an effort to strike a deal with Twitter involving their search service.  The All Things Digital website reported that the two major companies are vying with each other for control of what those in the know are calling “the next great battlefield in search”.

This is due to the real time search nature of the “tweets” posted by Twitter users. There is also the opportunity of selling related ads on the Twitter site that is of interest to both Google and Microsoft. 

One thing that possibly stands in the way of the two companies is the direction that Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams will want to take Twitter.

All Things Digital noted that Williams may be reluctant to sell Twitter. Having already sold blogging site Blogger to Google and then quickly leaving the company after a less than fulfilling time, he would like to see Twitter grow rather than opting for the quick buck.

With Microsoft beating Google to a search deal with US carrier Verizon recently, Google will be keen to come out on top in the fight for Twitter if the opportunity occurs. With Twitter exploring all options the current talks could all just be a lot of hot air though. Twitter turned down an approach from Facebook last year and will be thinking very carefully about when is the right time to sell on, if there is one at all.

Posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 2:53 pm in Google, Microsoft, Social Media, Twitter, Twitter related. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.