Once again, will Amazon buy Twitter?

Almost 10 years ago, I sent an opinion piece to an online magazine called VentureBeat.  Though I cringe, now, at my writing style (e.g., ambiguous and, at times, convoluted grammar), I still believe that the principle idea makes sense: Amazon should buy Twitter.

For some reason, the title ended up talking about a “partnership.”  Nonetheless, my thesis had to do with taking advantage of Amazon’s (and AWS’) operational “chops” so that anyone leading Twitter could focus on its strategic value.  The additional value of connecting AWS developers with one more (or several) Twitter API’s within the same infrastructure would also be of great benefit.  I still see synergies here, particularly as AI generated tweet engines continue to proliferate.

This still may be an unorthodox position (e.g., that Amazon would buy Twitter).  I do think that a good case could be made, as Scott Galloway has pointed out, to turn it into a PBS-type communications channel.  Nonetheless, to my mind, an Amazon matchup has additional factors that seem to justify a purchase.

Today, Amazon is also a growing media player with its streaming service and rapidly growing advertising business.   Running one of the most popular social networks would seem to be a natural fit with this business.

On a personal note, after seeing this article published, I started to collaborate much more with VentureBeat and enjoyed this immensely.  Although I still see quite a bit of room for improvement in terms of my writing ability, I am grateful for the help across the almost 25 articles that I wrote for that publication particularly from the editorial staff (shout out to Mo!).

My mind is in quite a different place today than it was a decade ago.  I must admit that I’m less enthused about positing about the strategy of tech industry titans, but I couldn’t resist revisiting this idea as my opinion hasn’t changed.