Twitter might be a place where many people spend their time communicating, but it’s not the same as hanging out with your friends. Or at least your internet friends because we all know you don’t have any real pals (Craig stop talking to yourself).
Twitter now wants people to spend more time with their chums in a better way online and has acquired the tech company Squad, creators of an app that allows people to hang out via video-chat and screen-sharing in a way that is more collaborative than what you would typically experience via Zoom, Google Meet or the many other similar video chat services out there
The acquisition was announced, fittingly, via Twitter itself through a tweet from Twitter’s VP of product Ilya Brown, who revealed their excitement for having the Squad join the company:
This acquisition is the latest in the efforts from many different tech companies to cash in on the growing demand for virtual socialisation and meetings following Salesforce’s recent purchase of office communication tool Slack.
It’s not clear yet what Twitter’s intentions are for Squad yet, though rather than trying to grow and promote the Squad app, it appears Twitter has instead shut down it and the website down, and will probably be utilising the team to build a similar set of features directly into Twitter itself. A surprising move from the company that could’ve easily just have grown the existing platform and chosen to integrate it at a later stage.
The good news is that there doesn’t appear to be any layoffs as a result of this action and let’ hope it stays that way. Twitter can find a way for incorporating all of the hard-working people from Squad into its company, and create something special in the process.
Last Updated: December 15, 2020
Mandalorian Jim
December 15, 2020 at 13:48
So basically, they’re just insulating their users even more and strengthening the echo chamber effect. You already have people who are so lost in their own bubbles that it’s amazing that this is the route twitter is going. Google already feeds you what you search for and thus keeps you from exploring outside of your interests, and now you get to swirl in the muck with your friends.
Sad, mad world…