GOOGLE GIVEN ACCESS TO TWITTER'S FIREHOSE
Mar 25, 2015
In early February, we found out that Google had reached a partnership with Twitter regarding firehose – the name given to Twitter’s stream of tweets.
Due to the incredible strength of firehose, this could have huge implications for the way Google search works:
Firehose streams around 9,000 tweets per second
100 million people contribute to the stream every day
500 million people visit twitter a month without even registering an account
Although nothing has been revealed about how Google will use firehose, there are some predictions for how it will impact SEO and social media simultaneously.
For example, Google may display tweets in a section like the Knowledge Graph. “Fast is better than slow” is one of Google’s “10 things”, written when the company was in its infancy. Twitter’s real-time stream of news, therefore, is just what Google needs to keep up with this belief.
So, what does this mean for online businesses?
As nothing has been finalised by Google yet, we simply don’t know how firehose is going to be integrated into search results. However, one certainty is that Twitter will end up getting much more exposure, so it’s important to keep on top of your activity. If you don’t have an account yet, set one up. If you do have an account, keep posting regularly about relevant topics.
By engaging with Twitter as much as you can, this will increase your chances of exposure once Google decides what to do with firehose.
Now it’s over to you – how do you think Google will use Twitter’s firehose? We’d love to know your thoughts!