By Julie Bort, Network World |

Google finally Tweets

Looks like Twitter's made it to the big time. Bluhalo reports Google just sent its first couple of tweets using the microblogging service, and the content is telling.

Twitter was all atwitter when Google's Gmail service crashed earlier this week, so Google used one of its first tweets to publicize the new Apps status dashboard, which aims to provide better info on future service disruptions. It's very first tweet--which came years after Google officially joined the service--was a bit more puzzling. It begins with "I'm" and then a string of binary code that Bluhalo translates into "feeling lucky." Could it mean that Google still considers Twitter a roll of the dice? Or that it's finally decided now is the time to leverage the power and audience of the service?

Whatever the motive, most observers say the move is a good one for Google, and especially for Twitter. As Search Engine Journal's Loren Baker says:

"It more or less signifies that Google has accepted Twitter as a form of mass communication in the same way that Google was interested in Blogger and Blogging.

Now Google has a blog for everything, but as Baker rightly points out, Google's bloggers were noticeably absent in the early morning hours of the most recent Gmail crash, while Twitter was busy a-twittering. Google sees the writing on the wall and while late, has finally decided to join the Twittering class. It's about time.

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