But Google's second post may be the company's real motive for launching on Twitter. Google tweeted this message 20 minutes later: "Check out the new Google Apps Status Dashboard." After a data -center fiasco earlier this week that put Gmail out of commission for a couple of hours, Google has moved to be more transparent. The dashboard is one move, and Twitter is the other.

The YouTube of Real-Time Search

Google's Twitter tells the story: "News and updates from Google." In less than three days, Google has attracted nearly 28,000 followers. It has posted 100 updates, mostly surrounding its products. There are tweets about Google Toolbar, Google Friend Connect, and Google Translate.

Google may be late to the Twitter party, and its sudden entrance has many speculating about whether it plans to purchase the micro-blogging service that allows 140 characters to tell people what you're doing. If it's more search assets Google is after, Twitter would be a prime candidate.

John Battelle, author of The Search, called real-time, conversational search the most important and quickly growing form of Web search today. Then he called Twitter the YouTube of real-time search. If Google bought Twitter, it wouldn't be the first company it acquired from Twitter cofounders Evan Williams and Biz Stone. Google bought Blogger from the duo.

"YouTube was the single fastest-growing new form of search on the Web, and Google pretty much outflanked (and outspent) everyone to buy it. Not to get into video monetization, per se, but to harvest and control the most important emerging form of search," Battelle wrote in his blog. "In short, Google could not afford to NOT own YouTube." He's also betting Google really, really wants Twitter.

Google's Analysis

Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, is sure Google is at least analyzing of the value of Twitter as an asset and how the company might leverage it. Twitter, he said, has become an interesting Internet phenomenon that's risen to a certain level of cultural awareness.

"It makes a lot of sense for Google to look at it and think about buying it," Sterling said. "But what's it worth and is buying it as a defensive measure sufficient, or does it need to generate revenue commiserate with the purchase price?"

Twitter has shown its revenue-generating potential. Dell has 28 Twitter accounts, including DellOutlet, Alienware and DellSmBizOffers, and has driven $1 million in revenues by offering Twitter exclusive promotions to its followers. DellOutlet has more than 30,000 followers. For Dell, it's not about winning followers, but about starting conversations, fostering relationships, and building communities. In doing so, the company is building a positive brand awareness in the social-media world.

Dell's success, however, doesn't translate into a Google acquisition. "Twitter could certainly evolve into something that would be quite threatening to Google, especially in a mobile context," Sterling said. "But it's not a threat right now to overtake search or to displace Google because there's just so much garbage that shows up when you do a search for a particular term."