Below is a blog post from a M&A newsletter I subscribe to that talks about what potential role Twitter might play in finance in the (near?) future. It seems that the author is conjecturing quite a bit here by predicting that Twitter might one day be of use in generating leads to deals. It seems, however, given that the twitterer knows that all information posted is in public domain, and further that he's actually being "followed," I believe Twitter would have a limited role in finance as a place to gather thoughts on the latest thinking, but nothing more.
M&A Twitter
Okay, that’s not a real headline, but theoretically it could be in a couple years. For those who haven’t caught the Twitter bug, or don’t even know what I’m talking about, let me explain.
Simply put, Twitter is a free social networking site (http://www.twitter.com) that allows people to share information within a 140-character limit – just the right amount for quick notes and text messages. Among the famous people and brands using Twitter are Martha Stewart, the New York Times, Ashton Kutcher and Shaquille O’Neal. I’ve had a Twitter account for a few weeks now (adamreinebach is my Twitter name), and save for a handful of trivial comments about ‘plans for sushi’ and ‘boy I hate standing in lines’, I’ve found it to be a valuable service. (FYI, I haven’t signed up for the text message app, because I’m too cheap, but that’s another reason for its popularity.)
With Twitter expanding at breakneck speed – it’s gone from 2 million to 6 million users in the last year – I’ve gotten more and more questions about its relevance within the M&A market. Right now, the answer is probably limited. You can search on Twitter right now (http://search.twitter.com) for comments on M&A, the middle market, private equity, etc., and you’ll find some info, but nothing earth-shattering. Not surprisingly, small intermediaries are far more likely to tweet than, say, a managing partner at a mid-sized PE firm.
But as Twitter grows, and as social networking in general becomes commonplace, there’s no reason to think mid-market M&A will be insulated from this trend. ACG and other organizations are incorporating these tools as a way to connect members, so it’s not surprising that a good number of the web hits we get at http://www.mergersunleashed.com?ET=mergersunleashed:e2182:221867a:&st=email come through social networking sites. At the very least, I would expect more firms operating within this space to use Twitter for promotional purposes, while others may use it as another way to keep abreast of relevant news.
So, you ask, what’s the real upside of creating a Twitter account?
For now, finding a proprietary deal on Twitter, Facebook or any other social network is highly unlikely. Twitter is littered with self-promoters (present company excluded), and the search function is not intuitive, so I can’t make a full-blown endorsement of the service. But if you remember what a social network is designed to do—making valuable connections—then Twitter passes the test for me. Just by spending a few weeks on Twitter I’ve ended up connecting with three people who may become business partners. Not a bad ROI for 10 minutes of Twitter per day.
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