Google in talks to buy Twitter?

Even though Google is still struggling to make a profit on its $1.65 billion YouTube acquisition, the company is reportedly in talks to buy yet another rising startup with no clear business model. TC broke the initial story last night, saying that Google and Twitter were in “late-stage negotiations,” but then backed off that assertion slightly with an update claiming the potential deal was in a “fairly early stage.”

Interestingly enough, this latest rumor comes only a few weeks after Google CEO Eric Schmidt dismissed Twitter as a “poor man’s email system.” Many believe the popular micro-blogging service actually has significant relevance to Google, however, given its potential as a real-time search engine of what people are talking about. No financial details for the purported deal are mentioned, though Twitter in November turned down a $500 million offer to be acquired by Facebook, so if true it would probably have to be north of that.