Daily Tech Snippet: Thursday February 5

• Twitter, Google strike deal; real-time tweets will feature in search results again; Twitter will receive licensing revenue; scaled down ambitions for Google+: Twitter is reported to have struck a significant partnership with Google on the eve of its latest financial results. Bloomberg reports that the two companies have agreed to a deal to put real-time tweets from Twitter back into Google’s search results sometime “in the first half of this year.” The partnership would give Google access to Twitter’s data ‘fire hose’ again, something that search rivals Yahoo and (Microsoft) Bing already enjoy. Twitter and Google struck a similar agreement back in 2009, but it was not renewed in 2011. That left Google needing to crawl the Twitter services to index tweet — a process that takes time. Terms of this apparent new deal will make tweets visible inside Google’s search results immediately after they are tweeted out. This coming together would be significant for a couple of reasons. Bloomberg’s sources claim there is no advertising revenue deal here, but Google will reportedly pay “data-licensing” revenue. That’s a revenue line item that Twitter grew from $16 million to $41 million in the past year, and — with Google on board — there’s more to come. Secondly, with Twitter expanding the scope of its advertising this week so that Promoted Tweets appear on third party apps and sites — starting with Flipboard and Yahoo Japan — the company is keen to pull in and monetize visitors to its service who are not registered Twitter users. Appearing more prominently in Google’s search results page could significantly boost this business. The deal may be positive for Twitter, but it could have implications for Google’s own social network. One of the positive features about Google+, the company’s own social service, was that updates prominently in search results — potentially driving new traffic websites and bringing more business for companies. The prospect of real-time Twitter returning is yet another signal that Google is stepping off the gas for Google+ — Vic Gundotra, who lead the service, left Google last April, as the company started viewing Google+ as a platform rather than a product.

• Tinder has redefined user behavior and is driving an explosion in online dating: Online dating, long dominated by big outfits like Match.com and eHarmony, has in the last two years been transformed by the rise of Tinder, the mobile phone app that lets its users scan photos and short profiles of potential dates. Then, as easy as a swipe of a finger, you can decide if you want to chat or pass on a prospect. But Tinder’s free app isn’t the only mobile dating game in town. Many app makers are trying to capitalize on the Tinder method of simple, smartphone-based dating. Of course, they add a twist to the swipe. An app called Hinge sifts only through your Facebook connections for friends of friends. Clover offers Tinder-like features but with an added, if dubious, bonus called “On-Demand Dating.” Think Uber for dating — you pick a location and a date, and Clover sends someone to meet you. And there are others with variations on the theme, including How About We, where you pose an idea for a fun date and see who bites, and the League, sort of a mobile dating app for the 1 percent: it promotes exclusivity and a carefully selected clientele. It’s easier, faster and more discreet to swipe through an app than to create laborious online profiles. The downside of that convenience is uncertainty, since mobile profiles tend to be sparse or nonexistent. Still, this simplicity has caused Tinder’s growth to explode in just two years. According to the company, it processes more than one billion swipes a day and matches some 12 million people a day. A “match” means two people agreed they were interested in one another. From there, they can choose whether to exchange messages or meet in person. Traditional dating sites like Match.com, eHarmony and OkCupid also have apps that let their users keep tabs on their profiles, messages and matches, of course. In fact Tinder, Match and OkCupid, among other dating sites, are all part of the IAC/InterActiveCorp media conglomerate. Amarnath Thombre, president of Match.com in North America, said that in the last year it had registered a 35 percent increase in the people who use Match through the app each month, and a 109 percent increase in the number of people who use only the app to reach Match every month. But he acknowledged that Tinder was creating an entirely new audience of digital daters. “What Tinder especially has accomplished, which I think none of our competitors could achieve before, is that it opened up this young demographic — 18- to 25-year-olds — that no product could open up before,” Mr. Thombre said.

• Tinder is starting to monetize - The Gap just ran a guerilla campaign on the app, its first. When you're flipping through Tinder looking for a Valentine's date, you might run into The Gap, too. The clothing company is launching a new ad campaign on the hot dating app, it said today. The Tinder ads are one part of The Gap's new campaign ahead of its spring line, which includes a new micro-series filmed for Instagram starring Jenny Slate and Paul Dano. "We did a little something special on Tinder," said Tricia Nichols, The Gap's leader of consumer engagement and brand strategies. "It's a guerrilla [marketing] idea where you'll see a profile with clever messaging in the spirit of love and the perfect match. It's the perfect fit for Tinder." It's also an unusual fit for Tinder. Until now, the dating app has not had many ad campaigns, especially from fashion brands. However, owned by IAC/InterActive, Tinder is looking for sources of revenue, offering a new premium ad-free option and running ads on the free service. This is the Gap's first ad on the app, and the retailer declined to reveal how much the placement cost.

• Canalys study: Micromax overtakes Samsung as India's #1 smartphone supplier; Karbonn and Lava stay at #3 and #4; Samsung disputes findings: Smartphone maker Micromax has surpassed Samsung in the fourth quarter of 2014 to become the leading supplier in India’s booming smartphone market for the first time, according to a report by Canalys. Micromax accounted for 22 percent of smartphone shipments in India in the October-December quarter, up from 21 per cent in the previous quarter. Samsung’s market share fell 2 percent points sequentially to 20 per cent in the fourth quarter. This performance is partly due to Micromax’s continuing appeal to users upgrading to smartphones by catering to local market preferences, which has become increasingly important in India. “Micromax has been quicker than its competitors to improve the appeal of devices, for example, they included a wide variety of local languages on its Unite phones,” said Rushabh Doshi, analyst at Canalys. The firm said Micromax’s flagship line of products has also effectively targeted the INR 9,000 to INR 12,000 (US$150 to US$200) segment, with products such as the Canvas Nitro and Canvas Hue. Karbonn remained at the third spot followed by another domestic vendor, Lava. A total of 21.6 million smartphones were shipped in India in last quarter, up from 18.9 million in the third quarter. 41 percent were of devices in the INR 6,000 to INR 12,000 bracket (US$100 to US$200) while 23 percent of shipments were of devices priced under INR 6,000 ($100). Samsung is denying these numbers, and states that according to its own data, its share is nearly double to that of its closest rival.

• South Korea is showing real intent in taking on Uber: South Korea on Thursday rejected online ride-sharing firm Uber Technologies Inc's proposal for a new driver registration system, and vowed to shut down the U.S. company's operations. Uber on Wednesday proposed a registration system to allow its drivers to operate legally in Asia's fourth-largest economy, where CEO Travis Kalanick and the head of the company's South Korean unit have been indicted for violating licensing rules. But the transport ministry said a parallel taxi registration system was unacceptable in a market already over-supplied with taxis. "Transporting customers with private or rented cars and accepting compensation is clearly illegal. The company is ignoring local laws by stating its intention to continue such operations," the ministry said in a statement. It said it would continue to curtail Uber's activities and work with legislators to ban the service. In January, the city of Seoul started offering rewards of up to 1 million won ($929) for people who reported private or rented car drivers providing transport through Uber.

• Temasek invests $60M in analytics firm Manthan; Mu Sigma is reportedly in talks to raise $200M: Singapore’s state owned investment firm Temasek has led a $60 million (Rs 370 crore) investment round in Bangalore-based Manthan Software Services Pvt Ltd, a provider of business intelligence and Big Data analytics solutions for enterprises. Existing investor Norwest Venture Partners also participated, according to a top executive of the company. The investment includes both a primary issue where Manthan gets fresh financial resource as well as a secondary component where one of the three existing investors IDG Ventures has exited from the company. Another existing investor Fidelity has partially exited. The quantum of money going into the firm could not be immediately ascertained but a Mint report said the firm received Rs 105 crore as part of the investment round a few weeks ago. With headquarters in Bangalore, the firm also has offices in the US, the UK, the Philippines, Singapore and Brazil. In the space, Bangalore-based pure-play analytics provider Fractal Analytics raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Canadian loyalty management firm Aimia. India- and US-based Mu Sigma Inc., one of the leading Big Data analytics companies in the world, is in talks with a group of investors to raise upwards of $200 million in fresh funding.

• Consolidation: Rumors swirl that Uber is looking to buy Meru and Olacabs is looking to buy TaxiForSure: Uber now reportedly in talks to buy Meru while Olacabs is said to be eyeing TaxiForSure. For all we know these could be just rumours possibly meant to scupper independent fundraising plans of the individual ventures. Both Meru and Uber have denied the reports calling it untrue. Meru, a legacy radio cab firm owns several thousands of cars. However, the business model can be easily pivoted by leasing out the cars to fleet ownership and management firms. What’s more, it could hive off the car assets into another company which could be sold off to another firm thus separating the cars from Meru’s balance sheet. This is exactly what Flipkart did when it separated the legal ownership of WS Retail, its single largest vendor. That would make Meru a marketplace like its other fast growing peers. Last year Meru’s chief Sidharth Pahwa told us that around 60 per cent of the cars are not owned by the firm and that figure could well have got bumped up further.