So, simultaneously:

1) Google's search results acquire more up-to-the-minute relevancy (which it hopes will result in more visitors and - ultimately - more clicks on AdWords); and

2) Twitter gets more exposure to Twitter's infrequent users and non-users (which it hopes will result in more clickthroughs which can then be monetised)

So who is paying whom here?

This will, i'm sure, benefit twitter more, but Google will also lock in users that may choose not to log in to twitter.

I'm sure twitter's latest test can't come soon enough. Twitter Tests New Curated Content Homepage For New Users [webmasterworld.com]

Are we really going to have even more junk cluttering up the SERPs?

Oh, superclown2, the clean Google serps we used to love an know well are long gone. But yes, it will have to take up some more valuable real estate.

It goes further to show that we marketers have to use more than just seo, and more than just marketing for Google.

Yes, this sounds like clutter-waiting-to-happen for sure. My guess is that it's really going to drive up the tweet-count on Twitter. Webmasters will see it as a way to gain an immediate presence in the SERPs and the rush will be on. A new way to spam your way onto Google. This is going to be interesting to watch unfold. I already can't find what I'm looking for on Google so whatever. Tweeting away anyway.

>A new way to spam your way onto Google.

oh, now you've given it away. ;)

At least getting links from Tweets might be faster now.

Yes, this sounds like clutter-waiting-to-happen for sure. My guess is that it's really going to drive up the tweet-count on Twitter. Webmasters will see it as a way to gain an immediate presence in the SERPs and the rush will be on. A new way to spam your way onto Google. This is going to be interesting to watch unfold. I already can't find what I'm looking for on Google so whatever. Tweeting away anyway.

Agreed 100%, I can feel the draught already from webmasters rushing to tweet even more total rubbish just to get in the SERPS.

In fact this may well do significant damage to Twitter. As well as the normal rubbish, Twitter will now be deluged by webmasters cluttering it up with profit-based rubbish as well.

I can feel a Tweet campaign coming on right now! SEO experts will be scrambling over each other to offer a new Twitter / Goog base service.

It's my hope that Twitter won't get spammed as a consequence, but also that I won't see, as a user, an enforcement of Google's rules regarding quality of tweets.

Either way, my move-out bag is ready, just in case. :P

Are we really going to have even more junk cluttering up the SERPs?

Was that a problem back in 2009-2011, when Google had access to tweets in real time?

I honestly can't remember. (I don't recall seeing the SERPs that I watched overwhelmed with tweets, but I suppose some queries attract more tweets--and more tweet spam--than others do.)

There are two issues.

1. Taking up more real estate in the SERPs.

The SERPs are already very crowded, we have had to get used to that. We've had many, many conversations over the years about doing business online and not relying solely on Google for traffic. If you're still rely solely on Google for traffic in the traditional sense, wake up and smell the coffee. It's still there, but you just have to be a little more creative.

This is just another slice gone from an already very busy SERPs.

2. The potential for spam.

I'm pretty certain that Google and twitter are on the case here. I don't doubt that some spam will get through, but, if the SERPs become populated with spam it'll look badly on both companies. I'm sure they'll be planning something in advance of the launch.

The only times I visited twitter.com was do do search in real time. Now it appears I won't have to visit twitter.com at all.

Will tweets take up more real estate in the SERPs? I imagine that will depend on the query and on how the use of tweets is implemented. (As I mentioned above, I can't remember how tweets were served in by the SERPs a few years ago. I don't recall being annoyed by them, so they couldn't have been overwhelming Google's results for searches that weren't on important real-time topics like "#KimKarsdashianKeister".)

Are we really going to have even more junk cluttering up the SERPs?

Maybe so .. but then it's not like Google isn't cluttered up already .. right?

I'm guessing that Google is waning in the battle for eyeballs .. I mean, Firefox does the Yahoo! Search deal now, and how soon do you think it will be before Apple picks up Bing? (Bing is already a big deal with SIRI so it just makes sense that Safari might shift to Bing as the default search .. )

Forced downloads and sneaking installations can only do so much for Google -- I think people are tired of the extremely skewed Chrome numbers as a result .. Just because it loads in the registry, doesn't mean it's actually being used by anyone ... The fact that Google is losing it's foothold in the U.S. and Canada pretty much bears this out.

I see this whole Twitter deal as just a hail Mary for Google --- When you're down to the last 50 seconds in the 4th quarter, you'll throw whatever it is at the wall and hope it sticks ...

Google makes deal with twitter, google gets free advertising, google stock goes up.

Imho, this is the strategy behind most of googles actions these days. Its all about the stock.

As I remember, Google had a small section on the main Google serps page dedicated to the current hot Realtime topics. It was always scrolling, and I found that distracting, as it tended to draw the eye.

The main Realtime results, though, were on a separate Realtime Search page... http://www.google.com/realtime ...and I was surprised that I found the feature fascinating and potentially useful. See this discussion here, which is actually pretty good...

Google Realtime Search Launches Dedicated Home
August, 2010
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4192644.htm [webmasterworld.com]

To quote several of the thoughts I posted then....

Many degrees of fascination and utility in this, some more potential than actual at the moment. For me, the big feature is the time-line, which makes this a history research tool of sorts. You can skip back and forth in time, move the selection window around, and of course refine your query. You also have a choice of returning images. The results are currently drawn mostly from Twitter, occasionally also from Facebook, with associated images then coming from a variety of sources, including flickr, myspace, twitpic, tweephoto, etc....

I was surprised at the potential I see here, particularly as I'm not a big twitter fan. (I don't personally like that kind of fragmentation of my attention). And yes, unfiltered Twitter quality is pretty questionable....

Over time, real time search might become a tool for studying the propagation of trends, the consequences of events, the sources of rumor, and the nature of the social fabric.... Most likely, the data will be more valuable for computer analysis than for manual analysis... but it's unlikely we'll get access to the data at the bulk level. There are of course sinister implications as well as benign academic uses....

There are reports that the tweets are going live right now on Google. I haven't yet seen them myself.