Twitter on hiring spree; looks to ramp up headcount by 50%

Micro-blogging service provider Twitter, reportedly being eyed by Internet giant Google for a possible buyout, is on a hiring spree and plans to increase its headcount by about 50 per cent.

Currently operating with a workforce of less than 30 people, Twitter is looking to hire people for as many as 13 key positions at the company, which had started operating from a garage in 2006.

Twitter has leapfrogged on popularity charts with number of celebrities, including Britney Spears, and US daily The New York Times using this service and also because of many people embracing it for dissemination of information like the recent
G-20 meeting in London, the US Presidential elections and the terror attacks in Mumbai, India.

It is looking for people in areas like engineering, business development, product and technical operations departments to take the company to the next level of growth.

"We're looking for key people who will help take Twitter to next level and create a company culture that is successful and satisfying for years to come," Twitter said on its website.

Twitter offers micro-blogging which allows users to send short text messages, among others, on various multimedia platforms.

The firm is searching for software engineers (six positions), product managers (two), operations engineer (two) and communications associate (one) and director for strategic partnerships (one) at its San Francisco office.

About itself the Internet firm stated that, "Twitter is a great place to work. We hire talented, motivated people and hand them big problems to solve. We have a great new space, an army of passionate users, and a very bright future. Our team is growing a lot in the near future -- may be you should join us."

Recently, a technology blog Techcrunch suggested that Internet search major Google was in talks to buyout Twitter for about 250 million dollars.

About the speculations, Twitter said, "It should come as no surprise that Twitter engages in discussions with other companies regularly and on a variety of subjects."

"Our goal is to build a profitable, independent company and we are just getting started. We've got just over thirty employees now and we are working out of a loft in San Francisco's SoMA neighborhood," it added.

A few months ago, news reports had suggested that social networking site Facebook was also interested in a deal with Twitter.

Last month, Google had said it is hiring for more than 350 positions worldwide, including over 20 in India, even as the entity is trimming its workforce.