Brian Blau, research director at tech research firm Gartner, says Google needs a real-time option, or a Twitter equivalent.

FORBES: Why Google Must Buy Twitter

The business, begun in 2007, now has dozens of hedge funds, mutual funds and large banks as clients, all of which have embraced social media more aggressively in the past year, said Armando Gonzalez, chief executive of the real-time news analysis firm.

WSJ: In the Wired World, Feeds Drive Trading