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 Further proof that real-time search is hot came last week when Twitter Inc. struck separate deals with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), giving search engines access to its streams of tweets. Microsoft forged a similar deal with Facebook Inc., 1.6% of which the software giant owns. Real-time search has been heating up for a year or so, and The Deal expects more deals involving search engines, real-time data and other content to come.In a research note Monday, Jefferies & Co. analysts assess the revenue-making opportunities inherent in the most recent real-time search deals: While we believe Microsoft pulled off a little bit of a media/PR coup by announcing the Twitter deal and forcing Google to rush into a similar deal, we do not believe Microsoft will be able to capitalize on its first mover advantage in the short run since neither search engines nor Twitter have figured out how to monetize the data streams from Twitters (affectionately known as Tweets). We believe that users focused on real-time data would be less tolerant to advertising. That said, we can see new business models emerging down the line where the realtime tweets blended with local information (traffic conditions, flight arrivals, etc.) could be more easily monetized and where "premium" tweets from celebrities could be included for a premium subscription. For now, the real-time data integration would mean more refreshes from the users to get up to the minute updates, which should translate into higher query volume, all else equal. Jefferies analysts predict more content deals for search engine providers, commenting on the music service Google is reportedly launching (but has not confirmed): This music search service launch as well as the Tweeter deal point to the fact that content is becoming strategic for search engine players as a core differentiating factor for their Web search and services. We expect more content deals from both Google and Microsoft as the Search war escalates. There has already been a fair amount of dealmaking in real-time search over the last year or so. Last month, real-time search engine developer OneRiot Inc. closed its $7 million Series C, bringing the total venture capital raised to $27 million. The startup also unveiled a content advertising network akin to Google's AdSense but with real-time content. OneRiot is backed by Appian Ventures, Commonwealth Capital Ventures, Spark Capital and angels Brad Feld and Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors Inc. and brother of OneRiot CEO Kimbal Musk. (The Deal Pipeline subscribers may read more on OneRiot here.) Real-time search gained an important endorsement in August, when venerated angel Ron Conway, an early backer of Google, said he was now focusing primarily on real-time data companies under the new SV Angel LLC firm. M&A is also underway. Last year, Twitter bought Summize, a real-time search engine that was developed by New York incubator Betaworks and now powers the search results on Twitter. - Mary Kathleen Flynn
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