Twitter’s acquisition of Gnip reaps rewards, risks

BOULDER – Altimeter Group industry analyst Susan Etlinger, who focuses on social-media analytics, said Twitter Inc.’s announcement Tuesday that it has acquired Boulder-based Gnip Inc. gives Gnip a solid opportunity and the financial backing to add more layers to its services.
 
But there are some risks involved. For one, Gnip’s fortunes become even more tied to social-media giant Twitter than they already were.
 
“They were locked in before, but now they’re really locked in,” Etlinger said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Twitter and social-media data provider Gnip announced the acquisition on company blogs Tuesday. Terms of the deal were…