Just how much could billions of bite-sized snapshots of everyday life be worth? Twitter is hoping a whole heck of a lot, according to Kara Swisher of All Things Digital. Twitter is engaged in serious discussions with both Microsoft and Google to data-mine the billions of tweets submitted by Twitter’s 54 million monthly users. Twitter is looking to score some big-time up-front cash in these deals, as well as some back-side money through revenue-sharing on search results.

Data-mining, which involves a little sleight-of-hand, involves tossing together a bunch of information and “mining” it for patterns that predict behaviors or preferences. It is widely used, we are told, to make for better consumer experiences. More often it’s used to sell us something.

The data Twitter controls is especially valuable, consisting of real-time and content-sharing information. This data would be used by Microsoft and Google to enhance the findings of their respective search engines. Basically, your tweets will be used by Twitter, Microsoft and Google to make a ‘better’ product, from which each of them will make more money. In return you get a ‘better’ user experience.

Image Credit: Library of Congress