And advertisers can buy ads on Twitter through Google's DoubleClick network, says the New York Times report. Even if Alphabet ( GOOGL ), parent of Google, gave Twitter's shareholders a sizable premium over its current trading price, a deal would cost much less than a year ago. Twitter's stock has climbed some 14% since Microsoft early Monday announced its agreement to buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in cash. Twitter stock, though, is down 70% from 14 months ago. Twitter stock closed up 1.45% at 16.10 in the stock market today. According to a new report by news site 9to5Google, Google broached the idea of a Twitter acquisition to co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2011. Twitter, meanwhile, aims to become more popular with members of Generation Z (those born in the last half of the 1990s or later) who have flowed to the likes of privately held Snapchat, by making video live streaming easier.