Google Loves Jaiku
Google seems to be intent on making waves.
There’s speculation that Google could launch a Facebook-rivaling service on November 5th. Today the company announced that they’ve acquired Jaiku - the ‘what are you doing’ and presence service based in Helsinki, Finland.
Whilst there’s no mention of how much Google paid (all the terms remain confidential), it’s certainly something that’s going to weigh in the minds of rival services such as Twitter (particularly as Twitter has yet to establish its business model).
As for what’s next for Jaiku, all the founders will say is ‘Check back in a few months to see what we’ve developed.
Relevant Links: http://jaiku.com/help/google
Source: Nik Fletcher
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Yesterday (Oct. 10), search giant Google announced that it will be buying Jaiku, a Finnish startup company that specializes in enabling friends to keep in touch and share whatever they are doing at any given moment using mobile devices. However, the terms of the transaction were not disclosed when the deal was officially closed.
Jaiku, a Helsinki-based firm that was founded early last year is a social networking and mini-messaging service that enables people to keep track of each others; activities on-the-go using mobile devices.
The Mountain View, California-based Google believes that activity streams and mobile presence are important areas in which it can add a lot of value for its users.
Google also added that Jaiku’s technology and talented team would be a great addition to Google’s current application and mobile teams.
As it is Google seems to be making it a priority of following Internet users as they go mobile. In fact, a while ago, it was reported that Google was busy crafting the so-called “gphone” using an open-source software platform tailored to its online services.
Besides, last month, Google acquired Zingku, a mobile social networking firm targeted mainly at teenagers and the youth.
According to Google product manager Tony Hsieh, “Technology has made staying in touch with your friends and family both easier and harder. Living a fast-paced, on-the-go lifestyle is easier (and a lot of fun), but it’s more difficult to keep track of everyone when they’re running around at warp speed. That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’ve acquired Jaiku.”
Following the transaction, Jaiku will continue to support its existing user base. Jaiku users would be able to invite new friends but new user registrations have been closed for the time being.