Google buys social search company Aardvark

Google has announced the acquisition of Aardvark, the Internet search and social networking started by former Google employees. Neither company would release the financials of the deal, but it appears to be at least $50 million.

The move should help Google compete better with Twitter, and the move comes just one day after Buzz was released, adding social networking features to Google Gmail accounts.

Reuters says Aardvark "has pioneered a new type of Internet search dubbed "social search." Instead of looking at Web pages to find answers to search queries, Aardvark's service taps a person's network of social contacts."

The acquisition is Google's sixth purchase since September, but one of its smallest.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Feb 2010 17:56

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14 comments

Tristan_2

.....this is really starting to kinda scare me...no lie this is just freaky now

11.2.2010 20:55 #1

lamain

as long as the keep the "don't be evil" idea.

so far if any company is going to be huge Google seems like a good choice.

11.2.2010 21:50 #2

tatsh

for those who know SQL:

"Google" LIKE "Microsoft"

12.2.2010 01:04 #3

Pop_Smith

Unless those former employees left Google under bad circumstances this is a pure-win situation for them.

They are now back under the Google roof, and will probably be re-gaining all of the benefits that go with working at Google. In addition they probably all became, or will become, multi-millionaires due to this acquisition.

Originally posted by Tristan_2: .....this is really starting to kinda scare me...no lie this is just freaky nowWhy does this scare you? Aardvark is just a small, dedicated search engine.

In order for Google's acquisitions to scare me it would take Google acquiring an offline acquisition that they have no experience with such as T-Mobile or Ford in order to scare me.

12.2.2010 02:32 #4

HarryJam

No doubt Google is one of the leading Search Engines almost 70% searches are done through Google. I personally think that Google will lead in its new purchase too.One thing that is more important that buzz is integrated with g mail.

12.2.2010 07:28 #5

Tristan_2

Quote:Unless those former employees left Google under bad circumstances this is a pure-win situation for them.

They are now back under the Google roof, and will probably be re-gaining all of the benefits that go with working at Google. In addition they probably all became, or will become, multi-millionaires due to this acquisition.

Originally posted by Tristan_2: .....this is really starting to kinda scare me...no lie this is just freaky nowWhy does this scare you? Aardvark is just a small, dedicated search engine.

In order for Google's acquisitions to scare me it would take Google acquiring an offline acquisition that they have no experience with such as T-Mobile or Ford in order to scare me.Sure its small don't get me wrong, but lately if you keep up the large business have been buying the smaller ones out. Plus were in a weird time line, first the China Hack, then the Google NSA team up an now this..its weird and kinda scary no lie

12.2.2010 07:34 #6

juventini

Hope this is not the making of another Microsoft.

12.2.2010 09:55 #7

LissenUp

Ugggghhh!

GD Google for doing this. Social networking sites are for anti-social losers. Is this the future for our kids??????? Virtual friendships on every level.

Man........if something should be virtualized, it should be virtual morons, stupids, arseholes and jagoffs. The real ones are brutal. What a dumb idea to virtualize friends via social networking sites which, IMO, is actually tearing the friendships apart by creating a huge gap/distance between those that used to hang out.

Yet another reason why I'm never having kids.

12.2.2010 15:16 #8

Hopium

Originally posted by LissenUp: Ugggghhh!

GD Google for doing this. Social networking sites are for anti-social losers.

Yet another reason why I'm never having kids.lol i doubt you have a choice in the matter, i hit on old high school chicks that i havent or wouldnt have talk to thanks to facebook. from the sound of it you dont have any friends or no one talks to you lol!

oh and how is this bad? for anyone starting their own business the plan is to make money first and foremost. so lets see
Create Technology>hone that technology>sell it for millions including your business>retire at 30 and do whatever your life ambitions are?
sounds like a good business model to me....

12.2.2010 17:16 #9

LissenUp

12.2.2010 18:54 #10

LissenUp

Quote:Originally posted by LissenUp: Ugggghhh!

GD Google for doing this. Social networking sites are for anti-social losers.

Yet another reason why I'm never having kids.lol i doubt you have a choice in the matter, i hit on old high school chicks that i havent or wouldnt have talk to thanks to facebook. from the sound of it you dont have any friends or no one talks to you lol!

oh and how is this bad? for anyone starting their own business the plan is to make money first and foremost. so lets see
Create Technology>hone that technology>sell it for millions including your business>retire at 30 and do whatever your life ambitions are?
sounds like a good business model to me....Actually I don't have that many friends. I only accept invites from people I knew or slightly knew from H.S. and my H.S. only had 1050 students with 250 in my graduating class. That's small for Chicagoland. My other school had 3000+ but I only knew a few hundred so my FB list is like 75(ish). I'm not going to unleash on you for being a prick as it just gets me booted from AD. (My apologies if you weren't being one)

FB is not an effective method for businesses. Small business and entrepreneurship is my expertise and there might be a FEW others that can rival me and FB is a terrrible way of relying on to spark business...........but you go ahead and invent, hone, and make millions and then let all of us at AD know when that's done.

One thing will never change.......to make millions, you need capital and usually millions OR an idea that everyone wants coupled with enough business sense and common sense to self market directly to manufacturers.

Unless you make it on the Shark Tank which is nigh impossible and advertising in and of itself.

12.2.2010 19:01 #11

ThePastor

Sometimes a social site is ... well, just a place to socialize... :D
I figure wasting your time in FB is infinantly more productive than surfing the web for porn!

Like Google or hate them, one cannot deny that they have taken "search" to a whole new level. Levels that make the web actually usable.
They make it possible for people to actually make money on the web instead of just using it as a glorified "Yellow Pages". They have "raised the bar"...

Google will continue to innovate and expand. Then, one day, some one else will come along and they'll be old and bloated and they will die. It is the nature of business.

12.2.2010 20:44 #12

DVDBack23

Quote:Social networking sites are for anti-social losers. Is this the future for our kids??????? Virtual friendships on every level. Quoted for over-the-top boldness without backing.

12.2.2010 21:13 #13

creaky

World of Google zombies mistake news story for Facebook Quote:Just how deep is Google's hold on the minds of the world's netizens? So deep that if the web giant boosts a news story about Facebook and logins to the top of its search results, myriad net surfers will mistake the news story for the Facebook login page, wondering why they can't login to it and why it looks nothing like Facebook.Nuff said.

Plus ~ http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_jump.cfm/835363/5036184

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13.2.2010 00:06 #14

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