Google acquires Finnish social addressing service Jaiku

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On Tuesday the Internet search engine company Google acquired the Finnish social network platform Jaiku, which can be accessed both from computers and mobile phones.
      Google and the Jaiku founders Petteri Koponen, 37, and Jyri Engeström, 30, have refrained from disclosing the price paid or any other details regarding the transaction.
      Jaiku also refuses to reveal its present number of users, which in the spring was in the region of 40,000.
     
The service’s business idea is based on presence. Through Jaiku, its users can inform each other of their movements and doings. Information can be accessed and posted through the Internet as well as from mobile devices. The updated information is then passed on to friends belonging to the same "social network".
      The accessibility from mobile phones is what sets Jaiku apart from other Internet social addressing services, such as Facebook or MySpace.
      In Jaiku the messages are short, under 140 characters in length.
      "These are quick notes to a small group. Announcements of everyday doings and whereabouts of an individual", explains Koponen.
     
Koponen and Engeström established Jaiku in the summer of 2006. The first users found the service in the same autumn. Today Jaiku employs seven individuals, five of whom work in Finland and two in the Netherlands. The headquarters is located on Lönnrotinkatu in Helsinki.
      The company receives its revenue from advertising sales and bonus features, such as chargeable icons and various promotional campaigns. According to Koponen, the commercial side of the operation has been modest.
      "We do not yet have a lot of revenue", the co-founder admits.
     
After Tuesday’s transaction, however, the money side of things is likely to have changed dramatically. Google is one of the most profitable Internet companies in the world. This year the firm has invested strongly in growth by means of acquiring several other businesses operating on the Internet.
      One of Google’s ambitions is to strengthen its presence in the mobile environment, and rumour has it that the company is even developing its own mobile phone. Purchasing Jaiku fits these plans perfectly, for the service makes it possible for instance to maintain one’s personal blog from a mobile handset.
      Koponen reveals that both he and Engeström will remain in the firm - henceforth as Google’s paid employees.


Links:
  Jaiku
  Google blog announcement

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