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Afterlaunching Buzz last week, Google have continued on the social track by now acquiring social search service Aardvark.
The deal, rumoured to be worth around $50 million, could see Google use the social search engine as an answer to, well, Yahoo! Answers. Through IM, Twitter and e-mail, Aardvark lets you ask full-text questions and then takes your social connections and attempts to identify the best person within your network (or extended network - friends and family) who might be able to assist in giving that answer.
Here is how Wired explains the concept behind Aardvark:
Users who sign up give (Aard)Vark access to one of their social networks - Facebook, LinkedIn or the e-mails in their contact list. Users then say what things they are confident answering questions about (e.g. chess, cooking, country music). Vark then routes future questions - such as what's the best country band out of the south from the 1970s or where's a good sushi restaurant near Santa Monica - to the right person. A series of algorithms keeps tuning the targeting by watching if a user's answers are quick and useful, deciding whether their friends are also experts, and checking if a user is online or has been asked to answer too many questions recently.
The news was confirmed by Aardvark CEO (and ex-Googler) Max Ventilla who emailed TechCrunch with the following: "We can confirm that Google has signed a deal to acquire us but have no further comment."
So I'm afraid that's all the news we have so far folks, but if we hear anything more, we will be sure to let you know.
Some people are predicting that Social Media will soon replace emails.....here is a list of Social Media Websites to check out.....
To learn more about some of the most popular networks that are part of the Internet's second generation, read the blurbs below and then visit these sites. You'll find some easier to use and understand than others, but as you browse, ask yourself: How could our agency benefit by using this network?
• Facebook (www.facebook.com): A free online social media network created by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 while he was at Harvard University. Named for the paper booklets that colleges distribute with names and photos of students, Facebook spread to other universities and now has 150 million subscribers worldwide.
• LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com): A network of 33 million professionals from around the world, representing 170 industries and 200 countries. Launched by five partners in 2003, the network exists to "find, be introduced to and collaborate with qualified professionals you need to work with to accomplish your goals."
• Twitter (www.twitter.com): A privately-funded social media service with offices in San Francisco. Started in March 2006, Twitter has grown into a real time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices. Members post news about themselves by answering, in 140 characters or less, the question: "What are you doing?" Other members respond by offering relevant information that may be useful. According to a source, Twitter had 744,000members as of January 2008.
• Craigslist (www.craigslist.com): A free, online classified advertising space that connects buyers and sellers, whether the item being "sold" is an antique dresser or a position at an insurance firm. The site is categorized by metropolitan area and further divided by suburbs. Ads are automatically deleted after seven days, at which time you may repost.
