Google and Jaiku - the puzzle is getter clearer
Google has acquired the mobile microblogging service Jaiku for an undisclosed sum, fueling some speculation on Google’s future plans for forays into the social networking space, particularly via mobile devices.
For right now, existing users of Jaiku will carry on as usual. New users will be able to join in future, through an invitation, according to the official Google Blog.
There is further speculation that the Jaiku mobile service will be bundled in with the yet to materialize but highly hyped Google G-phone.
Twitter, Jaiku, Pownce and other mobile chat applications give people one more way to communicate. The advantage to these applications is that the communications can be (and have to be) brief, so people do not feel they have to write long volumes, or stand on literary ceremony, such when writing emails - or have the need to make idle chit chat when calling acquaintances on the phone. It conveys “thinking of you” while providing a “what’s news” highlight in the briefest way possible.
Twitter is a very simple application geared at providing “What I am doing” updates - rather like the status updates on Facebook. People who travel frequently tend to embed Twitter into their web pages or blogs, to send quick bulletins on what they are up to. However, it is hard to say anything really meaningful within 140 characters.
Jaiku, the more complicated cousin of Twitter, allows users to create an “activity stream” where they post Jaikus (a variation of the word haiku which means a short poem), as well as add pictures and contacts lists. The brain child of Jyri Engeström and Petteri Koponen from Finland, Jaiku was founded in February, 2006 and launched in July of that year. This is indeed a quick turn around for selling a start up that is only a year and a half old!
Google’s acquisition of Jaiku also came hot on the heels the acquisition of Zingku, the mobile social networking networking service, along with Google’s much publicized bid on wireless spectrum in the US and UK.
The interesting matter to speculate on is what does Google plan to do with Jaiku in the future? If Google were to set up their own social network, they would definitely want a quick chat or status update application, like the other social networks. One that is mobile ready and can exchange multimedia via mobile and other platforms, would definitely be a big asset.
And if the Gphone materializes, Google would definitely have the social-mobile market well covered. With Jaiku, yet another piece seems to have dropped into the puzzle!
Tags : acquisition, activity stream, facebook, google, mobile chat, mobile service, New Media, social networking, status updates, twitter
Google phone: The tongue wagging just won’t stop.
Which mobile phone does not exist, but continues to generate almost as much hype as the iPhone? The answer is the Gphone, Google’s supposed mobile-phone-in-development. We keep hearing rumors, and more rumors about google coming out with its own phone. Now Rediff reports that Google is in talk with Indian carriers regarding the imminent roll out of the Gphone. Gigaom calls the report speculative, and we tend to agree.
Google started tongues wagging when the put their hat into the ring for the 700 MHz spectrum auction , for which it is prepared to shell out $4.6 billion. So news of Google’s upcoming foray into the mobile space continues to do the buzz rounds.
According to Google spokespeople “Google is committed to providing users with access to the world’s information, and mobile becomes more important to those efforts every day. We’re collaborating with partners worldwide to bring Google search and applications to mobile users everywhere.”
Google has, of course, come out with a lot of handy applications for the mobile phone, such as icalendar. I understand, though, why companies would want to keep mum about their upcoming launches these days. Gone are the times of the quick releases, followed by endless patches. These days a product has to be perfect, please everybody, and work straight out of the box. It is little wonder then that even small websites take great pains to indicate when they are in alpha or beta, lest their star rise too pre-maturely, and be followed by a fast crash and burn.
Google has developed a reputation of producing apps that work. I am sure they would be as cautious when (and if) they decide to release any hardware - specially a mobile phone.
Tags : Opinion, Technology
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