Google is buying startups to improve Google+, the first being Y Combinator company Frid.ge as we reported yesterday.
This is a smart move. Google seems to have something of a blind spot when it comes to social products, and a big company can always do with having smart entrepreneurs in-house to enliven things up.
But the interesting thing is how the acquisition will work. As ReadWriteWeb points out, calling it "eating startups", it's sort of a hybrid between the two more common models of acquiring startups.
On the one hand, you have the "acqui-hire": what the company is buying isn't the startup's product but the team, and typically it shuts down the product or leaves it alone and sends the team off to do other stuff. Google does this routinely.
On the other hand you have the product acquisition: think YouTube or Android, where Google buys a product and then puts its weight behind it to boost it.
The Frid.ge acquisition is a sort of hybrid between the two. On the one hand, their social group product is shut down and the team will be moving to Google's headquarters to work on Google+. But on the other hand, that product will become a part of Google+ as a new feature.
It's a very interesting approach, because it seems to combine the advantages of both. Google "buys" talented people to work on their big existing products. But it also buys products that can help Google+ catch up with Facebook in terms of feature, and maybe even "skate where the puck is going" by plugging in smart new social tools that startups are coming up with, instead of simply "skating where the puck is" by continuing to copy Facebook.
If this is where Google is going, it will be very interesting to watch who they buy next.
Previously: Hooray! Google+ Is 2.4% Of Facebook! →
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See Also:
- Sergey Brin Is Looking For Recumbent Road Bike Recommendations On Google+
- Google+ May Have 10 Million Users, But They're Not Visiting Very Often
- How Google Plans To Trump Facebook In Games
This Is Why Google+ Will Buy Your Startup (GOOG)
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