Google Acquires Dodgeball

kalki writes "Dodgeball.com, a service that uses mobile phones to help people meet up with friends who are in the same location, said on its website on Wednesday that it has been bought by Web search leader Google Inc. Also available on the official site is a Q&A about the deal." From the article: "As a two-person team, Alex and I have taken dodgeball about a far as we can alone. Since we finished grad school, we've been trying to figure out how to grow dodgeball and make it a better service along the way. We talked to a lot of different angel investors and venture capitalists, but no one really 'got' what we were doing - that is until we met Google."

Comments

The cynic in me...

[grub]

We talked to a lot of different angel investors and venture capitalists, but no one really 'got' what we were doing - that is until we met Google."

I think what he's really saying is "We begged but no one offered us any money... until we met Google."

What's next?

[Anonymous Coward]

Google is in a lot of things that seem really cool.

I am concerned, however, about the infrastructure of society being in the hands of a company.

That is exactly what Microsoft wants, in my opinion, and in that respect, Google and MS are identical.

That is why MS is watching Google so closely.

Re:What's next?

[garcia]

I am concerned, however, about the infrastructure of society being in the hands of a company.

That is exactly what Microsoft wants, in my opinion, and in that respect, Google and MS are identical.

That's exactly what every company wants but they want to do it in a way where their customers pay out the ass for it. People support Google because it's "free" (free as in I gave out my personal habbits to the lowest bidder so I could see maps for free).

New Trend

[mattmentecky]

I predict a new trend to start emerging: Think of a unique/different way in which 'searching' is in anyway involved and create a startup with full intentions of being bought by Google.

Re:I know it's unreasonable at the time being...

[0x461FAB0BD7D2]

If you're searching Google to find out where your friends are hanging out, perhaps technological integration isn't exactly your biggest problem.

Re:Funny, Yes, but not funny for Google.

[millwall]

If you don't know where your friends are -- they aren't your friends.

I'd say, if you've got so few friends you know where all of them are at any given moment, THEN you are a geek.

Re:Funny, Yes, but not funny for Google.

[mattspammail]

"egregious error"

Strong words for an old-timer like you. You should know better. Did you buy that ID on eBay?

This is far from an egregious error. If it fails, it fails. If it succeeds, they reap the rewards. What are the chances of a business model such as this one failing? At this point, much lower than before. Apparently there were other idiots already using the service, but as soon as Google ties this system into their existing Hello, Picassa, and (possibly) future IM client, I believe potential is just oozing. There is no bigger gadget money-maker out there than cell phones. iPods are a distant second. And the high school/young college market is teeming with kids willing to pay for an inexpensive, unneeded service just like this. If it's free though, and it keeps them using Google services and so forth, how can this lose?

What's next? The Google Backlash, is what

[RobotRunAmok]

I remember when personal computers were just finding a niche in business, and your choices were an x86 running DOS and a Mac. For us DOS guys, MS was this amazing Sorcerer's Tower in Redmond that kept coming up with newer, better office and personal apps. And we watched in awe as the graphics programs for Windows began to nose up on their Mac counterparts (if not their user base). MS was Great!

Then, somewhere along the line, circa early-mid 90's, somebody looked up and realized how pervasive they were. The Novell and WordPerfect satellites had been completely absorbed into the ever-burgeoning and hungry DeathStar they orbited, and even our phones, PDAs, TV set-top boxes, and browsers began to sport the Brand of the Beast. The backlash began, but the tide was unstem-able. We had become a Microsoft Nation, save for a few cells of Linux revolutionaries and a Mac sub-culture that, by its own choice, would not breed and so could not be counted upon in the long haul.

I am often reminded of the affection I and so many others had for MS 15 years ago, seeing it mirrored here daily in the gushing PR presented as "reporting" on the front page of slashdot. But MS brokered only tools, no matter how empowered those tools made us feel. Google brokers knowledge, and if we don't monitor their growth at least as cynically as we do that of Microsoft, we are fools.

Re:What's next? The Google Backlash, is what

[Chyeld]

I have no problem with a Google empire. I would have had no problem with a Microsoft empire, if they hadn't built theirs Robber Baron style.

Google is, so far, the perfect example that you CAN be a successful company and NOT lie, steal, and cheat your way there.

For decades, I've had to deal with MBA types who revered Bill Gates, not because he was a good guy but because he was successful. They didn't care how he did it, they cared that he had done it.

Let Google take over; let them be so pervasive that you can't go anywhere without seeing their brand; AS LONG AS THEY REMAIN THE COMPANY THEY ARE NOW.

I'd rather spend the rest of my life dealing with business oriented types that realize it's possible to get ahead without being backstabbing, manipulative, lying, sacks of excrement than with the ones today that think their actions should only be guided by whether the potential profit outweighs the potential fees if they get caught.

Cuz, y'kno

[aztektum]

It would make too much sense to just to call your friends mobile phone to find out where they are.

Google's Long Term Strategy is Unfolding

[twifosp]

This strategy is no different than offering a free search. When you search, google knows what you're looking for and gives you advertisements based on that. Now they are adding the where.

Google is going to become the premier marketing company in the future. They are really good at providing a service that people want or need, but at the same time, that service also helps them collect data on you. Is this a good or bad thing? I can't really tell yet. However, I just had a flash back to Minority Report where people are getting customer advertisements based on who they are.

Let's look at what google can know about you, if you use all of their services (present and future):

1. Google Search: What kind of things you search on a regular basis. Your interests and hobbies.
2. Gmail: What kind of content you get in your email.
3. Google Cache Proxy: Where you surf the web and how often.
4. Google Maps: Where do you want to go?
5. Google Dodgeball: Where do you and your friends actually go?

Think about it. I could easily forsee LCD screens on streets, in bars, at your restuarant table which display custom google ads. As soon as you pass by them, your bluetooth enabled phone broadcasts your cell phone number to the receiver which transmits to the Google Person Database. This database spiders out and looks up your most recent searches, your friends searches, other people who search like you, accesses your e-mail indexes, looks up what locations you visit on a regular basis, and gives you a custom advertisement which has the best probability to sell to the thousands of other people who have a similar demographic to you.

I'm starting to think of Google as marketing powerhouse with really smart technology, rather a technology powerhouse with really slick marketing.

I'm struggling to find the answer: What can't Google figure out or make damned good assumptions about you, based on your Google use?