Google takes on Facebook

Robert Clark | August 30, 2010

telecomseurope.net

Another day, another Google swing at Facebook.

This time the Googlers have bought Angstro, a startup that enables the sharing of news and other data across social networking sites.

The deal enables Google to tap Angstro founder Rohit Khare, a well-known Valley entrepreneur who was previously involved in KnowNow and non-profit CommerceNet.

Khare is attracted by Google’s open approach to social networking and content, compared with Facebook’s walled garden strategy, the LA Times noted.

Angstro, named after Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Angstrom, says its technology enables it to crunch a huge swathe of data “to deliver very few, yet very intelligent results.”

Coming on the heels of Google’s recent acquisition of social apps firm Slide and social games developer Zynga, the move confirms that it’s game on in the social networking space, however inept some think that Google might be.

That also means its game on for our privacy, thanks to the willingness of both these companies to cross red lines with their use of personal data.

But the thing about privacy is it’s, well, private, and views on it differ.

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