Google just revealed its latest social networking acquisition — a startup called Angstro, which builds applications pulling useful information from social networks.
The news was announced last night on the Angstro blog, with cofounder Rohit Khare writing, “While our work here may be done, the struggle for open, interoperable social networks is still only just beginning, and I’m looking forward to working on that in my new role at Google.” Angtro says its products include “apps to discover hot new photos on Facebook, improve Caller ID by using LinkedIn profiles, [add] style and links to Twitter, and create a real-time social address book.”
Citing a person familiar with the situation, the Los Angeles Times reported this morning that Khare was convinced to join Google because of vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra’s commitment to social networking. Google confirmed the acquisition but not Khare’s role in the company.
Just this month, Google has announced its acquisition of social application maker Slide and virtual currency startup Jambool. It is reportedly working on a social networking product called Google Me, an effort led by Gundotra. And Facebook has gone on “lockdown” to upgrade its products to fend off Google.
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