Google Acquires ImageAmerica

This article is completely uninteresting.

Sir Elkbany
If ImageAmerica’s website didn’t consist of a message saying “we were acquired by Google” and if Google hadn’t deleted the cache version (they did, I checked) it would have been much more interesting, unfortunately all we have is a statement from Google. Goolge acquiring anything is news. I’m sorry we don’t have more details, no one else does from what I can see either.

Off-topic: Duncan, BBC is covering something called “Stir Sydney”, anything cool going on there?

Well, there are other search engines, you know. for example, Yahoo. it still got some juice there.

– i work for yahoo –

Oooh..! there are lot of non google guys too,

–Breaking–

Google built 3 new toilets with cosmoflash.

Perhaps a better acquisition for Google than Youtube was.

Well Clayton, MO is technically speaking only like 3 miles from here. That is cool though that Google looks even in my dark corner (or should that be humid corner) of the country.

Rex

Up next, the potential acquisition of Granite Construction, the builder of roads and bridges that the google cars (Chevy Cobalts, but not for long — Google Cobalts are coming!) drive on to acquire their information for streetview.

I’m currently brainstorming products that will fit our privacy needs for the day when people can watch me in my backyard live on Google Earth.

I would encourage others to do the same. I’m not positioned to make any money off my ideas but I don’t care, I just want to be able to keep doing the crazy stuff I do without having an audience!

Here is a little more info on ImageAmerica. Agree though that not a whole lot of info is out there about this company.

http://www.bizorigin.com/2007/.....ok-better/

Google is finally losing focus.

is Google the only site that caches webpages?

Just go to http://web.archive.org/web/*/imageamerica.com and you can see a history of that website

This just goes to show, that we are so dependent on Google that they essentially can control the internet for content

Interesting acquisition. Will they sell these high-end cameras or only use them internally?

Interesting. I wonder what Google has planned.

I’m sorry, I dont see the point of this acquisition considering Google core business. A strategic partnership? sure. An acquisition? no.

Yes, maybe they want to deny Microsoft and others access to the technology. But wouldn’t that be anti-competitive? Such as, hmm…blocking Google in Windows Vista?

Duncan,

Could you please find out Why does Google keep closing the individual websites of any acquisition that isn’t a content company.

They are everything they claim they are not such as the effort to contact them not electronically, blog-comment difficulty, lack of privacy/statements, etc; and to actively delete their cache of an acquired company -it’ll only become worse, unless their given an early public slap on the wrist!

Kind regards,

Shakir Razak

@Andrew
Actually, the domain name has a “-” in it, so heres the cache of the website, from 2001 to February 2007 :
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.image-america.com/

Without bashing on Duncan, it would have been easy to get more details on the site for reporting purposes.

Very little information. What comes next? Google buying a toilet paper factory. We all use internet, but we all go to the bathroom too.

Google is acquiring soooo many companies! Is it becoming too much? I have friends who work at Google who agree that they’re becoming more and more like a stereotypical big business is.

I wonder if this will ever end… what if Google were to turn evil overnight? (yay, a new blog topic!)

google has already turned evil. they wouldn’t have deleted the cached version of the old company website before

they censor parts of satellite maps because of whining from foreign governments, they delete cached versions of old websites, they retain all search history, emails, etc.

Take this poll on Google acquisitions:

flexi poll for your blog

or try this:

Which has been the best Google acquisition till now?

OK
fair point by some: there are alternatives to Google Cache…and it probably highlights that I’ve become far too dependent to Google for everything, I’ll remember archive.org next time

Yes. Google will be another evil like Micro$oft

Duncan, What do you think the point is of this deal?

this after a huge loss in the market… Soo what are they planning with this? Perhaps selling cameras to towns for security like london… So Google will soon know your emails, what you search for, and …. Where you go!

I don’t know the aerial imaging market at all, but it seems to me that there are two good reasons, complimentary to eachother, why Google would buy a company like this.

First, they want to deny competitors access to a key technology or service. If this company is the clear leader in it’s market, then they have just denied Microsoft access to a potentially important resource.

Second, they want to make sure they continue to have access to a key technology based service. If Microsoft bought the company instead, they could have cut off Google’s ability to acquire the highest resolution aerial photography, which would hurt their mapping efforts.

Make no mistake, mapping is very important to Google, because mapping is very important to local services, and locality is a very important piece of context in context specific advertising.

Google GOOG Earnings and Growth are Falling further
The most important ring bell for all Google shareholders should be falling by 12% margin from almost constant before 33% to 29% of revenue. With increase in revenue of 58% Y/Y Google demonstrated falling growth rate of -25% Y/Y. Google network growth is falling even more faster by -38% Y/Y due to heating up competition. Net Income actually fall from 1billion to 0.9 billion comparing to the 1st q 2007. Total cost and Expenses are growing 116% faster then revenue growth rate Q/Q. Sales per head is down by -6%. With all this deteriorating fundamentals investors still were ready to pay last Thursday 548.59 which brings Google to valuation of P/S=12.9, P/E=47, P/FCF=74. Even if Google…
http://sufiy.blogspot.com/2007.....h-are.html

Mmmmm!Yet another acquisition by Google.How many have they swallowed so far?I like Google but I do not like this business of swallowing other companies.
Why cant they concentrate on their own R&D and develop leading edge tools?I think they can do it!

great, so now they own the technology they plan to continue crossing the privacy boundry with…..

@ #12 “Google losing focus?”

Your a complete moron; the maps market is huge, and they are working at being the best …

RB

IA has a fast airplane with a *patented* camera mounted in it, and can apparently turn around these maps extremely quickly. They could have bought them solely for the protection of the patent on the camera, to ensure they continue to have highres imagery… or of course to also lock out others from such capability…

Hmm good !
Will Google be a kingdom ?

Of course, that’s why they’re so interested in aerial imagery.. perhaps they’re looking for a pice of land to start “GLand”.. a country where you can get a free GBlock with your Gmail account. Maybe they took Second Life too serious.