Comments on: AOL On A Bender - KickApps May Be Next Acquisition

By: Hashim Warren

Hashim Warren — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:05:03 +0000

is an acquisition the only way for web companies to survive?

I thought the web was going to give us millions of media companies, but it seems that we are still stuck in the Big 4 conglomerate model.

By: Garth Hall

Garth Hall — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:28:01 +0000

Given your impeccable sources, a KickApps deal does look a possibility. My take is that AOL could use KickApps to build thousands of niche communities under the umbrella of Bebo 2.00 (or should that be Bebaol) for when the Bebo generation comes of age, and their needs change. Rather like the original AOL walled-garden model from last century!

We - ie. FILMCOMMUNITY.COM - is not for sale, yet, but if we were we’d opt for the Time-Warner side of the family rather than AOL. However, as we’re building on the Ning platform that may make our eventual selling a logistical challenge.

KickApps for their part are re-defining “white label”. So are Ning for that matter but not in the way one might have wished. Ning were moving so promisingly in (what we thought was) the direction of “white label” last year but now it doesn’t appear so. But that’s another story.

All power to KickApps if they pull this off. And all power to Kara who calls it as she sees it.

By: Mark Zuckerbegr

Mark Zuckerbegr — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:12:58 +0000

AOL getting bebo for just 860 mil is unbelievably cheap. At that price I will sell five per cent of Facebook.

By: MyBlogFans

MyBlogFans — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:27:18 +0000

AOL on a buying spree… Yahoo! on a launching spree.. what’s Google doing, lately?

By: Strubit

Strubit — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:35:40 +0000

go Kara,

nothing like pulling up Mike A on a bit of poetic license.

By: AOL May Acquire KickApps For $90 Million

AOL May Acquire KickApps For $90 Million — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:31:09 +0000

[…] Source: TechCrunch & AllThingsD] SPHERE IT! Categories: AOL, America Online, KickApps Leave a […]

By: jonathan.bonzy.tv : le blog de Jonathan Bonzy

jonathan.bonzy.tv : le blog de Jonathan Bonzy — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:30:12 +0000

AOL poursuivrait sa vague d’acquisitions avec KickApps ?…

AOL serait sur le point d’annoncer le rachat pour 90 millions de dollars de KickApps, éditeur entre autres d’applications pour Facebook, Bebo ou Myspace. Une acquisition qui, si elle était confirmée, aurait du sens au lendemain de l’achat du …

By: Kara Swisher

Kara Swisher — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:23:56 +0000

How I love you misquoting me! To clarify, here is the whole post section you are referring to with the headline, where I was referencing your clear assertion in a mid-February post that Bebo was essentially sold when it was not a month ago and that Google was the buyer. That it sold yesterday is a much different thing and Google is, um not AOL.

Here is my post:

Bebo=Not Being Bought by Google
Posted at 4:02 PM on February 13, 2008

That is all.

Wait, not all. The report that it has signed a bill of sale earlier this week that “definitely happened”: It definitely did not.

What is true: Bebo is raising money and it is open to selling and there has been interest. But, in two words: No sale.

That’s a bit different than what you are saying above, but I like your chutzpah.

And later in the post, which you conveniently left out, I wrote:

The very innovative social-networking company certainly could be sold and sold quickly, and it has long been interested in that option, but is not averse to going it alone. But Bebo, which held a board meeting today, has not been sold and remains independent.

But I will give you this, Michael, you had the selling itself part quite right about Bebo. To whom and when, not so much.

But, to be fair, none of us nailed this.

By: Ernst-Jan

Ernst-Jan — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:55:54 +0000

Yeah they’re on an buying spree. Seems like they want to be the next targeted-ads giant, since they also bought online affiliate marketing network Buy.at.