Spud-it-likes
It looks like competition in the location space is heating up as Facebook has acquired location and event sharing application Hot Potato.
Hot Potato has only been around since last November but has developed a following by allowing users to broadcast their events and whereabouts via the application, leading Facebook to snap it up for an undisclosed sum, as the social networking giant builds on its recent Places launch.
Hot Potato lets users check in to certain locations but also encourages them to let friends know what they're thinking or doing, a little bit like Twitter, differentiating it from its competitors.
While some commentators have dismissed Facebook Places as a half-baked location service, the acquisition of Hot Potato may prompt companies such as Gowalla and Foursquare to worry about their future as Facebook seems intent on adding further location-based features.
Hot Potato said: "This wasn't an easy decision, especially since we've built up a base of dedicated users. If Hot Potato was going to sell to anyone, Facebook was the natural choice. Facebook is still small, moves fast, provides a great supportive environment for people to be entrepreneurial, and most importantly, Facebook builds great products."
Hot Potato is now in the process of wrapping up operations and is no longer accepting new user registrations. It will however, offer existing users a way to download their information from the site, but will delete all user data in about one month's time when it closes shop. It said no user data or account information will be kept by Facebook.
Having touted its own location wares the day after Facebook Places' launch, Google seems keen to remind people it too has notable location-based features and to ramp up competition with its networking nemesis.
However, in a bid to consolidate its role as search supremo, Google has snapped up Like.com, a visual search engine for shopping, for a rumoured $100m.
Like.com said: "We see joining Google as a way to supersize our vision and supercharge our passion."
In a statement, Google said: "While Like.com will operate its web sites separately in the near term, we're excited about the technology they've built and the domain expertise they'll bring to Google as we continue to work on building great e-commerce experiences for our users, advertisers and partners."
However, it did not reveal how the acquisition will fit into its current services. Some commentators believe the visual search tool could slot into Google's shopping pages, which already offer a price comparison tool, while others believe like.com's technology could sit alongside Google Goggles, which lets Android phone users search visually for landmarks and artwork, among other categories.
