Klout, the social influence measurement service, has
announced its first acquisition: a local/mobile app called Blockboard.
Blockboard was formerly known as BlockChalk and, when I wrote about it two years ago, the service then seemed like a cross between Twitter, Foursquare and even Craigslist, focusing heavily on local, even neighborhood-level content and connections. Today, the company’s website simply says that Blockboard “is dedicated to reconnecting neighbors and neighborhoods.”
In its blog post about the acquisition, Blockboard explains how it fits in with what Klout is doing:
They’ve built the leading platform for measuring and understanding influence on the Web, and now they want to expand that system into local communities, mobile devices, and other new contexts. The entire Blockboard team will be joining Klout to lead these efforts. Blockboard itself also plays into these plans and we will continue to develop it.
In his blog post, Klout CEO Joe Fernandez says that the acquisition isn’t just about what Blockboard itself offers, but also about Klout’s need for a mobile presence.
To keep driving toward our mission of unlocking every user’s influence, we need to make Klout useful and accessible wherever they are – whether they’re at home or on the go…. Blockboard brings an awareness of how social media can be meaningfully woven into the fabric of a local community, as well as a killer mobile app development team.
There’s more discussion on Techmeme.
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