SocialGoogle Snaps Up Katango, Social Contact Sorter Meant for Facebook

Google Snaps Up Katango, Social Contact Sorter Meant for Facebook

Google’s Katango acquisition should make sorting Google+ connections into Circles much easier. The technology was originally designed for Facebook Lists, but became redundant when Smart Lists were launched this September.

katango

Google has just acquired startup Katango, makers of a Facebook friends list generating iPhone app released this July. Shortly after its debut, however, Katango’s autogenerator faced serious competition from Facebook itself, as it rolled out its new Smart Lists feature.

Luckily for Katango, Facebook isn’t the only game in town. It seems Google appreciates the value of a list maker to help Google+ users more easily sort their contacts into Circles.

Facebook’s Lists allow users to share content with select audiences, though it never really caught on until Smart Lists came out. Google+ can now use Katango’s social sorting algorithm to help users sort out contacts into Circles based on the type or volume of interactions and other factors.

The acquisition brings some great talent to Google as well; co-founder/chairman Yoav Shoham is a Stanford computer science professor, while fellow co-founders Thuc Vu and Michael Munie are Stanford PhD grads. The amount of the deal is undisclosed.

Robert Scoble interviewed Shoham this summer; check out the video to learn more about Katango and how it works.

This is Google’s 24th acquisition of 2011. Earlier today we reported on Google acquiring Apture.

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