There has been a lot of talk recently about Twitter as a local discovery engine and it seems the acquisition of Spindle is the latest step towards the microblogging platform tapping into local activity in a way not currently achieved by its social and search competitors.
Not sure what Spindle is? You’re probably not alone. The little-known start up, founded by two Microsoft engineers, began life as a mobile app that pulled local business information from social networks to add greater context than conventional search engines could offer. For the last couple of years they’ve been adjusting their algorithms to digest the enormous volumes of data available and turn it into a usable stream of localised information for their small but loyal userbase. Throughout the process they claim to have been “amazed by the breadth and quality of the content shared on Twitter”, so when the little blue bird came knocking with a proposal for acquisition (the details of which have not yet been disclosed) it was an easy decision for the start-up to make….
“By joining forces with Twitter, we can do so much more to help you find interesting, timely, and useful information about what’s happening around you.”
Dan
