SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - – Yahoo! has announced that it has acquired Koprol, an Indonesian Internet service that lets people use mobile telephones to instantly connect with nearby people and places. "Users are increasingly relying on mobile devices to communicate and access the Internet and they are looking for seamless integration between those devices and PCs," said Rose Tsou, senior vice president, Asia Region at Yahoo! "Koprol was uniquely designed for mobile phones and within a year has already built a strong user base." Yahoo! planned to use its global presence to introduce Jakarta-based Koprol to other parts of the world. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Koprol lets people "check-in" to locations using Web browsers on mobile phones and then see which other users are nearby and what they are doing, in a fashion similar to US location-based social networks Foursquare and Gowalla. Koprol users can share tips, reviews, pictures or other information in real-time with other users in proximity. Koprol provides tips about local businesses, such as popular shops or restaurants, based on user ratings including a "thumbs-up" feature that elevates favored places to the tops of the rankings. Users of the service can also start or join discussions based on particular locations and invite friends to participate. "We are excited to join Yahoo! and look forward to the opportunities being part of a global Internet leader presents," said Koprol co-founder Fajar Budiprasetyo. "This is a great success story for the online community in Indonesia and demonstrates that innovation is recognized wherever it occurs." source: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100525/tbs-us-indonesia-it-internet-takeover-ya-1be4cf7.html
this is not good for yahoo I think because Koprol is for Indonesia only? i hope they can buy foursqaure
They are both good and bad news in my opinion. Koprol is a well known as a quality social network but I still has a doubt after it has been taken by Yahoo. I think Yahoo may get Koprol ruined instead of being helped by them. I have seen no creativity from Yahoo lately. Yahoo is like EA in pc games industry, the good example is C&C series. It was great when it has been made by Westwood but it has becomes worse and worse after Westwood had been taken over by EA.
Same thing happened when ebay bought eachnet in china, just doesn't workout with american corporate culture in another country...