It definitely looks like everybody has a bone to pick with Yelp lately. Foursquare announced that it will rebrand its app to focus on reviews of local businesses, while Google bought Appetas, a restaurant website builder.
Appetas was a website building service specialized in restaurants that enabled businesses to create their online presence in seconds. The integration of such services as grubHub, OpenTable, Foursquare and InstaGift made Appetas’ restaurant websites even more appealing. To prove that it means to have a strong relationship with local businesses from anywhere in the world, Google acquired Appetas and stated that it will assimilate its services in one form or another.
Today, Seattle-based Appetas detailed on its blog the acquisition by Google: “We are excited to announce that the Appetas team is joining Google. Google shares Appetas’ vision for bringing incredibly simple experiences to merchants that strengthen their business. We’re very excited to use what we’ve learned with Appetas to create something even better at Google.”
The company also mentioned that its service will be discontinued and integrated with other Google products: “To focus on our new endeavors, we’ll be shutting down the Appetas service and working with our customers to transition their websites over to alternative platforms. We’ll be reaching out to each customer individually to ensure a smooth transition.”
Co-founders Curtis Fonger and Keller Smith surely seemed excited about Google’s move, especially since themselves and their team will join the search giant in making local businesses even better. At the end of their post, the two co-founders thanked everyone who was part of their journey: “Thanks to all of our customers and partners who used the service, gave us feedback, and helped make Appetas what it is today. In addition, we wouldn’t be here without the guidance and support we received from our families, friends, mentors, and investors. This has been an incredible experience and we can’t wait to discover what the future holds!”
This move is firm proof that Google wants to extend its tentacles in as many directions as possible, and that can only be good for the world. If more companies had the same philosophy in what regards acquisitions, the entire world would progress faster, as acquiring knowledge is one of the good ways of moving forward.
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