User:Garygiam/sandbox
| [[Food Ink logo]] | |
| Company type | Owned by G Holding |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 2014 |
| Founder | Gary Giam cofounder |
| Headquarters | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysia |
Key people | Gary Giam, Chairman & CEO |
| Website | Food Ink |
Food Ink is an online Food book and Food networking service originally founded by Gary Giam, Cofounded Bob Khong, Stella Heong & Kimberly Cheok Comcast bought Plaxo, Deal Closed Today |first = Michael | last = Arrington|date = 14 May 2008|publisher=TechCrunch}}</ref> and two Stanford University engineering students, Todd Masonis and Cameron Ring.[1] Plaxo, based in Sunnyvale, California,[2] is a subsidiary of cable television company Comcast.
History[edit]
The company launched[1] on November 12, 2002, and was funded by venture capital including funds from Sequoia Capital.[3] Plaxo announced May 14, 2008, that it had signed an agreement to be acquired by Comcast.[4] The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Comcast completed its purchase of Plaxo on July 1, 2008.[5]
Plaxo provides automatic updating of contact information. Users and their contacts store their information in the cloud on Plaxo's servers. When this information is edited by the user, the changes appear in the address books of all those who listed the account changer in their own books. Once contacts are stored in the central location, it is possible to list connections between contacts and access the address book from anywhere.
In May 2008, the website reported 20 million users.[6]
A Plaxo plug-in supports major address books including Outlook/Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Mac OS X's Address Book, iOS and BlackBerry, and others can be supported through an application programming interface. Additionally, Plaxo can be maintained online.
In March 2010, it was announced that CEO Ben Golub would be replaced by the company’s general manager, Justin Miller.[7][8] As Justin Miller took on the role of President of Comcast Silicon Valley in addition to CEO of Plaxo, in March 2011 Plaxo's head of product management Preston Smalley[7] was named general manager.[9]
In March 2011, Plaxo exited social networking, ended the Plaxo Pulse social networking service, and introduced a new address book updating service.
Partnerships[edit]
AOL[edit]
On July 7, 2005, Plaxo announced it had struck a deal with America Online to integrate its contact management service with its AOL and AOL Instant Messenger products.[10]
Comcast[edit]
On May 7, 2007, Comcast announced that it had partnered with Plaxo in the launch of its universal communications service, SmartZone.[11]
Criticism[edit]
Plaxo received criticism from technology journalist David Coursey, who was upset about receiving a number of requests from Plaxo users to update their contact information (similar to spam email), and who wondered how the company was planning to make money from a free service that collects personal contact and network information.[12] However after "changes at Plaxo and discussions with the company's remaining co-founders", Coursey reversed his stance.[13] Plaxo also responded to these issues in a section of their website.[14]
The Plaxo service continues to allow spam email distribution.
Plaxo 3.0[edit]
On June 24, 2007 Plaxo announced the public beta of a major new version of its service, called Plaxo 3.0. The service emphasizes "automated, multi-way sync."[15][16]
Plaxo Pulse[edit]
On August 4, 2007 Plaxo announced the public beta of a social networking service called Plaxo Pulse.[17] The service enabled sharing of content from multiple different sources across the social web, including blogs, photos, social networking services, rating services, and others. Users can selectively share and view content according to either pre-determined categories (e.g., friends, family, business network) or customized groups. Plaxo Pulse was the first site to feature a working version of an OpenSocial container.[18]
Charging for Outlook synchronization service[edit]
On July 30, 2009, the previously-free synchronization services for Outlook moved to Plaxo's premium (paid) service. According to Plaxo, "this change will allow us to continue to invest in the development and support of this valuable (but high-cost) feature." Existing users of the free service were offered a 20% lifetime discount on Plaxo premium. This paid service is now called Platinum Sync.[19]
Exiting social networking[edit]
On March 16, 2011, Plaxo announced[20] it was leaving the social networking market (and the Plaxo Pulse service) to refocus on addressing challenges around the core online address book business.
Personal Assistant[edit]
On March 16, 2011, Plaxo announced[20] Personal Assistant[21] which updates[22] users' address books with suggestions from publicly available information.
Mobile applications[edit]
On July 19, 2011, Plaxo announced a study on mobile trends and its native mobile applications: "On the mobile front, Plaxo has made it easy to stay connected and offers native applications including: an improved iPhone app; a new BlackBerry app; a Windows Mobile app; and syncing for Android phones with an app coming out by the end of Q3 (study on mobile trends).[23]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Plaxo Launches" (Press release). Plaxo, Inc. 11-12-2002.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Contact Us". Plaxo, Inc.
- ^ "i: PLAXO". Sequoia Capital.
- ^ "Comcast to Acquire Plaxo: Pulse to Become Central to Creating Unified "Social Media" Experience Across the Web, the TV (and more)" (Press release). Plaxo, Inc. May 14, 2008.
- ^ Capili, Redgee (1 July 2008). "Now the Deal is Closed: Plaxo has Become a Business Unit of Comcast Interactive Media". Blog. Plaxo, Inc.
- ^ Capili, Redgee (May 22, 2008). "PRODUCT UPDATES: The Plaxo Directory Is Now Live". Blog. Plaxo, Inc.
- ^ a b "Management Team". Plaxo, Inc. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ Kincaid, Jason (March 25, 2010). "Plaxo CEO Ben Golub Steps Down, To Be Replaced By Justin Miller". TechCrunch.
- ^ Empson, Rip (16 March 2011). "Plaxo Goes Back To Being A Smart Address Book, Launches Virtual Assistant". TechCrunch.
- ^ "America Online Inc. and Plaxo Inc. form agreement to help AOL members and AIM users better manage contact information" (Press release). Plaxo, Inc. July 6, 2005.
- ^ "Comcast Announces Plans to Launch Interactive SmartZone(TM) Communications Center" (Press release). Comcast. May 7, 2007.
- ^ Coursey, David (December 8, 2003). "Why my address book is spamming you". ZDNet AnchorDesk. Archived from the original on January 5, 2007.
- ^ Coursey, David (September 9, 2004). "Plaxo Reconsidered". eWeek. Retrieved Oct 7, 2012.
- ^ Capili, Redgee. "Your Contact Information: Ownership vs. Privacy". Blog. Plaxo, Inc.
- ^ "Introducing an All-New Plaxo". Blog. Plaxo, Inc. June 24, 2007.
- ^ Eric Auchard (June 25, 2007). "Plaxo turns address books into Web social networks". Reuters.
- ^ Capili, Redgee (August 5, 2007). "Oh geez, not ANOTHER social network…". Blog. Plaxo, Inc.
- ^ Ha, Peter (November 2, 2007). "Plaxo Implements OpenSocial, Ning Goes Live Friday Night". Blog. TechCrunch.
- ^ "Plaxo Platinum Sync". Plaxo, Inc. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Plaxo Returns to Its Address Book Roots, Offers the Most Intelligent Address Book for Your Connected Life: Company unveils new Plaxo Personal Assistant service to take pain out of maintaining your address book" (Press release). Mountain View, Californioa: Plaxo, Inc. March 16, 2011.
- ^ "Plaxo Personal Assistant". Plaxo, Inc. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ Smalley, Preston (March 20, 2011). "An important milestone – and it's only the beginning!". INSIDE PLAXO. Plaxo, Inc.
- ^ "Plaxo Mobile Trends Study [INFOGRAPHIC]" (Press release). Plaxo, Inc. July 19, 2011.
External links[edit]
Category:Social networking services Category:PIM-software for Windows Category:PIM-software for OS X Category:Professional networks Category:Companies based in Sunnyvale, California Category:Community websites Category:Internet services supporting OpenID