Google Inc has acquired Angstro, a start-up company that sorts news and information across several social networks, including Facebook, said a spokesman for the search provider on Sunday.
Angstro, based in Palo Alto, has developed applications to source photos on Facebook, combine Caller ID with LinkedIn profiles and other tools for Twitter.
“The struggle for open, interoperable social networks is still only just beginning,” wrote Rohit Khare, co-founder of Angstro, in a blog post last week.
Google, which enjoys more than two-thirds of the search market did not disclose the terms of the agreement.
The Angstro deal underscores the importance to Google of social networks in an increasingly competitive Internet search arena which it dominates.
Google launched a website last week which will enable users to trawl through news, comments and other information on the Internet in real time, allowing them to follow conversations on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter in one place.
Microsoft will also provide real-time search results and announced partnerships with Facebook and Twitter.
The buying of Angstro follows acquisitions by Google earlier this year of small startups like Plink, which makes visual search engines, and video broadcaster Episodic.
The move is the latest in a series of acquisitions by Google aimed at strengthening its social-networking offerings, an area where it has fallen behind Facebook and other websites.
One of its recent social-networking products, Google Buzz, generated a huge wave of negative publicity after privacy concerns were raised because of the way it handled users’ data.
