Google To Discontinue Meebo Services By July 11th

Only days after Google acquired Meebo for a rumored $100 million, the social messaging and advertising company announced that the majority of its services will be discontinued as of July 11th. The services being shuttered include Meebo Messenger, sharing on Meebo, Meebo Me and all Meebo’s Mobile applications. The company did confirm, however, that the Meebo Bar will continue to be available to site publishers and will see “continued improvements and new features in the weeks and months ahead,” most likely with deeper Google integration.

Google Set To Gobble Up Meebo

An interesting twist in the world of social media came today with confirmation that Google has entered into an agreement to purchase Meebo, a company known for its eponymous Meebo Bar. Primarily a platform that’s intended to drive consumer engagement with brands via a social medium, Meebo also provides advertisers a less-intrusive way to reach their target audiences. Meebo announced the acquisition on its blog, and hints that its team will work with Google to grow and improve the platform. It’s unclear whether Google intends to integrate the Meebo Bar into its own online properties, or whether the Mountain View giant simply views it as a method to increase its advertising reach.

Google In Talks To Buy Meebo For $100 Million

Meebo began life in 2005 as a browser-based instant message app and since then has morphed through several iterations, offering products like smartphone IM apps, a content sharing bar for websites, chat rooms, and most recently a service that recommends stories based on an "interest profile" you build up by clicking a custom bookmarklet. One of those many products or, just as likely, the team that built them seems to appeal to Google, as All Things D reports that the search giant is in talks to acquire Meebo. Apparently the price is said to be a cool $100 million, though neither company is commenting on the rumored deal. If the buyout goes through, we suspect the users of Meebo's free IM apps on smartphones will want to consider switching to another app acquisitions have a way of shortening the shelf life of products that duplicate the functionality of the parent company's own apps.

About Meebo

As you browse the Web, collect the stories you find interesting using a simple bookmarklet.  As Meebo gets to know you, we will recommend things you may have missed.  Over time, Meebo will organize all of the stories you’ve shared into topics for others to find and enjoy.

Founded in 2005, we’re a consumer internet company focused on helping people build their own web experiences around the things that interest them the most. Meebo also creates unique Web experiences for sites and advertisers to help drive engagement through the Meebo Bar.

Meebo is privately held and is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, and New York.

Check out the Meebo official website.