Will Yahoo Make “Hangouts” Out of Rondee?
If Google has gotten a lot of public perception miles out of buying stuff, Yahoo! can certainly be said to be on a PR roll of a sort given their most recent Rondee acquisition.
The San Diego based free conference calling service grab does have a few experts puzzled as to where Yahoo’s small business segment is going to run with this latest new toy.
Yahoo’s acquisition spree seems to be taking on momentum, rather than slowing down these over the last 24 hours. Tumblr is a big deal, but snapping up GhostBird Software and then Rondee in a “one-two” move, frankly Marissa Mayer and Co. have a lot of people puzzled now.
Most would agree though, part of Yahoo’s strategy with all these takeovers is snatching up smart workers, more or less. Astid, to MileWise and etc. Meyer’s company now seems adept at milking startup innovation for the creme of creativity. But is this what’s in store for Rondee?
Logic here would suggest that Yahoo Messenger needs a face lift, so… Maybe the team expertise at Rondee fits well for revamping an aging IM? However doubtful it may be that Yahoo needs entrepreneurs and business-lawyer types like co-founder Andre Vanier, it seems sure the years of conference call wonderment his team created might prove useful for Yahoo here.
Either way, throwing money about like chicken feed does have its positive PR pluses, eh? Surely its another PR angle for Yahoo’s PR firms, including Hill & Knowlton, Peppercomm and Golin-Harris.