If so, the only relevant question is what they will name the third independent incarnation of this service after Yahoo runs FourSquare into the ground, as Google did with Dodgeball.<p>Destroying value with ill-conceived M&A is one area where Yahoo can beat Google!
Am I the only one which really does not see location in the sense FourSquare implements it becoming a mainstream thing in the next few years. Perhaps I'm being naive but I juts don't see it as something people want that much.<p>EDIT: Removed "as facebook comes", dunno what it was doing there, made no sense!
It's interesting how the article doesn't mention Google's purchase of his last location service, Dodgeball, which it eventually ran into the ground after letting it flounder for a couple of years.<p>I know it's just speculation but I'd hate to see this project get run into the ground just as his last one (and other Yahoo! acquisitions).
This seems like it would be a dangerous move on Yahoo's part, aside from the acquisition of talent. This is only my gut feeling, but I don't see users being so vested in the FourSquare service, that if they're unhappy with the direction it is taking, just jumping ship to Gowalla. A lot of people already check in through multiple services, and it wouldn't be too hard a decision to stop checking in with one if it's flavor turns sour.
Yahoo is focused on local and so this makes some sense. Twice Jerry Yang vetoed an offer to buy Yelp. Yeah twice. Internally there was some bitterness about missing that deal.<p>Yahoo needs some M+A action to boost stock momentum and that's a multi-billion dollar move that needs to be carefully planned.<p>Yahoo also needs to counter the google 'what's nearby' feature.
Hopefully history does not repeat itself this time around. I can see no compelling reason to sell (unless you count wealth and having an exit under your belt as one [or two]). What would they gain from selling this service to Yahoo, or anyone for that matter? Doing that would likely start the countdown to another great service destroyed by M&A.
Whatever happened to FireEagle (<a href="http://fireeagle.yahoo.net/" rel="nofollow">http://fireeagle.yahoo.net/</a>)? I haven't heard anything about them for a long time now.