Dodgeball Shuttered By Google, Its Co-Creator Promises To Clone It

[bdotdub]

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/shuttered-google-service-dodgeballs-co-creator-promises-to-make-a-new-one-before-sxsw-goog

[mdasen]

Dodgeball looked really cool and it's a pity that Google just let it languish - especially since social networking seems to be gravitating toward real-time, location based services.

[asnyder]

Though it's a real shame to lose the dodgeball name. I've found that software projects take on a life of their own, and even if you fork or recreate it at some point with a different name you risk losing that original feel, though you also have the opportunity to create a new and unique feel for that software project too.

[flashgordon]

An old question but has Google manage to do well with any of its acquisitions? Youtube and Blogger are still running on their old momentum...

[ahoyhere → flashgordon]

They totally gutted my beloved MeasureMap, GRR!

And the Jaiku people are very angry.

[pistoriusp]

Does anyone else feel that even if this is not a contractual breach that it's an ethical one?

If he wanted to keep his company then he shouldn't have sold it.

[SingAlong → pistoriusp]

They (referring to both the founders) must have sold it thinking they might get access to the good tech infrastructure that other Google products and services get.

That's another important thing that would have been on their mind apart from the money (guessing they sold it for a low price).

[bprater]

I'm a bit surprised that Google doesn't have an employee agreement in place preventing this. Many can extend well past your employment.

[ojbyrne → bprater]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-compete_clause#Enforceabili...

[callmeed → ojbyrne]

FTA: "...except for a small number of limited circumstances"

If I'm not mistaken, one of those circumstances is the sale of a business. I wouldn't be surprised if G does have an enforceable agreement in place.

[ojbyrne → callmeed]

I realized that afterwards:

"If an owner is selling the goodwill in their business."

Though it still has to be "reasonable." And that probably means its expired.

[staunch → bprater]

The deal was done in 2005. Anyone know how long a non-compete type agreement in an acquisition usually is?

[thwarted → staunch]

Would it qualify as competition if Google is no longer in the business of providing the service?

[staunch → thwarted]

My guess is that it wouldn't matter as long as the contract was still in effect. What if Google just hadn't announced that they were planning to relaunch Dodgeball or changed their minds...

[sown]

This just represents bad acquisitions on G's part. They should examine how cisco, for example, does acquisitions.