Just a few weeks back Google announced that they will be acquiring Automattic, a company that offers open source and social media technology to Web publishers. Why is that HUGE? Well, “with Automattic, Google now has the leading content management system and blogging platform, which will enable us to rapidly bring to market advances in technology and infrastructure that will dramatically improve the effectiveness, measurability and performance of digital media for publishers, while improving the relevance of advertising for users.” And as an avid user of many of the services that Automattic has to offer this is a big deal. It’s really a good way to scale how much power Google really has.
As part of the deal, the Automattic team will be relocating to Hangar One at Moffett Field, once it has been made fit for occupation, which is estimated to cost around $54.2 million. They plan to set up bungee cords and climbing walls to provide the ultimate best development environment. Matt, an Automattic founder said that he asked for a full size replica of the USS Macon, but settled on access to the Google plane on weekends. “Automattic employees will be given the option to live in San Francisco or any other Silicon Valley city, and Google will pay up to $1 million per Automattic employee for housing. Google will be extending its shuttle service to include a fleet of helicopters, in an attempt to reduce travel time for employees.”
Sergey Brin said that Google has been looking for the “killer best way to advertise and monetize the social networks” and I think that they’ve definitely found it.
