Google Latest Social Chest Move: Buys Jambool

Facebook, look out! Google is after a piece of the social networking pie! After it was announced that Google is working on a social network of its own, despite failures’ like Google Buzz and Orkut, they have followed this up by acquiring not just one company, but two!

Michael Arrington reports for TechCrunch saying that after last week’s acquisition of Slide, Google is now buying Jambool who specialises in virtual currency, subscriptions and in-game payments. Jambool has been bought for $55 million plus another $15-$20 million in an earnout (bonuses for the company dependant on performance).

This adds more weight to rumours that Google is building a social gaming platform, which would host online games. The Social Gold that Jambool provides can be built directly into games, and it allows users to buy items or bonuses within the application. Jambool could be built directly into Google checkout, making it even easier to buy items for casual games.

This would be a direct competitor to Facebook who has their own currency, called Facebook credits. If Google does bring out their gaming platform, it will mean serious competition for Facebook, and as we know competition always ends up benefiting the consumers.

What do you think about Google Me, Facebook and Social Gold? Do you buy in-game items for money? Let us know in the comments.