June 15, 2008

When Your Service Gets Bought: Comcast Buys Plaxo

I've been using Plaxo for many years and like it. I started using it as a way to have online access to my address book and calendar. Its powerful synchronization features enable Outlook, Google, Yahoo and other address books to read each others content and be synchronized.

With Facebook, LinkedIn and other social tools growing in popularity the "socially active professional" now has a dizzying array of options with which to network. It does get too much sometimes.

Plaxo announced on May 14, 2008 that they are going to be acquired by cable giant Comcast. This is good news for Plaxo executives and shareholders (more money for them) and for Comcast, as they get a gem added to their portfolio of online services offered to customers.

My concern, however, is for Plaxo users. In the coming months will Plaxo change? I'm sure it will, but will these changes be good for Plaxo users? Over time will features we like and use disappear? Will privacy settings be changed - for the worse.

Anytime a service you use, and especially one you rely on day to day, is bought by another company, it's so important to really, really consider how the service you have come to use will look under new ownership. Via blogs and user forums try to get as much information as you can on how the changes that might be in store for you. If it's a 'good company' that cares about customers, they'll often warn you in advance of changes that could affect your use of the product.

Want more information? Cnet wrote about the purchase here.

tags: comcast , plaxo | 0 comments