Twitter buys geolocation startup Mixer Labs

The micro-blogging service announced that it has purchased Mixer Labs, a California-based startup that builds location-tracking tools.

"We want to know What's happening?, and more precisely, Where is it happening?" Twitter co-founder Evan Williams said in a blog post.

"As a dramatic example, twittering "Earthquake!" alone is not as informative as "Earthquake!" coupled with your current location," Williams said.

"When current location is added to tweets, new and valuable services emerge, everything from breaking news to finding friends or local businesses can be dramatically enhanced," he added.

Twitter did not disclose financial details of the acquisition.

Mixer Labs is the creator of GeoAPI, which helps software developers build geolocation-aware applications.

San Francisco-based Twitter has won tens of millions of users since the service that allows people to pepper one another with 140-character-or-less messages launched in August 2006.

Source: AFP

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