Dodgeball (service)

Dodgeball was a location-based social networking software provider for mobile devices. Users texted their location to the service, which then notified them of crushes, friends, friends' friends and interesting venues nearby. Google acquired Dodgeball in 2005 and discontinued it in 2009, replacing it with Google Latitude.[1]

Dodgeball
GenreSocial networking
Fateacquired by Google in 2005
SuccessorsGoogle Latitude, Foursquare
Founded2000
FounderDennis Crowley and Alex Rainert
DefunctShut down in February 2009
Key people
Dennis Crowley and Alex Rainert
OwnerGoogle

Overview

Dodgeball was founded in 2000 by New York University students Dennis Crowley and Alex Rainert. The company was acquired by Google in 2005.[2] In April 2007, Crowley and Rainert left Google, with Crowley describing their experience there as "incredibly frustrating".[3] After leaving Google, Crowley created a similar service known as Foursquare with the help of Naveen Selvadurai.[4]

Dodgeball was available for the cities of Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego, Phoenix, Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Miami, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Madison, Minneapolis–St. Paul and Denver.

In January 2009 Vic Gundotra, Vice President of Engineering at Google, announced that the company would "discontinue Dodgeball.com in the next couple of months, after which this service will no longer be available."[5] Dodgeball was shut down and succeeded in February 2009 by Google Latitude.[6] Google Latitude was eventually shut down in 2013.

See also

References
  1. Block, Ryan (May 12, 2005). "Google buys Dodgeball". Engadget.
  2. "Polytechnic University paper" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  3. Flickr blog
  4. foursquare
  5. "Changes for Jaiku and Farewell to Dodgeball and Mashup Editor". Google Code Blog. January 2009.
  6. Where Are You? Show ‘Em With Google Latitude m The New York Times blog, 4 February 2009.
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