By Kevin McCauley
Google has acquired Zagat, the 32-year-old survey company, run by Nina and Tim Zagat. They plan to remain as co-chairs of the Zagat Survey. The move puts the search company into the content game.
In announcing the deal, the Zagats said Google’s resources will enable aggressive expansion.
They spent time with Google senior management and “know that they fully share our belief in user-generated content and commitment to accuracy and fairness in providing consumer with the information necessary to make smart decision about where to eat, travel and shop.”
Marissa Mayer, Google VP/maps & location services, blogged that Zagat’s “iconic pocket-sized guides with paragraphs summarizing and ‘snippeting’ sentiment were “mobile” before “mobile” involved electronics.”
Zagat has surveys for 13 categories and for more than 100 cities.
|