We’re in a quiet time of year – not much happens during the holiday season or for a short period afterwards. Plaxo is reportedly trying to sell itself, though, and discussions about the company’s reputation and its asking price have stirred things up a bit.
Plaxo used to be closely associated with spammy social networking. These days, it has been doing much better, and after its inclusion in Google’s OpenSocial initiative was announced, it did better still. So in some corners, hard feelings remain, while others are trying to look at the current situation.
Both views are valid – the average would-be user is just as likely to hold a grudge as anybody else. So when Michael Arrington reported that Plaxo had “hired an investment bank, Revolution Partners, who are spearheading the sale effort,” a good deal of discussion broke out.
Then came a key piece of information: Andrew Ross Sorkin stated, “The company, which has not made a profit, is seeking as much as $100 million.” Given the economy’s current state, bidders may not be fighting each other for the right to spend so much money. Then again, with its 15 million users, Plaxo may make a tempting acquisition target.
We’ll see where this goes, then, and how quickly it gets there. Clues about the state of OpenSocial and social networking in general will probably be dropped along the way.
