"Google Me" Army Gets A New Recruit - Jambool

It seems Google is determined to win the social network battle against Facebook. Last week it was Slide. This week it's Jambool, the makers of payment platforms for social games. Jambool launched its product Social Gold in October 2008. Social Gold gives application developers the ability to build payment systems directly into their games and other applications. It’s facing competition from Facebook as the social network launches its own virtual currency, Facebook Credits. Jambool was founded by Amazon veterans Vikas Gupta and Reza Hussein, and has raised $6 million in funding from Hit Forge, Charles River Ventures, Bay Partners, and Madrona Venture Group. Jambool chief executive Vikas Gupta has criticised Facebook Credits because, firstly, its similarity to prepaid systems that haven’t worked in the past and secondly, for the 30 per cent fee that Facebook Charges. Presumably, Social Gold or some of the underlying technology could provide the virtual currency for Google Me. Meanwhile, as Google pumps up for its own social product with one acquisition after another, we’ve heard that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has declared that the company is on “lockdown” as it tries to upgrade its features to compete. Both Google and Jambool have declined to comment on this. We will keep you informed as this story develops.