Comcast and Plaxo Pulse Merger Begins Integration of Old and New Media

While people like me weren't paying attention, cable giant Comcast Interactive Media acquired social network behemoth, Plaxo, innovator of Pulse technology. This is really exciting news for people attuned to Internet technology. Eventually, the rest of the population will have something to celebrate as well.

The beauty of Plaxo lies in its ability to synchronize different points of contact utilized online. By eliminating the need to check content in different locations, Plaxo provided a free service that was more or less unrivaled. The 3.0 version integrated content from information providers such as Google Calendar, Yahoo, Outlook, AOL, and LinkedIn, and provided different ways to access that content, say from a mobile phone and news feeds. Its launch more than a year ago brought the success of applications developed through social networking site Facebook to the next level. Before there was FriendFeed, Plaxo 3.0 kept members up to date and in touch with their contacts through content feeds without the time and effort normally attendant to email. This in turn helped grow the development of social media.

For a more thorough understanding of the original Plaxo technology, watch the video here.

Plaxo and Comcast have already been working together for about a year. Plaxo is the force behind Comcast's address books for high-speed Internet subscribers. According to The Washington Post article, Comcast has been slowly expanding into more and more interactive media. If you have their on-demand service, you may have noticed new features like the ability to order movie tickets or play interactive games on the television.

The merger with Plaxo Pulse opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for Comcast. Many have speculated on the price and the possible folly of spending millions of dollars for a company comprised of about fifty employees. Comcast president, Sam Schwartz, who was interviewed by the Washington Post says the merger makes sense. He also hinted with other bloggers about the possibility of using VoIP via Click2Call technology to make free regional telephone calls. Schwartz also envisions watching a football game with integrated chat and making content selections based upon the viewing habits of your friends.

For i-Lighter users who are Comcast triple-play subscribers, the merger has even greater implications. Imagine being able to use the set-top box on your television not only to keep in touch and up to date with the content of your contacts, but also to share information like a new recipe or a funny picture, then chatting and collaborating on a joint project through your television screen.

Better yet, if this merger integrates technology as envisioned, one day email attachments and all their inherent virus possibilities may go the way of the dinosaur.