MySpace Acquires Flektor, a Widget Creation Tool

Posted on May 16, 2007

TechCrunch is reporting that MySpace is buying Flektor, a service that lets people quickly create widgets using text, music, photos and video. TechCrunch says the acquisition is in the $10 to $20 million range.

Flektor launched recently and as TechCrunch notes it competes with other tools like Slide and RockYou. TechCrunch says, "insiders say that the company has developed a killer set of tools to create slide shows as well as much more elaborate widgets that include audio, video, photos, text, effects and transitions."

TechCrunch also tested Flektor against Slide and RockYou and says it comes out far ahead in features and usability. But that name... Flektor?

Is MySpace trying to become more of a storage and widget tool or is this just part of an onverall plan to improve MySpace.com? Better widgets mean more people might promote MySpace by putting a MySpace (Flektor) widget on their blogs, other social networking sites or even eBay so this could also explain the strategy. Flextor mentions using widgets on eBay so the auction site must be a place people frequently use them to help explain the products they are trying to sell.