Twitter acquires social start-up Bagcheck

Social networking giant Twitter has acquired US-based online social start-up Bagcheck for an undisclosed sum, with one of the co-founders set to join Twitter’s engineering team.

Bagcheck is a web-based business allowing people to collect and share “bags” of products based on common interests, such as sport. Users comment on the items they use and why.

Bagcheck also has an eCommerce element. When people create their “bags”, each entry includes a link to a website where other people can buy the same item.

The business was co-founded by former Yahoo employees Sam Pullara and Luke Wroblewski, and was launched just seven months ago.

Twitter confirmed it has acquired Bagcheck for an undisclosed sum, with Pullara set to join the company’s engineering team in what appears to be a talent buyout.

“Sam Pullara is a rare talent with a deep appreciation for connecting people with their interests,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.

“He’s a skilled product strategist, technologist and entrepreneur who has not only led large teams at Yahoo and [software company] Borland but has co-founded successful ventures and spent time advising young start-ups as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Accel Partners and Benchmark Capital.”

Pullara says Bagcheck will continue to operate “but as with any acquisition, things may change at some point in the future”. Meanwhile, Wroblewski has left the company to work on “the next big thing”.

According to Wroblewski, one of Bagcheck’s major achievements is a number of real-time user interface elements, enabling users to see who’s viewing the items of their “bag” with real-time notifications.

This could be one of the reasons for Twitter’s interest in the company, although Twitter isn’t giving anything away as to how the start-up will be incorporated within the network.

“It’s too soon at this point to share any details on how and whether Bagcheck will be incorporated into Twitter,” the company said.

Bagcheck is one of a handful of acquisitions Twitter has made this year as the company scrambles to generate revenue from its vast network in excess of 200 million users.

Recent Twitter acquisitions include third-party app TweetDeck, social analytics platform BackType, and keyboard-bidding platform AdGrok.

The company has also begun placing advertisements in the timelines of users who follow a particular brand. This advertising offering is known as Promoted Tweets.

Sam Yip, senior research manager at Telsyte, says it’s a natural progression for any website with critical mass to want to monetise its viewership.