Involver, Inc.
Involver, Inc. was a provider of social media management software, offering software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools to help businesses manage their marketing efforts on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It was acquired by Oracle on July 10, 2012.[1]
Founded in San Francisco in 2007 by Rahim Fazal and Noah Horton, the company was originally known as RapOuts, Inc. and changed its name to Involver Inc. in August, 2008.[2] The company offers software and services to publish, manage, moderate and measure customer relations across the social web.
In 2008, Involver powered advertising campaigns on Facebook for several customers[3][4][5] and its founders were named to Inc. Magazine's top 30 entrepreneurs under 30 list.[6]
Involver was the technology platform that powered the first sponsorship of a Facebook Page[7] and the first studio album from a recording artist that was released through a social network.[8]
Involver was recommended by Facebook as one of 14 original "Preferred Developer Consultants."[9] Facebook partnered with Involver to build applications for large events like Election Day,[10] The World Cup,[11] and the Super Bowl.[12]
Involver raised venture capital money from Bessemer Venture Partners, Western Technology Investment, and Cervin Ventures.[13]
Involver's main competitors in this space were Buddy Media (acquired by Salesforce.com[14]), Vitrue (also acquired by Oracle Corporation[15]), and Wildfire (acquired by Google[16]).
References
- "Involver Inc.: Private Company Information - Businessweek". August 14, 2012.
- "Kiva Launches Facebook Campaign Using New Marketing Tool, Involver". July 9, 2008. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
- "Olympic Torch Protesters Go Viral to Rally Support". April 7, 2008.
- "Case Study: How a Software Company Generated Strong Click-Through Rates on Facebook". August 19, 2008.
- "Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30 - Rahim Fazal and Noah Horton, Involver". Inc.com. Sep 29, 2008.
- "'Us Weekly' Sells Facebook Fan Page Ad to State Farm". April 23, 2009.
- "Alicia Keys Streams New Album On Facebook". December 7, 2009.
- "Facebook Creates List of "Preferred Developer Consultants"".
- "Facebook Helps You Find Your Polling Place".
- "Facebook, Involver Launch FIFA World Cup Leaderboard".
- "Watch 2012 Super Bowl Commercials Now With Facebook + USA Today's Ad Meter".
- "Involver Closes $8 Million Series C For Its Social Media Marketing Platform".
- "Salesforce.com closes deal for Buddy Media".
- "Oracle Buys Vitrue to Add Cloud Social Marketing to App Portfolio".
- "Google Snaps Up Wildfire".