Yahoo acquires Xoopit, Amazon gets Zappos

In a flurry of online take-overs, Yahoo has announced it's acquired photo sharing service Xoopit, whilst Amazon has announced it's overtaken online apparel and footwear company Zappos.

In a move that many thought Google would be first to make, Yahoo has purchased and therefore acquired Xoopit, the online photo sharing service, with plans to integrate its services into Yahoo's Mail offering. Though details of the acquisition have not been disclosed, Xoopit and Yahoo have long had a close connection, winning Yahoo's Open Hack Day last year and the partnership to make the "My Photo's" plugin for Yahoo Mail.

In short, Xoopit will bring phenomenal photo organization, improved photo sharing, and the serendipity of discovering forgotten photos to Yahoo! Mail.

Bryan Lamkin, SVP Yahoo! Applications said in a blog post today.

While social networks and community sites are great for sharing photos with everyone you know, we realize it’s not for everyone or every occasion. For many, email is still best for sharing photos among a more select group of friends or family.

And Amazon has also announced it has teamed up with Zappos.com with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos saying

"We see great opportunities for both companies to learn from each other and create even better experiences for our customers."

Both companies are stressing that Zappos will continue to run as a separate and independent division, and will retain all of its current employees. It will also stay its current headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a result of this acquisition, Amazon has now closed its own attempt at an online apparel store, Endless.com. Amazon is paying Zappos investors and shareholders approximately 10 million Amazon common stock shares, with the deal expected to be closed by the end of Autumn.