Seesmic
{{short description|Blog software}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Seesmic
| title = Seesmic
| logo = Seesmic Logo.png
| screenshot =
| caption = Seesmic 1.8.4 Screenshot on Android 4.0.3 on Galaxy S2
| collapsible =
| author = Loïc Le Meur
Johann Romefort
| developer =
| released =
| discontinued = yes
| latest release version =
| latest release date =
| latest preview version =
| latest preview date =
| programming language =
| operating system = Microsoft Windows, Mac OS (Desktop) Linux (Web)
iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry OS (Mobile)
| platform = Microsoft Silverlight (Desktop)
| size =
| language =
| genre = Customer relationship management, Social media
| license = Freeware
| website = {{URL|www.seesmic.com}}
}}
Seesmic was a suite of freeware web, mobile, and desktop applications which allowed users to simultaneously manage user accounts for multiple social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Launched in 2008 by French entrepreneur Loïc Le Meur, the service was initially a video sharing website, billed as a cross between YouTube and Twitter, allowing short video comments to be published online.{{Cite book|title=Twitter Clients – Web Apps or Desktops Apps? Which is Better?|id={{ASIN|5511766143|country=br}} }} Le Meur shut down the service in 2009 due to its stagnating user base, and then relaunched Seesmic as a social networking tool, with a suite of desktop, mobile and web apps integrating streams from Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites. Following the failure to monetize the company, in 2011 Seesmic was relaunched yet again as a customer relations management app.[https://techcrunch.com/2011/07/07/keen-on-loic-le-meur-why-seesmic-isnt-a-failure-tctv/ Loic Le Meur: Why Seesmic Isn't a Failure] – TechCrunch TV, 7 July 2011
History
Starting out life as a video blogging website, its original aim was to make video uploading from webcams easier to promote online video conversations.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120148512760821233?mod=googlenews_wsj|title=Why Can't Computers (Fill in the Blank)?|access-date=2008-02-22 |author= Don Clark |work= The Wall Street Journal |date= 2008-01-28}} Seesmic made its debut at the Demo tech conference where it was called the "Twitter of video".{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2008-01-30-demo-tech_N.htm|title=Demo Conference Intrigues, But Doesn't Electrify|access-date=2008-02-22|date=2008-01-30|author=Edward C. Baig|work=USA Today}} It had 20,000 users and 70,000 viewers per month as of 2008.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/jan/24/politics.socialnetworking|title=Making the Global Village a Reality|access-date=2008-02-22|date=2008-01-24|author=Victor Keegan|work=The Guardian | location=London}} On 3 April 2008, Seesmic announced that it had purchased Twhirl, an Adobe AIR based Twitter client.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/04/03/seesmic-aquires-popular-twitter-air-client-twhirl/|title=Seesmic Acquires Popular Twitter AIR Client Twhirl|access-date=2008-04-04|date=2008-04-03|author=Mark Hendrickson|work=Tech Crunch}}
In 2009, Loïc Le Meur, Seesmic's founder, announced that the video portion of the site had stagnated as it struggled to attract new users. He refocused the site, changing the objective from creating a new video social networking site to creating a suite of tools that would instead aggregate content from other social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.{{cite web| url=https://influmos.com/ | title=Social Media| access-date = 18 June 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://www.centernetworks.com/seesmic-relaunches-website-video-service-bottom |title=Seesmic Relaunches Website; Video Service Pushed to the Bottom | CenterNetworks |access-date=2009-06-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627214255/http://www.centernetworks.com/seesmic-relaunches-website-video-service-bottom |archive-date=27 June 2009 }} The video site, whilst remaining available, was relegated to a different domain name.
Le Meur moved from Paris to San Francisco to relaunch Seesmic due to the perception that it would stand a better chance of success there. It was backed by a number of investors, the primary one being Atomico, a venture group that includes Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who sold Skype to eBay in 2005 for $2.6 billion.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/jan/29/loiclemeur|title=Silicon Valley 'Refuses to Take Europe Seriously'|access-date=2008-02-22|date=2008-01-29|author=Bobbie Johnson|work=The Guardian | location=London}}
In January 2010 Seesmic acquired Ping.fm.[https://techcrunch.com/2010/01/04/seesmic-acquires-ping-fm/ Pinging In The New Year: Seesmic Acquires Ping.fm]. TechCrunch (4 January 2010). Retrieved on 2013-09-21. In March 2010, Seesmic reached 1 million registered users.{{cite news|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/loiclemeur/5542452585/|title=Seesmic in #1 French financial newspaper Les Echos|access-date=2011-05-25|date=2011-03-14|author=Nicolas Rauline|work=Les Echos | location=Paris}}
Seesmic produced a number of social network clients including:
- Seesmic Desktop – a cross platform Twitter and Facebook desktop client written using Adobe AIR. Version 2 was rewritten in Microsoft Silverlight and added support for Google Buzz.
- Seesmic Web – a Twitter web application client for Twitter written using Google Web Toolkit{{Cite web|date=2010-02-02|title=Twitter Clients – Web Apps or Desktops Apps? Which is Better?|url=https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/twitter-clients-web-apps-desktops-apps/|access-date=2022-02-22|website=MUO|language=en-US}}
- Seesmic for Android – a native Twitter client, Facebook, and Salesforce Chatter client for Android
- Seesmic for Windows Phone 7 – a native Twitter, Facebook, and Salesforce Chatter client for Windows Phone 7{{Cite web|title=Seesmic Focuses on the Social Enterprise; Debuts Android, iPad Apps For Salesforce CRM|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/08/29/seesmic-focuses-on-the-social-enterprise-debuts-android-ipad-apps-for-salesforce-crm/|access-date=2022-02-22|website=TechCrunch|date=29 August 2011 |language=en-US}}
- Seesmic for iPhone – a native Twitter, Facebook and Ping.fm client for iPhone and iPod Touch
- Seesmic for BlackBerry – a native Twitter client for BlackBerry – discontinued in June 2011[https://techcrunch.com/2011/06/20/seesmic-bails-blackberry/ Even Seesmic Bails On Blackberry. Who's Next?] – TechCrunch, 20 June 2011
In August 2011, Seesmic announced it was moving into the Customer Relations Management business, releasing Android and iOS CRM apps that interfaced with Salesforce.com. The former social media apps were being maintained as a "second branch" of the company.[http://blog.seesmic.com/seesmic-now-offers-two-product-suites-seesmic-social-and-seesmic-crm.html Seesmic now offers two product suites: Seesmic CRM and Seesmic Social] – Seesmic Blog, 31 August 2011
In September 2012, Seesmic was acquired by HootSuite.[http://blog.hootsuite.com/welcomes-seesmic-users/ HootSuite Acquires Seesmic] – HootSuite Blog, 6 September 2012[http://blog.seesmic.com/seesmic-has-been-acquired-by-hootsuite.html Seesmic has been acquired by HootSuite] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923085605/http://blog.seesmic.com/seesmic-has-been-acquired-by-hootsuite.html |date=23 September 2013 }} – Seesmic Blog, 6 September 2012
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Twitter Navigation}}
{{Aggregators}}
Category:Software companies established in 2008
Category:Twitter services and applications
Category:Discontinued software
Category:2008 establishments in France
Category:Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Category:Software companies disestablished in 2012
Category:2012 disestablishments in California
Category:Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area