ImaHima

ImaHima was a mobile location-based social-networking service created in 1999 and shut down in 2006.[1] This service was launched by the Japanese company of the same name, founded by Neeraj Jhanji. This Japanese name means "are you free now?"[2] This company pioneered the concept of sharing current status (location, activity, mood) among friends using mobile phones. Initially ImaHima started out as an "unofficial"[3] service but was later accepted inside the walled garden of the Japanese mobile carriers (NTT DoCoMo,[4] KDDI, Softbank). At its peak, ImaHima had over 500,000 users in Japan and was also made available in Switzerland and Australia. The service won a few awards including the coveted Prix Ars Electronica in 2001.[5] The fundamental patents for mobile checkin, status updates and location-based advertising pioneered by ImaHima were acquired by Facebook in 2013.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Prix Ars Electronica Archives". 2001-09-03. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  2. "US Patent". 1999-12-14. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  3. Guth, Robert A. (2000-08-18). "The Wall Street Journal". Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  4. "Wired - Listening Post". 2001-04-01. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  5. "Prix Ars Electronica Archives". 2001-09-03. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  6. "Facebook Buys 100 Patents To Spur Virtual Reality, Video, Speech". Forbes. 2014-09-02. Retrieved 2015-01-06.
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