Facebook App ‘Where I’ve Been’ Purchased By TripAdvisor For $3M

The Facebook API frenzy of several weeks past has been marked by a sort of mini-industry boom in which applications embedded into the social network have in some cases become quite noteworthy creations in and of themselves. Whether or not it’s politically correct to say so (and to be honest, I divulge this bit begrudgingly), Facebook has become a platform upon which other services may flourish in kind, and that is great news for many a Web 2.0 startup – and even some well-established companies.

A sign that the realm of Facebook applications is gaining in relevance and significance is announcement, made yesterday, that a third-party build called ‘Where I’ve Been’, which provides users the capability to show others, well, where they’ve been (and want to go), was purchased by TripAdvisor, one of the largest online travel company on the Web. According to Inside Facebook, a blog that closely chronicles the goings on inside and out of the network, the sum of the deal came to $3 million.

Why did Where I’ve Been fetch such a pretty penny, you ask? People. Or “faces”, to be more precise. According to the application’s creator, Craig Ulliott, a developer based in Philadelphia, the service counts 2.3 million users at the moment, which has grown from a base of roughly half a million since the close of Q2 2007. With 30-million-plus registered members on the network as a whole, the application can still chart exponential growth. Clearly, TripAdvisor would like that very much. Apart from recouping its investment in a relatively short time frame (which I’m sure will be the case come the close of the year), it’ll help TripAdvisor branch into what could be a lucrative new market.

With many Facebook users being college students, some of which are bound to travel throughout the world, and with many users exiting the collegiate world whilst maintaining their accounts and using income from employment to “see things while they’re still young”, TripAdvisor will have a new pool with which to ensure continued growth.