Meebo clone ImTata has not only ripped off the instant messenger service, taken a URL (meebo.com.cn) that would suggest it is in fact Meebo, and is generally operating under the guise of Meebo, has gone so far as to spark acquisition rumors--for Meebo. We all know that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but this may be a bit much.
As far as anyone can tell, Meebo's own Chinese website has no known association with ImTata. The one point of differentiation, which could explain why ImTata is using a meebo URL, is that ImTata supports QQ on a world wide web interface, while Meebo does not. As QQ is among the largest instant messaging clients in China, it's more than a moot point. And while ImTata may not be getting a significant amount of traffic, it is causing quite a stir.
So far, no action has been taken by Meebo. Facebook faces a similar issue for a domain in France, which is owned by an unnamed entity, and used to direct to Facebook but now takes you to a Ning-powered group. International clones are nothing new, and very often prove to be quite lucrative, especially in Germany. Is it because US-based startups are too slow to launch language-specific versions on a global scale? Should Meebo take action against ImTata at all?
[via cwrblog]