Will Beluga make it?

When I first learned about Beluga, I was excited. It seems like a good concept. It's clean and easy to use; but, I could never find anybody willing to give it a try.

It is understandable, to some degree. Nobody wants yet another login, app, social network.

I thought perhaps SXSW would be the test that would make or break Beluga. But, Facebook bought them out, which is a kiss of death.

It's not just Facebook; Google buys companies and assimilates them. Facebook simply lays acquisitions to pasture.

I would have loved to put Beluga to the test; but there is no point now.

When it comes down to it, I realize that Google Buzz pretty much does the same thing as what made Beluga interesting to me: private group messaging and location awareness.

As it turns out, groupme.com just added location and photo sharing too. So, there are alternatives.