<s>
Socialthing	B-Application
was	O
a	O
social	O
news	O
aggregator	O
that	O
founded	O
in	O
2007	O
and	O
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
AOL	O
the	O
following	O
year	O
for	O
an	O
undisclosed	O
sum	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
renamed	O
AOL	O
Lifestream	O
,	O
the	O
service	O
was	O
a	O
central	O
part	O
of	O
AOL	O
's	O
unsuccessful	O
attempt	O
to	O
compete	O
against	O
upstart	O
social	O
networks	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Socialthing	B-Application
was	O
an	O
early	O
social	O
aggregator	O
that	O
let	O
users	O
manage	O
multiple	O
social	O
networking	O
feeds	O
from	O
a	O
single	O
Web	O
dashboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Socialthing	B-Application
launched	O
a	O
private	O
beta	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
Flickr	B-Algorithm
,	O
Vimeo	O
,	O
Pownce	O
,	O
and	O
LiveJournal	O
in	O
early	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Socialthing	B-Application
differentiated	O
itself	O
from	O
Friendfeed	O
and	O
other	O
aggregators	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
an	O
algorithm	O
that	O
determined	O
users	O
 '	O
friends	O
—	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
competing	O
services	O
required	O
users	O
to	O
define	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
friends	O
for	O
each	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CEO	O
Matt	O
Galligan	O
described	O
Socialthing	B-Application
's	O
advantage	O
to	O
users	O
as	O
"	O
simply	O
just	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
see	O
what	O
all	O
of	O
your	O
friends	O
on	O
all	O
of	O
your	O
networks	O
are	O
doing	O
without	O
ever	O
having	O
to	O
add	O
them	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
them	O
,	O
all	O
without	O
ever	O
leaving	O
the	O
same	O
site.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2008	O
,	O
AOL	O
confirmed	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
acquired	O
Socialthing	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
was	O
incorporated	O
into	O
AOL	O
's	O
People	O
Network	O
's	O
division	O
,	O
which	O
also	O
managed	O
AIM	B-Protocol
and	O
Bebo	O
,	O
the	O
social	O
network	O
AOL	O
acquired	O
for	O
$850	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
price	O
AOL	O
paid	O
for	O
Socialthing	B-Application
was	O
not	O
disclosed	O
,	O
but	O
Venture	O
Capital	O
Journal	O
listed	O
the	O
acquisition	O
as	O
#2	O
in	O
its	O
list	O
of	O
“	O
Top	O
M&A	O
Returns	O
for	O
VC-backed	O
Internet	O
Companies	O
”	O
in	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
mid-2009	O
,	O
Socialthing	B-Application
had	O
evolved	O
into	O
AOL	O
's	O
social	O
toolbar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
let	O
users	O
sign	O
in	O
with	O
AIM	B-Protocol
,	O
Bebo	O
,	O
or	O
ICQ	B-Protocol
credentials	O
and	O
chat	O
with	O
friends	O
from	O
the	O
toolbar	O
,	O
even	O
as	O
other	O
sites	O
were	O
being	O
visited	O
from	O
the	O
browser	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
,	O
Socialthing	B-Application
was	O
rebranded	O
as	O
AOL	O
Lifestream	O
.	O
</s>
