• TechCrunch, Friday, July 9, 2010 10:38 AM

So, why exactly did Facebook just acquire social travel recommendation service NextStop? Rumors are circulating that the top social net could be getting into the travel space, or might use the service to reinforce its yet-to-be-announced location-based offering. "From what we're hearing, it's much more simple than that," writes TechCrunch.

"It really just boils down to Facebook getting a few very talented people at a relatively low price." The strategy is similar to Google's approach to acquisitions, which often have more to do with a target's executive talent than its technology or services. "Facebook has been on a mission to scoop up as many smart management types as possible, we've heard from a few sources recently," TechCrunch adds. "Facebook is in the unique position now to have resources to simply acquire companies in order to get these people."

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