Salesforce Stink-Eyes Oracle with Buddy Media Buy (Wired)

In late May, Oracle purchased social media software firm Vitrue Inc. A few weeks later, global software firm Salesforce.com purchased Buddy Media, a provider of social media solutions to some of the world’s largest brands. “The proliferation of social media and an increased demand by consumers to engage with brands across multiple social channels is driving chief marketing officers to look for an integrated social marketing platform,” said Oracle’s Thomas Kurian. Sure, social marketing is a billion-dollar industry, but the Buddy Media purchase is probably particularly satisfying for Salesforce.com’s CEO Marc Benioff after Oracle’s CEO Larry Ellison cancelled Benioff’s keynote at Oracle’s OpenWorld last year.