AOL rumored to acquire Brizzly developer Thing Labs

AOL might be poised to acquire Brizzly creator Thing Labs, according to TechCrunch. Brizzly is a popular social client that started out as an alternate Web interface for Twitter, but has since expanded with an iPhone client and a Campfire-esque chatroom called Brizzly Picnics.

Rumors were flying over the summer that Foursquare might be buying Brizzly, and Thing Labs' Jason Shellen had fun denying them on Twitter. TechCrunch says that the deal is likely done, and all seven Thing Labs employees will be joining AOL shortly. It's not clear whether AOL wants Brizzly, or whether they're more interested in Thing Labs' talent. As TechCrunch points out, Shellen and others at Thing were previously on the all-star team that created Google Reader.

The team might be a good fit for AOL's Lifestream apps, which have been well-received so far.

Full disclosure: AOL is Download Squad's parent company.

Tags: acquisition, AOL, Brizzly, Jason Shellen, JasonShellen, Twitter