December 7th, 2010:  Thematic Networks, the social publishing software specialist and owner of the Hedghogs.net social platform for the investment management community, has announced that it has agreed to acquire the commercial operations of Curverider Limited, the company behind the award-winning Elgg open source social networking software.

The acquisition provides Thematic with the ability to enhance its portfolio of commercial services for clients in the finance, publishing and e-learning sectors. This is particularly significant given the increased desire from publishers, content developers and online communities to develop new marketing channels and revenue streams from digital content.

Launched in 2008, Thematic delivers social publishing platforms that enable community guardians and owners to manage self-published, third-party and user-generated content, including licensing and merchant services. Over the past twelve months, further support has been added to encompass new revenue-generating models such as independent App Stores, Pay-Per-View media access and premium content subscriptions.

As interest in monetizing these communities grows, the acquisition of Curverider marks a significant milestone in the next phase of Thematic’s evolution. Curverider has been the sponsor and lead developer behind Elgg, growing it to become one of the world's leading open source social engines, powering thousands of social networks worldwide, with particular success in the education and e-learning-sectors. The company also provides social media consulting and software development services for organizations and runs the popular Elgg.com turnkey private social network service for businesses, universities and schools.

“Many of the tools and communication patterns traditionally found in popular social media are already starting to play a valuable role in the corporate environment; for example for promoting internal and external collaboration, or delivering a more engaging e-learning experience to employees” said Ken Yeadon, Chief Executive of Thematic Networks. “Curverider brings a strong suite of social tools, which, together with its web-based Elgg.com platform, enables Thematic Networks to offer clients a broader range of social publishing and e-learning solutions, deployed either on-site or delivered via the web as a turnkey service."

Thematic has also announced its intention to transfer the lead role in the Elgg open source project to a not-for-profit foundation being established by Brett Profitt, Elgg's Lead Developer, for the benefit of the community of developers involved in the continued development of the software and its associated plugins and extensions.

David Tosh, co-founder of Elgg and outgoing CEO of Curverider, commented "Over the past six years, Elgg has matured into one of the most flexible and popular social engines available, as evidenced by its broad adoption amongst government bodies, companies and leading academic institutions. I am delighted that a not-for-profit is being established for the open source project, ensuring the community of developers, organizations and enthusiasts who have helped contribute to its success will continue to play a prominent role in Elgg's future."

Thematic Networks will remain an active supporter of the Elgg open source project and will have a governance role on the proposed foundation.