Brightkite Winds Down, Says It Will Come Back With ‘Something Better’ (Again)

Brightkite

Remember Brightkite? Launched with the help of TechStars back in August 2007, the location-based ‘check-in’ service once rivaled the likes of Foursquare and Gowalla, but never really got the traction it needed to keep on competing and win the day: the startup killed the check-in functionality about a year ago to focus on group texting.

It’s been quiet about Brightkite ever since, and the company’s two founders moved on long before the pivot to group texting was announced, starting a new venture dubbed Forkly (our review).

Now, a reader tells us, it appears Brightkite (which remained the name even after their 2009 merger with Limbo) is changing course again. The company’s mobile apps are no longer available on the App Store or Android Market, and the website displays only a logo and this not super-reassuring text:

This is not goodbye… we’re just moving on to something better.
Watch this space. We have an update coming soon.

I hate to say it, but can’t resist the pun: looks like the future isn’t going to be Brightkite.

I’d get in touch with Brightkite to see what’s up and if we can deadpool them yet, but I frankly don’t know who could answer that question, or how to contact anyone at the company for that matter.