Klout has made its first acquisition. The company is buying Blockboard a neighborhood local and mobile app. Blockboard provides a venue through which neighbors can interact with one another.

Such interactions could be reporting potholes to the city, or banding together to monitor crime. They can also post questions as well as photos of items. Klout will use Blockboard’s technology and team to invest in local and mobile product efforts, TechCrunch reports.

Finding Information Locally

Klout is not providing information about what those efforts might be, but a safe assumption is that local business search will be part of the mix. When it comes to people researching and finding local businesses, search trumps all alternatives, including a merchant's own website, according to data released in October 2011 by CityGrid Media and Harris Interactive.  However, consumer behavior changes when people are on the go and need to make a timely decision about where to head. When researching a local business on their mobile phone, adults are nearly as likely to base their decisions on a review site as they are a search engine.