Google's social buying spree

Google bought five social networking companies in the past month, and has a big stake in the industry's hottest venture. Here's a look at Google's new building blocks.

• Google's new social networking strategy

Google bought Slide in early August, marking the first splash in a series of quick social gaming acquisitions.

Slide is the company behind a number of popular social games like SuperPoke! Pets, Rock Riot, Top Friends and FunSpace. But it's a prime example of how fickle social popularity can be: Once Facebook's top outside app maker, Slide now badly trails Zynga, the field's new leading light.

Still, Slide has a well-established presence on Facebook and other social networks -- something Google hasn't been able to achieve on its own.