There's a huge amount of news today about Google's new OpenSocial platform API. It turns out that everyone but Facebook has already announced that they're on this bandwagon. So what?
Does anyone remember the big news about Facebook just before this whirlwind hit?? Remember Microsoft paying out buku-buku bucks for a percentage stake in Facebook? Remember that?? Facebook valued at $15B??
I'm really surprised that nobody's asked this yet, but do you still think Google would've rolled out OpenSocial if they'd won that bidding war instead of Microsoft?
Pause for effect.
Ok, so realistically, there's probably still a decent chance Google would've introduced this platform at some point, but I'd bet that Facebook would have been on board.
What's going to happen here? If OpenSocial shows any signs of momentum at all, Facebook is gonna be on the thing eventually. But -- Facebook loses its big shot at world domination. After all, a couple weeks ago, people were talking about Facebook knocking Google off the top of the hill, and they were almost serious.
That's gone now.
You know what else is gone? Facebook's $15B valuation. Poof!
Ballmer's got to be three shades of purple in the face right now.
It's a big-stakes chess match out there, and this was a money move.