False rumors, accusations, finger-pointing, and the classic case of he says/she says is undermining the true value of OpenSocial, that is to open up the web and making it more transparent.
The question is, was all of the rumors and he says/she says an elaborate PR strategy by all parties involved, or honest mistakes due to the OpenSocial news frenzy?
Examples? Sure:
Rumors
Rumors from the Facebook funding frenzy had the company seeking $750 million from the get-go. And during yesterday’s almost content-free conference call, Facebook’s Owen Van Natta refused to rule out the notion that the company had raised more capital than MSFT’s.
Two hedge funds from New York have apparently jumped into the Facebook deal.We’ve got our ear to the ground to figure out who it is but each put in about $250 million–for $500 million total–at the same valuation as Microsoft Corp.
On the conference call yesterday, Microsoft exec Kevin Johnson implied there might be other investors involved when he said, “If you look at this round of financing they are doing that we are in for $240 million . . .”
Rumors Squashed
I asked Breyer point blank about the second ghost tranche. And he told us point blank:”Those reports last week were a total fiction.”
He Says/She Says
When we asked them if they were planning on joining, Brandee Barker, Director of corporate communications at Facebook, responded:
Despite reports, Facebook has still not been briefed on OpenSocial. When we have had a chance to understand the technology, then Facebook will evaluate participation relative to the benefits to its 50 million users and 100,000 platform developers.
Update: From a trusted source:
People in the know have indicated to me that Facebook and Google have been talking about OpenSocial…including today. So pleading ignorance won’t last as a strategy for dealing with the OpenSocial movement.
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