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Word is now out that a Google led alliance will launch OpenSocial on Thursday. OpenSocial is a common set of standards to allow software developers to write programs for Google’s social network, Orkut, as well as others, including declared partners LinkedIn, hi5, Friendster, Plaxo and Ning. Unlike Facebook which uses its own markup language, developers for OpenSocial will be free to use Flash, html and javascript.

By pulling together with with Salesforce.com and Oracle, who are moving to let third-party programmers write applications that can be accessed by their customers, Google hopes to create a rival platform that could have broad appeal to developers. The alliance and partner pact potentially has a combined 100 million users, more than double the size of Facebook.

Microsoft recently took a $240million stake in Facebook, valuing the media darling social site at $15billion, despite the fact that it does not make money.

Tags: Facebook, Friendster, Google, hi5, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Ning, Oracle, Orkut, Plaxo, Salesforce.com

Skinkers, the leaders in Information Broadcast technology, have raised $16m in their second round of funding. The funding comes from lead investor Acacia Capital Partners, existing investor SPARK Ventures and Skinkers Management team. Skinkers will use the funding to further develop their enterprise-wide communication platform business, enhance their Live Notification Platform technology and bring to market Livestation, the world’s first interactive global broadcast network for live television and radio.

Based on peer-to-peer technology originally developed at Microsoft Laboratories in Cambridge in the UK, Livestation delivers live audio and video using a simple software application.

Skinkers CEO is Matteo Berlucchi. Microsoft hold a 10% stake.

www.skinkers.com

Tags: Microsoft, Skinkers

Zopa , the peer to peer online lending service, has launched Zopa Listings, allowing borrowers to request a loan and lenders to compete to make a loan.

Individuals post their request for a loan giving details of the amount they want to borrow, preferred interest rate and their name, age, job etc. Lenders who like the look of the request get to bid in an auction, offering the amount and the best interest rate they are prepared to make. Zopa make an identity and credit checks of individuals. Successful borrowers pay 0.5% of the value of the loan and lenders pay 0.5% of the value of their loans per year, as an annual charge to Zopa.

Risky business.

Tags: Zopa

Its one week to go to the launch of hulu, the joint venture of General Electric’s NBC Universal and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Hulu is a free, advertising-supported video download service which will also feature shows from Sony Pictures Television and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

Potentially an Apple iTunes video killer, on Monday, Hulu will open a private Beta test and offer about 90 TV shows from the four companies and smaller partners ranging from current prime-time hits such as “Heroes” and “The Simpsons” to vintage shows “Miami Vice” and “The A-Team”. It will also make about 10 feature films available including “The Breakfast Club” and “The Blues Brothers.”
Shortly after the test begins, these shows will also be made available on a handful of the biggest online distributors Time Warner Inc’s AOL, Comcast Corp, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo.

Tags: Apple, Hulu, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, NBC, News corp, Sony Pictures

Once upon a time there was a company with no credible revenue, who’s entire service is based on a social fad, has no technological advantage and that has no clear business strategy. Along comes a company with deep pockets who is desperate to create momentum and gain the initiative in the sector. The result is a very large investment which puts a very large valuation on a potentially worthless company.

Question: What happens next?

Answer: The second meltdown of the tech sector.

Whilst Microsoft’s recent $240million investment in Facebook may ultimately be a small but significant step forward for Microsoft, valuing the social networking site at a nose-bleed height of $15billion should be sending shock-waves across the web industry, an industry merrily heading for the cliff edge like lemmings. The investment is bound to feed expectations in the sector which in turn will feed an investment reaction based on fear - the fear of missing out on the next big thing. The result will be a flurry of investments in start-up companies that are either ‘me-too’ or hopelessly optimistic. Eventually the investors will realize that they have little chance of recovering their money, and like the Kings New Clothes, the game will be up and Web2.0 will go the way of Web1.0.

As it stands the common Web2.0 strategy appears to consist no more than rapidly building a user base and then sell the company to one of the big players or to sucker an investment company. Maybe we will have to wait until Web3.0 before we see solid business cases for start-ups in the sector. Plans based not on spin and rapid exit strategies, but based on solid commercial principles.

Tags: Facebook, Microsoft