OpenSocial & Ning

Those of you who don't breathe web-standards, OpenSocial is a new open web API being spearheaded by Google & a wide-range of partners.

Marc Andreessen has a great post explaining OpenSocial generally. Here's an excerpt:

OpenSocial is an open web API that can be supported by two kinds of developers.

• "Containers" -- social networking systems like Ning, Orkut, LinkedIn, Hi5.
• "Apps" -- applications that want to be embedded within containers -- for example, the kinds of applications built by iLike, Flixster, Rockyou, and Slide.

Netscape & Ning Founder Sells Software Co.

Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, co-author of Mosaic and co-founder of “build your own” social networking service Ning, enjoys a payday with the announcement that his enterprise software company Opsware has been acquired by Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion in cash.

Andreessen, also an investor in Digg and Plazes, will no doubt turn his attention to the further development of Ning.

Post via Mashable