What's the real deal with Microsoft and Facebook?

A minority investment, valuing Facebook at $15bn. Anything to do with the speculation about Google soon to push Orkut left, right and centre?

The best line on it all though was how news of the deal came out. According to the Guardian

News of last night's deal leaked out several hours before a formal announcement when a technology gossip website, Valleywag, noticed that Facebook's head of public relations, Brandee Barker, had suddenly added Microsoft's marketing chief, Adam Sohn, as a "friend" on her Facebook profile.

As it happens (and I didn't know this last night when I wrote the original entry) - it turns out that GoogleSocial is going to be their play in this whole area. I think Charlene Li's analysis is spot on.

The battle ahead is going to be Microsoft and Facebook v Google and everyone else (inc LinkedIn - who recently ditched Bite PR because of the Facebook conflict), Plaxo (which completely buggered up my contacts, so I'm not a fan) and the other smaller networks.

Let battle commence.