As web legend Andreessen joins Facebook we ask what happens next?

Davey Winder
Tuesday, 01 July 2008 16:58

Business IT - Networking

One has changed the face of social networking, the other changed the face of the web. Now that Facebook and Marc Andreessen have joined forces who knows what will change next...

Best known for developing the first graphical web browser to make a difference, Mosaic, Marc Andreessen has now become a member of the Facebook board of directors. Mosaic, you say, never heard of it. Perhaps, but you probably know a little about the beast it became. Andreessen took Mosaic and turned it into Netscape Navigator.

As co-founder of Netscape Communications, Andreessen is one of a handful of people who can truly lay claim to having changed the Internet. Heck, by bringing that graphical window onto the web, Andreessen helped change the world!

More recently, he has been concentrating his attention and considerable brain-power on social networking. Specifically as co-founder and chairman at Ning that allows anyone to create their very own social networking system based around specific interests.

“Marc is an industry leader, and we’re fortunate to have him join our board,” said Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “He has experience that is relevant to Facebook in so many ways: scaling companies that are experiencing extraordinary growth, creating successful technology platforms, and building strong engineering organizations."

It is unclear as of yet if there are any implications with regards to a possible coming together of Facebook and Ning technologies or concepts. It is, however, very clear that there will be a coming together of minds.

How does Andreessen fit into Facebook? Read on to find out...

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