Posted on 05/22/2012 1:39:18 PM PDT by IsraelBeach
Of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, IPO, Social Media and Weddings
By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
New York --- May 21, 2012 ... Another historic tech, Internet IPO has taken place. One that made headlines on Friday and continues to leave many wondering if Facebook is really a safe investment? Share prices that started out at 38 dollars have now sunk today to 34 dollars.
Is Facebook a good investment? The answer to that question is yes.
As many criticize Facebook for lacking real value or service, comparing Facebook to Google that serves the function of finding things, Mark Zuckerberg stays true to his position that "Facebook exists to make the world more open and connected, and not just to build a company."
That is enough to scare any intelligent investor. That Zuck places more value on creating openness and placing the Facebook user above the shareholder?
But what Mark has done here was and continues to create the largest human watering hole on Planet Earth with over 900 million members. He overshadows MySpace, Google groups, Yahoo groups, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Microsoft's new So.cl and even Pandora Internet radio.
Although ROI on advertising in Facebook is not great, it still merits effective function and perhaps the best branding one could wish for with it's free corporate pages.
And this author, as an Internet pioneer, who has a longer record of placing content on the Net than Mark (co-created the first commercial Website in Israel in 1994) can tell you that Facebook has a few friends which cannot allow it to sink.
Where did the Internet come from? US Intelligence. And Facebook is to INTEL as butter is to bread.
Where else can US and Western INTEL find out in the most cost-effective terms what time you woke up, what clothes you are wearing, what you ate, where you are going (don't forget the photos) and what time you went to sleep?
As Wikipedia is still alive and thriving, so will Facebook.
Will you make millions investing in Facebook?
Perhaps yes, if you are like Bono and invest tens of thousands as an "insider" and sell your stock off in the first few hours. But for the rest of us, that share and stock certificate will gain little value except to say that you are a member of the largest club on Earth.
Facebook faces multi-billion dollar class law actions for their "cookies" tracking your every move. But don't worry about that affecting Facebook. Their friends in DC will take care of that.
And as for privacy? There is no privacy on the Net. So get over it and go "Like" something!
If you're a good guy and pose no terror threat to others - you have nothing to worry about and have much to enjoy in this new wired and "open" world.
In addition to INTEL, Facebook has another friend. The world community.
Mark Zuckerberg was at the right place at the right time when getting Facebook off the ground at Harvard. But it takes a lot more than just sheer luck.
Zuckerberg has sweated many long hours. He has taken the finest counsel (i.e. - Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook) from other social media companies like Google and LinkedIn to create a Cabinet unmatched in the wired world.
Zuckerberg is a programmer, turned social networker, turned marketer (this man knows hype and PR) turned businessman.
He knew what he was doing with Morgan Stanley as they sold at 38 dollars yet bought 421 million shares of Facebook from the company and its investors, at $37.582 each. Nice profit. And many profits were made by those who choreographed this historic IPO. From the opening bell on Friday to the wedding bells on Saturday, Mark knows what he is doing. He works the public as he works the financial markets.
Mark is today beyond money. He made his billionaire mark last Friday. Now this creative, Jewish kid from Westchester is out to make a difference. Whether it is creating an initiative for organ donor transplants, taking on Sharia law by protecting free speech on the Net to cooperating with Western INTEL to secure a safer world, we can count on Zuck in the days ahead to make a profit for all Facebook investors. Not just the elite.
And if Mark has to hack beyond the glitches and firewalls of NASDAQ to make that happen - he will.
” Share prices that started out at 38 dollars have now sunk today to 34 dollars. “
30 dollars today.
Why yes, I think I will put all my life savings into the hands of a 28 year old liberal now...........
I don’t get it...he says Facebook is a good investment, even if you don’t make any money? Because Zuckerberg is a clever guy, and you get to participate?
This whole IPO continues to boggle my mind. By normal standards, I value Facebook at $6 a share. By ‘tech’ standards, maybe $12. As far as I can tell, the $38 price tag gives you a ratio of earnings to price of 1.5%....which I can probably match in a much safer investment at my local bank.
Its just stupid....and I’m afraid to see if any of my mutual funds participated in the nonsense.
I fail to see the logic behind the whole FaceBook IPO.
No established revenue stream, the only way they can hope to cash in on the adertizements would be to sell personal and private data about their users. This will result in lawsuits and ill-will.
All FaceBook has to offer is “good-will”, yet they have been found guilty of tracking user’s web surfing patterns after their customer has logged off. This is not the practice of a company that has the long-term perceived value of their customers close at heart.
Much like MySpace - and that is a VERY accurate comparison, (unlike comparing FaceBook against Google) - I fail to see a sustainable situation where this will generate revenue.
After all, the sole purpose of a company is to generate a profit. The current stock price reflects nearly a 100:1 P/E ratio.
I predict that the stock will continue to crash - hitting the sub-$10 mark within 30 days.
It was NASDAQ that really screwed up!!! How Facebook's Stock Selloff Nearly Turned Into a Run
FB is down 21% since Friday.
Yep, and who knows where the bottom is.
You don't spike the football until the ref calls it a touchdown.
“One must think long term”
Frankly, I shudder to think long term about Facebook, as an investment. Just today, it was revealled that Facebook itself has concerns over the effectiveness of banner ads, on mobile devices....and for more and more people, smartphones are how they access Facebook.
But beyond the effectiveness of their advertising, I question their strongest selling point: their ability to gather information on its users. IMHO, most users put forth a ‘dating profile’ persona on Facebook. They want to make a good impression...they’re politcially correct, etc. I don’t think users of Facebook will ever be as honest about themselves as somebody doing a search on Google...the Google search feels more anonymous, and people let their guard down. And, if Facebook can’t match Google on information gathering, why bother...and why assume that it will magically start making 7-8 times its current earnings.
And, of course, there is always the risk of a Myspace death spiral.
Just my opinion of course.
They and the public will both profit ..... Google is not part of this (for now) - nor is Microsoft (although they would like to be ;> )
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