fb is basically a data-form website; users type data into fields and save, fb saves the data for later presentation. It’s a big database of data that users entered.
Most decent programmers can design system that displays a form on the screen and allows the user to edit it.
Google, on the other hand, is at it’s core a proprietary search algorithm.
A very small percentage of programmers would be able to make a site like google and make it work that well. Remember, they’re essentially cataloging every page on the internet and allowing every internet user in the world to then do full text searches on the pages; and the system returns results lickity split.
To test it, simply wait a day or two after you enter a post on FR. Then, using google advanced search, enter the site name criteria freerepublic.com, then search for about 5 or 6 fairly distinct words from your post in the field..
this exact word or phrase:
You’ll find the page your post is on in the top few search results. If you think that’s easy to write, all I can say is try it.
fb average annual revenue per user is about $4, about half what Yahoo’s is and about 15% of what google’s is.
Average Annual Revenue per user is basically the key question: can you ring up sales based on all the users on your site.
Half or more fb users are in countries other than the U.S., which makes finding revenue much more difficult. fb is very popular, for example, in New Zealand. How does one monetize that ?
fb acknowledges that a) they need to invent a whole new monetization scheme and b) they don’t have it invented at this point.
While all IPO’s are in essence a pump and dump, this one is certainly the grandest one to date.
With ads for things that sell in New Zealand? I'm missing the point I guess.
I've seen FR postings show up on Google within an hour or two of the original post.