[FrogInABog]

(Original post by SoNottingH)
I'm not an expert, is Facebook really worth buying shares in for the long-run though? Google was. Is it as good as Google? Can they make money from ads and stuff?

I'm no expert either, but I would never have bought shares in Facebook. It might turn around, but their revenue will begin to dry up, if this isn't happening already. For example, Chrysler had a massive advertising deal with Facebook, but they pulled it recently after finding that it hadn't helped their sales at all. Also, the people who make Farmville (Zynga?) have created their own social network, and considering credits (the virtual money thing you can have on Facebook games) make up 10-15% of Facebook's revenue, this sort of thing could hurt them badly.

While Facebook has had a bit more sticking power than Myspace or Bebo, it can only last so long. Google stays strong because it has a massive range of products and services, and they seem to be able to come up with a new idea every week. Facebook, on the other hand, only really has one product, and that will inevitably start to go stale, particularly if Google push Google+ a bit harder, which I imagine they will.

[faber niger]

(Original post by Foo.mp3)
My dear chap, it's a saying (concerning those who are are feeble/ugly), not meant to be taken literally

As you've pointed out in a round about way, we no longer live in a (polygamous) social/mating hierarchy where the sole carriers of the human genome are apex group members; thus in the evolutionary sense of the term 'prosper', successful nerdy types do not particularly, relatively speaking. Indeed they have less time in which to become skilled seducers/lovers, and to find a suitably sweet mate, and a lower innate capacity for these things, hence in many ways they stand to lose out (as this Zucker character demonstrates by reverting to the [very plain] 'college sweetheart' default)

I know, I know, but it also preserves a silly, unscientific notion, and we can't have that now, can we?

In one way, I agree with what you say; in other ways, I disagree. But I won't further divert the thread into the murky world of Marky's genome.

[JCotterill]

Started too high on Nasdaq. Simple.

[Sephiroth]

I've always thought Twitter could replace Facebook if they add more features. People don't need 90% of the features Facebook has so Twitter could still improve and stay simple. I know many people these days who spend a lot more time on Twitter than Facebook, however it's not currently a suitable replacement.

[TurboCretin]

You think it'd be suitably ironic for me to 'share' this?

[TurboCretin]

(Original post by Sephiroth)
I've always thought Twitter could replace Facebook if they add more features. People don't need 90% of the features Facebook has so Twitter could still improve and stay simple. I know many people these days who spend a lot more time on Twitter than Facebook, however it's not currently a suitable replacement.

I reckon all it'd need is a better photo app. Most people I know only use Facebook for status updates and sharing/commenting on photos.

[Benniboi1]

I remember hearing about Facebook's sort of convention, I think it's called F8, and got kind of excited because they said they would be making some big announcements. I thought it was going to be the point where they start to branch out, like how google branched out into Software (Android) and other stuff. But all they really announced was Timeline and new apps like Spotify on Facebook, which for a company that has nearly a billion users, with a valuation of nearly a hundred billion dollars, was disappointing and it kind of made me think they're not doing enough to turn the bubble they have created into something more permanent. Facebook could stick around for a long time but at the moment it's tedious at best and 10% of the people I have as friends on facebook are the people who post 90% of the stuff on there and clog up the news feed

[SoNottingH]

(Original post by Benniboi1)
I remember hearing about Facebook's sort of convention, I think it's called F8, and got kind of excited because they said they would be making some big announcements. I thought it was going to be the point where they start to branch out, like how google branched out into Software (Android) and other stuff. But all they really announced was Timeline and new apps like Spotify on Facebook, which for a company that has nearly a billion users, with a valuation of nearly a hundred billion dollars, was disappointing and it kind of made me think they're not doing enough to turn the bubble they have created into something more permanent. Facebook could stick around for a long time but at the moment it's tedious at best and 10% of the people I have as friends on facebook are the people who post 90% of the stuff on there and clog up the news feed

A lot of people I know are getting bored of F/Book and looking at other stuff. Formspring is popular and looaaadsss of Twittering. Maybe Facebook will just buy Twitter though? They have the cash now.

[function]

I'm guessing everyone in this thread made a killing shorting the stock right? ...right?
No? Why not when it was so clearly overvalued?

I guess everything is just clearer in retrospect...

[SoNottingH]

(Original post by function)
I'm guessing everyone in this thread made a killing shorting the stock right? ...right?
No? Why not when it was so clearly overvalued?

I guess everything is just clearer in retrospect...

A friend at School's Dad was crazy about the launch and had managed to get, I think it's 10,000 shares, so now he's lost presumably about £50K or something. She's like "oh my Dad just thinks they will be worth a million when it gets sold to Google" and so he's not bothered. He bought her like a thousand shares as well so she's wondering if she should sell them or keep them.

[magicman1]

(Original post by patrickinator)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18163687

In my opinion people were a bit silly to invest in Facebook as it is way over valued. Realistically, it should only be worth about $30 billion at most, and now spectators are pulling back.

Have people not learned their lessons from the dot com bust?

I think you'll find its not people looking for a hopeful investment but those with vast sums of money hyping up a company's stock just to firesell them for a bigger profit margin.

This then leads to many people going "whoa, stocks falling and I need to sell".

Hedge funds do this all the time.

[function]

(Original post by SoNottingH)
A friend at School's Dad was crazy about the launch and had managed to get, I think it's 10,000 shares, so now he's lost presumably about £50K or something. She's like "oh my Dad just thinks they will be worth a million when it gets sold to Google" and so he's not bothered. He bought her like a thousand shares as well so she's wondering if she should sell them or keep them.

I doubt google would be interested in the acquisition of facebook seeing how they already run their own social networking platform google+.

[Dekota-XS]

Facebook shares are on freefall... $28.84 Per share

[Phantom Lord]

(Original post by Ketchup!)
Thought this said "Facebook shares tumblr" :|

Same

[SoNottingH]

(Original post by Dekota-XS)
Facebook shares are on freefall... $28.84 Per share

They seem to be going back up generally though.

[Brap4k22DivideBy2]

Everyone is going short on FB..I'm saying it would settle around the $25 mark..

[SoNottingH]

(Original post by Brap4k22DivideBy2)
Everyone is going short on FB..I'm saying it would settle around the $25 mark..

It almost hit 30 today, might all the pundits be wrong and it actually be quite strong? Perhaps the first down bit was all the hedge funds cashing in or something? Don't they do wierd things like borrow shares from the banks that are issuing them and sell them short?

[Brap4k22DivideBy2]

Donno..FB only source of revenue is from advertising...They value their company at $100Bn. You have to be a madman at setting at that level. I'm sure the bubble will burst on this one in a couple of years time.