Dude, that's called "eBay". Unless you mean opening an "Amazon Store". Or do you mean "GroupOn". But that's only good if you live where they advertise. "Global" doesn't do much there. Whatever...
This doesn't make sense. How does ebay provide advertising? or amazon stores? or groupon? One of the advertising strategies I've seen on Facebook are local concerts. That's huge in my mind. Way more cost effective than printing out 1000 flyers to hand out/hang up.
A local concert? Ok. What else that would make it worth $60 Billion? BTW - if I'm not interested in attending local concerts and you throw the ad in front of me online, that's called SPAM.
Some older guys don't seem to grasp how big FB will be. They think its just another social networking site like MySpace. It's just some webpage for losers with low self esteems to connect? No no no, Kids and teenagers all use facebook. They all go home from school and hop on and flirt with each other. The MAJORITY of people under 21 use social media. Sure it might not appeal to 30-90 year olds, but you need to understand that this is the future of social interaction. You can connect with everyone you know at once. Television already keeps people indoors, changing the social dynamics of humanity. Why is it so hard to think technology can strike again and alter the way humans communicate. Just because you're old doesn't mean you're right. My grandmother has a FB account for crying out loud, and all she has a computer for is to make bets on horses. Point is, the youth love the damn site. It is a growth story. You'll be 6 feet under and the next generation will be on Facebook. ------ As far as Zuckerberg goes, the guy got lucky. He is no visionary, no genius. Just lucky. They have turned him into some tech hero in the media, BS. He is just some college kid who made a lame website and got lucky. He made the site as a rating system or some BS, so you could rate your classmates on appearance. Give me a break. It evolved into what it is. People caught on, it became the grown up alternative to Myspace, which became filled with advertisements, spammers, and pedophiles. ----------------------- They can't charge for use. All they can do is possibly sell apps, and sell ad space. They can also help with marketing campaigns. In the end, it is going to be a cash machine, with high growth. Imagine when you can buy shit right through FB. You buy a CD through FB music, your friends see that, and like it, and they can buy it too. People's own purchasing decisions will act as advertisements. Commerce will become integrated with human interaction. Problem is that if the site becomes riddled with ads like myspace, people will probably use it less, as it won't be as quick and convenient. The key to FB's success is to keep it simple and integrate it into people's lifestyles. It needs to be an essential tool within the human life, like the telephone, like the microwave. The youth are living a growing portion of their lives attached to electronics, glued to screens. FB has the chance to completely change the way humans interact for years to come. Do they execute properly? Or do they give in to the demands of Wall Street. Make $$$$ NOW?? That is the question. Wall Street wants to see cash now. The more intelligent thing is to let FB naturally grow. FB can be a 30 billion company or it can be hundreds of billions. Look at Google vs Yahoo. We all know why Google beat the shit out of the other search engines. It was simple and its quick loading ads were HELPFUL. Google grew its user base simply because of its layout. The money came later. FB should do the same. Organic growth, and then you slowly integrate the ads and whatever other ideas they come up with to make money. Google changed the world for years to come, FB can too as long as they don't fawk up.
that's basically my take on the situation also. Look, you guys might be right, and it's way overvalued, but most of you that are saying that don't use Facebook, or don't understand it so maybe you're not best qualified to critique the evaluation. You're entitled to your opinion, but if you think that facebook is stupid, worthless, as waste of time I think you are dead wrong. It can be quite addicting, mostly for younger people, and it spreads pretty quick. I kept hearing about it few years back and once i got on, I could see right away how fun that site is. I mean for someone like me with a social life. I think facebook has the power to change the world. to change human society for the better. I don't think it was created with this in mind, but it just sort of happened. Like that line in 'The Social Network': we don't even know what it IS yet...'
I'm not putting any kind of dollar amount on it's worth. I'm just pointing out a way in which they are using an interesting way of advertising. This stream of revenue would make it worth about 10 Billion as most analysts see it. As far as you not wanting to see certain adds, that would be why they tailor it to what you put as your interests on your profile. Yes, you're signing up to be advertised to but young people don't look at it like that and that's who they're tailoring it to.
"My grandmother has a FB account for crying out loud, and all she has a computer for is to make bets on horses." Age is a non sequiter. Who cares how old, or young, anybody is? "Myspace, which became filled with advertisements, spammers, and pedophiles. " FB is immune to these? "They can't charge for use. All they can do is possibly sell apps, and sell ad space. They can also help with marketing campaigns. In the end, it is going to be a cash machine, with high growth. " So "All they can do is..." AND it's going to be high growth? Sounds contradictory. "People's own purchasing decisions will act as advertisements. " Amazon and other sites already do that with purchaser comments. I only care what other buyers experience is if I am already in the market to buy what they bought, not if I am NOT looking to buy something. Those other ads are called SPAM. "Google grew its user base simply because of its layout. " No, they grew because they have a PROPRIETARY search algorithm that is better than competitors. Sure FB might be worth $60 Billion - but like someone said, China has it's own stuff (probably because the gov't wants to see what everybody is doing on it). so I don't see a growth strategy over there, unless FB is willing to do the same (Google refused - which is why Google got kicked out).
1. Older people are not being raised on facebook. FB requires them to convert to a new method of interaction. Some hopped on, others participate mildly, others think its stupid. Old people are not the future of FB. 2. Yes, FB is much more immune to pedophiles and spammers than myspace. 3. Well yeah I shouldn't have used the term "All they can do." If they get to the level of societal integration that I think they will, the possibilities will list on. 4. I don't know what you're mentioning Amazon for. Amazon is an online retailer. Facebook is social media. So whatever, lets say people's Amazon purchases show up on Facebook. Amazon will be advertising on FB. FB will a great place to advertise for all online relailers. If a person buys something online, odds are their friends have some interest in that item as well. We are going to see products become a part of human interaction man. Stop fighting it, its here. They've gotten through the TV, straight into your personal life. 5. Yes google had the technology, but I will argue on the point that people chose google for that reason. You think the masses even know how google works? 6. China? Screw China. FB will be worth more than 60 billion without them. FB is a paradigm shift in the ways humans will carry out their lives. This is not some e-commerce startup, like pets.com, lol. This will be in the history books.
MarketMasher, I'm not sure what you're point is. Is it to say that FB is overvalued at $60 billion? Yes, it very well could be. But you can't argue that it's not a success. It's already a success. Just because you don't use it, or because you think it's stupid doesn't mean it's not one of the most successful web sites in the short history of the Internet. It may not be very useful, but it definitely has a lot of value and more importantly potential. The site as it is is not really useful, but if they can turn it into an essential site, then it will be worth much more. If they fail to keep innovating, and lose peoples' interest, then yes, they will fall to the wayside. But as it stands at this very second, it is wildly successful, and it makes almost $1 billion in revenues this year.
Right on Bob, I'm not on the site, but I have seen the nonsense that people put up there, it makes absolutely no sense, Its just a trend that will hopefully go away sooner than most think.