Okay, IPO is coming out.

this will be like the wwe IPO get it the day it's out, sell it the next

Stop the madness.

farmville is worth $100b now?

Isn't the company already profitable? Then why are they talking IPO?

1) Found a money loosing internet venture with a huge fan base but no route to profit.
2) Fly an IPO based on your current revenues, ignoring the fact you've never made a profit.
3) Sell your shares and buy something sensible, making hundreds of million or billions of dollars.

wildcardjack: Then why are they talking IPO?

Foosball table replacement and they need some more Aeron chairs.

"In a major disappointment, shares of one of this year's most closely watched IPOs, online-coupon company Groupon Inc., have plunged recently. The stock closed Monday at $15.24, far below the $20 price at which it sold shares to investors earlier this month."

But Facebook will be totally different, trust me

/we're going to make that equity worth something publicly and liquidly, in a liquid way,"

Not a surprise at all. Any company that is able to will have their IPO's before the election.

status update: my kid just smeared his diaper on the wall, LOL!!!

this poop is worth 10 billion?

I remember when money represented things that actually had value.

kingflower: status update: my kid just smeared his diaper on the wall, LOL!!!

this poop is worth 10 billion?

Personal information of 800 million people.

That's what 100b is worth.

Dot-com bubble - just in cast everyone has forgotten.

FTL: "A combination of rapidly increasing stock prices, market confidence that the companies would turn future profits, individual speculation in stocks, and widely available venture capital created an environment in which many investors were willing to overlook traditional metrics such as P/E ratio in favor of confidence in technological advancements." Though, applying the term 'technological advancements' to anything related to Facebook is a stretch.


/Faceplant?
//Social Not-Working?
///Crashbook?
//Facebook: The new MySpace?

Trolljegeren: Dot-com bubble - just in cast everyone has forgotten.

FTL: "A combination of rapidly increasing stock prices, market confidence that the companies would turn future profits, individual speculation in stocks, and widely available venture capital created an environment in which many investors were willing to overlook traditional metrics such as P/E ratio in favor of confidence in technological advancements." Though, applying the term 'technological advancements' to anything related to Facebook is a stretch.


/Faceplant?
//Social Not-Working?
///Crashbook?
//Facebook: The new MySpace?

Just in CASE everyone has forgotten.

/dammit

wildcardjack: Isn't the company already profitable? Then why are they talking IPO?

You have to go public if you have over a certain number of stockholders. They really have no choice.

/plus the venture capitalists want some of their money back

Trolljegeren: //Facebook: The new MySpace?

MySpace failed because they didn't change and evolve with the marketplace. Same with friendster, AOL, Compuserve, etc. Facebook isn't make the same mistake.

maq0r:
Personal information of 800 million people.

That's what 100b is worth.

So $125 per for the information of each person stored on Facebook? I think someone's getting ripped off.

bravian: MySpace failed because they didn't change and evolve with the marketplace. Same with friendster, AOL, Compuserve, etc. Facebook isn't make the same mistake.

I'd argue they're already playing catch-up. Going public will only serve to slow evolution even further in the future (that's what happens when you're answerable to stockholders, short term gains are prioritized over long term strategies).

Facebook won't disappear anytime soon, but within 5 years it will be a shell of its former self and an online ghost town.

Well as they say, you gotta strike while the iron is beginning to get cold. That is how the saying goes, isn't it?

bravian: wildcardjack: Isn't the company already profitable? Then why are they talking IPO?

You have to go public if you have over a certain number of stockholders. They really have no choice.

/plus the venture capitalists want some of their money back

What? A C-Corporation can have an unlimited amount of shareholders and never go public. There's no rule that I'm aware of that requires a company to go public if they have a certain amount of shareholders.

The point you made about the venture capitalists is the likely reason. They have been patiently waiting and that is the likely reason behind the push to go public. Though the decision was made a little late, in my opinion.

Atomic Spunk: Well as they say, you gotta strike while the iron is beginning to get cold. That is how the saying goes, isn't it?

bravian: wildcardjack: Isn't the company already profitable? Then why are they talking IPO?

You have to go public if you have over a certain number of stockholders. They really have no choice.

/plus the venture capitalists want some of their money back

What? A C-Corporation can have an unlimited amount of shareholders and never go public. There's no rule that I'm aware of that requires a company to go public if they have a certain amount of shareholders.

The point you made about the venture capitalists is the likely reason. They have been patiently waiting and that is the likely reason behind the push to go public. Though the decision was made a little late, in my opinion.

If a company has over 500 shareholders, they have to file financial statements with the SEC, even if they are private. At the point, most companies just go public anyway.

Supes: maq0r:
Personal information of 800 million people.

That's what 100b is worth.

So $125 per for the information of each person stored on Facebook? I think someone's getting ripped off.

You can probably subtract the number of members who live in the EU from that 800 million. The EU is taking about introducing legislation forbidding Facebook sharing customer data with advertisers

So Facebook, despite having no physical assets and not really producing anything, can raise more money than European countries?

Personal information aside, Facebook is the king of marketing. All a user has to do is click "like" on any product or corporation, and ads will show right up there on their news feed. And it's all voluntary. And free.

Why will Facebook be gone in 5 years? Because MySpace died? That's some stupid logic. Will Google die in 5 years too because Yahoo and AOL suck?

The only way Facebook is going to die is if a new social media platform comes along to steal the reigns. And if you truly believe that's going to happen so easily, then make it. Doesn't take a genius to develop Facebook once you have the idea.

homarjr: Personal information aside, Facebook is the king of marketing. All a user has to do is click "like" on any product or corporation, and ads will show right up there on their news feed. And it's all voluntary. And free.

Why will Facebook be gone in 5 years? Because MySpace died? That's some stupid logic. Will Google die in 5 years too because Yahoo and AOL suck?

The only way Facebook is going to die is if a new social media platform comes along to steal the reins. And if you truly believe that's going to happen so easily, then make it. Doesn't take a genius to develop Facebook once you have the idea.

Diaspora. We're way ahead of you.

Trolljegeren: homarjr: Personal information aside, Facebook is the king of marketing. All a user has to do is click "like" on any product or corporation, and ads will show right up there on their news feed. And it's all voluntary. And free.

Why will Facebook be gone in 5 years? Because MySpace died? That's some stupid logic. Will Google die in 5 years too because Yahoo and AOL suck?

The only way Facebook is going to die is if a new social media platform comes along to steal the reins. And if you truly believe that's going to happen so easily, then make it. Doesn't take a genius to develop Facebook once you have the idea.

Diaspora. We're way ahead of you.

Hahaha. Hilarious. Because it's more secure and safe than Facebook??? Yeah, majority of Internet users are still using IE6. Think about that for a second.

There are 800 million users on Facebook right now, and it's only growing. To have a mass exodus, you need a real reason. Google+ hasn't figured it out yet. Diaspora is a long ways away from entering the conversation.

Facebook should buy AOL after their IPO to really a suckfest not seen in a decade.

/ They are already trying to create a walled-off version of internet browsing.
// It'd be like if NetZero got together with AOL in the 90's to create an ad-based, mutilated internet experience.

James F. Campbell: Okay, IPO is coming out.

that is twitter.

wildcardjack: 1) Found a money loosing internet venture with a huge fan base but no route to profit.

You already rotsky'd yourself.

Man On Fire: James F. Campbell: Okay, IPO is coming out.

that is twitter.

I think you mean Twitbook.

Atomic Spunk:
The point you made about the venture capitalists is the likely reason. They have been patiently waiting and that is the likely reason behind the push to go public. Though the decision was made a little late, in my opinion.

It's not like they could go public in 1997.

foo monkey: Atomic Spunk:
The point you made about the venture capitalists is the likely reason. They have been patiently waiting and that is the likely reason behind the push to go public. Though the decision was made a little late, in my opinion.

It's not like they could go public in 1997.

Of course not. But they probably would have been in better position if the had gone public about 3 years ago. They could have ridden the bull market from early 2009 until now. I think the market is due for a huge dive in 2012, so it's really not an ideal time for an IPO.

i'm sorry but i don't get the valuation

where's all this money coming from?
pop up ads?

/no seriously
//where's the value?

2 things:

1) Venture capital = Stupid cheap money.

2) Facebook IPO = Overly inflated security.

Do the words "irrational exuberance" ring a bell?