Facebook established itself as a communications hub and emerged as a threat to the Internet's most powerful company, Google Inc.

Uh... what? How does anything Facebook does make them a threat to google? That's retarded.

POKE

Honest Bender: Facebook established itself as a communications hub and emerged as a threat to the Internet's most powerful company, Google Inc.

Uh... what? How does anything Facebook does make them a threat to google? That's retarded.

Just a guess, but maybe advertising volume? The article itself though goes on to say that the profit per user is 1/6th of Google's though.

Honest Bender: Facebook established itself as a communications hub and emerged as a threat to the Internet's most powerful company, Google Inc.

Uh... what? How does anything Facebook does make them a threat to google? That's retarded.

Also, Facebook is still growing rapidly in the international markets and there's still a lot of international competition. Just look at the numbers: Facebook says they have something like 800,000,000 users yet the population of the US is only 350,000,000 or so.

I don't know what growth markets Google has right now and growth is just as important a number as raw profits. Between 2009 and the present Facebook grew their revenue by 475%... that's a heck of a change. Threat also doesn't mean that Facebook is going to kill Google, but they are in a position to take away some of Google's ad market.

Fubini: but they are in a position to take away some of Google's ad market.

Ehhh... are they, though? I know they're both websites, but it seems to me like they're in very different markets. To me, it just sounds like you're saying that TV commercials are going to take away some of the ad market from radio commercials.

Honest Bender: Fubini: but they are in a position to take away some of Google's ad market.

Ehhh... are they, though? I know they're both websites, but it seems to me like they're in very different markets. To me, it just sounds like you're saying that TV commercials are going to take away some of the ad market from radio commercials.

In one sense, it is exactly like that. Radio and Newspapers used to be the only ways to contact a large audience, and look at where they are now compared to 50 years ago. Newspapers in particular have lost significant amounts of money to Radio/TV/Internet advertising.

The other threat is that Facebook has made itself the de-facto place for friends to communicate online. It's trivially easy for FB to analyze your communications and present relevant ads immediately. Suppose you tell your friends you want to see a movie: they could serve up ads right there with zero delay. If they're successful in suggesting a movie then you have no reason to then go to Google and search for movies there.

Facebook has the potential to cut Google out of a small but significant loop.

Honest Bender: Fubini: but they are in a position to take away some of Google's ad market.

Ehhh... are they, though? I know they're both websites, but it seems to me like they're in very different markets. To me, it just sounds like you're saying that TV commercials are going to take away some of the ad market from radio commercials.

Why would you think that facebook is raising billions from their IPO just to keep doing the same thing? They may be in different markets now, but not for long. Think of them as the walmart of the internet. No corner of the internet will be safe from them. Hell... Drew's probably talking numbers with Zuckerberg over a Heineken right now.