Facebook won’t start selling at the opening bell today on Wall Street, but it won’t be long until the world will be watching what will be, by most accounts, a wildly interesting ride for this Initial Pubic Offering scheduled for today, May 18, 2012.
We’ll be watching these shares once they burst out of the pen with great interest. Can Facebook keep the balls in the air? We’ll see. In the means, check out this excellent infographic. It’s got everything about the Facebook IPO, the biggest IPO in Internet history. Oh, yeah. It’s Facebook IPO day.
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I’d love to hear your comments on Facebook and what you think of its long term viability. Is it the next AOL? Or the next Google? Or neither. Send me your thoughts, add them to the comments here, and I’ll post stories with you either quoted in them (if short) or bylined (if long).
What a long strange trip it’s been : )
Feels like that anyway.
The next AOL? Yes I think so. Facebook is starting its own “Walled Garden” which works quiet well for non technical people or those that just want one site to handle their email, pictures, news, games, etc. I think some people are ok with using their Facebook accounts to log into services such as Instagram or Yelp because having one account is much simpler.
Are they the next Google? Yes and no. Google gained popularity with the tech crowd and it’s maintained that. On top of that, Google has really made innovations into modern society. Maps, Street View, self driving cars even! I feel that Google as a company will continue to explore and produce new technology into the world.
The only comparison I see between Google and Facebook is personal data. They both know how to collect it and turn it into an effective way to advertise to their users and will continue to set the pace on the way online advertising is done.
This is Facebook’s game to lose. However I have to wonder if they realize how much pressure is on them now. They are now a publically traded company and shareholders and going to be watching every single move Zuckerberg makes to ensure maximum return on investment. The first few failures, and there will be, are going to be hard because most critics will be saying, “I told you so”.
Facebook’s real value is its users. As long as the site can retain those users, they will be fine. However, the “next big thing” is always out there. What Facebook really needs to concentrate on to maintain success is to see what the next generation will want in social media…if they are interested in it at all.
Dan, that is a great comment. The real value Facebook offers is entirely in its users. Solely. How it treats them — and their data — will in the end determine the long-term viability here.