Interesting concept
Dex
5/29/2012 1:47:34 PM
The idea that the best companies are ones that management feels an intimate connection with is valid. If the CEO doesn't drink the Kool-aid he produces, then why should anyone else? But if he does, if it is, as you suggest Wendy, his pet, then yes, I agree--there is a greater chance the company will benefit.
Keynes
driven
5/29/2012 2:02:03 PM
Maybe Keynes should have focused more on stocks and less on economic theory.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg [said] Facebook's legacy will be "sharing that evolves into caring"
It seems more likely Facebook's legacy will be sharing that devolves into trivial and irritating stupidity.
Drivewaygirl said it best in an April comment -
FB has become a substitute for real relationships. A lot of people, including me, are tired of:
- Being tagged in photos taken without my consent while i picked up the dog's droppings, scratched my ear, etc etc.
- Getting friend requests from people I don't know.
- Comments from people I barely know but accepted as friends out of sympathy.
- Invitations to things I have no interest in.
- Chain letters (don't guilt me into thinking someone's life depends on me resending this crap), pokes (what the hell is a poke anyway?) and virtual gifts (send me a real one).
- Unrelated applications that want me to give them permission to access my FB (is this the tech equivalent of big brother?)
- Quizzes.
- Baby photos (of me) posted by relatives.
- "Suggestions" on what to read or like.
- Applications that reveal every story I read on the Washington Post or some other publication.
- People who insist on seriously ranting about politics or religion. (This is just a stupid social site, not a platform for real discussion!)
- People who drag you into one of their serious rants about politics or religion.
- Constant redesigns and changes to the privacy settings.
There was a time a few years back when Facebook really frowned upon pet pages and would summarily shut down a page for an entity who wasn't "human."
That was before:
a) Mark Zuckerberg got Beast
b) Facebook realized that user growth had to come from somewhere, and four-legged "users" were a great source.
c) Lies and hypocricy became the coin of the Facebook realm
d) All of the above
Because hey, when it comes to Facebook's ongoing relationships with users, investors, etc. it's a dog eat dog world right?
Re: Heavy Petting
cat tail
5/29/2012 9:14:09 PM
Our collective attitude about Facebook seems to explain why the stock is heading in the direction that it is. don't you think?
Facebook is down nearly 25%. Scott was right when he called it an IP0-NO!
Re: Heavy Petting
Tenacious
5/29/2012 9:52:12 PM
Do you think the Facebook collapse is an anomoly or all social media stock heading for a slide?
I think it was an overvalued property ripe for serious correction.
The funny thing is today all the commentators were asking themselves why the stock was down do hard on the first day that options were trading.
Let's see: Maybe all the insiders who still have millions of shares but can't sell yet were hedging by buying puts?
@PC
wow that is harsh! (but kind of funny and true too)
"It seems more likely Facebook's legacy will be sharing that devolves into trivial and irritating stupidity."
Social Media Investment Guide
Street Smart
5/30/2012 8:10:16 AM
@Tenacious, I think your question about whether all social media are in for a massive correction is a very good one, but the answer is complex. I do, however, want to propose some simple rules of thumb for investing in social media!
The theoretical idea behind social media is user engagement based on sharing. Its distinctive competence is supposed to be two-way communication between members of a community. But sharing cat pictures isn't much of a business model, and so data mining and advertising polluted that rosy picture.
Now, Google is a perfect example of a company that is making billions off of our data, but although we may grumble about privacy, most everyone would agree that Google searches provide an outstanding product time and time again. Moreover, we know--we can tangibly see--that Google is committed to making each and every search better, faster, and more precise and investments in business innovations to make that happen.
Facebook, on the other hand, seems to be bending over backwards to alienate its longterm users. It changes formats WAY too often, dumps inactive friends from the newsfeed like yesterday's news, and deluges the sidebar with more and more ads going to a finite number of users. Because the ads are user-based not search-based, Facebook is starting to show the strain of its "pyramid scheme" by pushing, pushing, pushing the same old thing.
So, to invest in social media, ask yourself three questions:
1) Is this a company who values MY values and MY experience on its site? Hint: Thinking of your community as eyeballs, data and wallets will NEVER come to any good.
2) Is this company a friend in need (of profits) or a friend indeed, who cares about growing with me and fostering my well-being?
3) Finally, and this may be controversial, but you can take it to the bank: Do the founder(s) have ties to Stanford (good) or Harvard (beware)?
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