Facebook shares

[original PM]

it was always going to be -- there is no product!

[d000hg]

it was always going to be -- there is no product!

LinkedIn didn't crash and burn. Easy to say after the event.

[original PM]

yes but Linked is somewhat more professional service and does deliver benefits

Facebook simply does not (Imho anyway)

[d000hg]

Making a statement a product doesn't offer a service based on the admission you don't personally find it useful is a little short-sighted.

FB clearly does offer a service, since it has hundreds of millions of users. LI clearly offers a service too, though to fewer users.

However we measure a company on revenues and profits and stuff like that... given both are profitable they both have some value. Personally I think LI being valued at $10bn is as crazy as FB being valued at $70bn.

[russell]

It's not a worthless company , it's simply overvalued, it makes 1 billion a year probably could push that to 2-4 with more users., but that only makes it worth 20-30 billion not 100.

[Sysman]

I can't understand its valuation. I have it to stay in touch in family and friends, school friends. Post the kids photos. Never used a link, or a game, and would walk away should I start being charged for anything. I believe most, if not all, would to. It has done precisely what he wanted, and that was to keep people connected, and for that it is wonderful. But not wonderful enough to pay for it, as I already pay for email and phones, and would simply go back to doing it that way.

Can't see how they've valued it at 100bn, madness

That's the point. Folks have got used to it being free and I think many (most?) would walk away if it became a paid for service.

Then there's the thorny issue of how to pay them. Credit cards just aren't as popular in many countries as they are in the US/UK.

[d000hg]

Nobody's talking about it becoming a paid-for service any more than Google or Gmail are. FB is monetised through advertising and additional purchases (games, marketplace, personalised pages, who knows what) and always will be.

[Old Hack]

Nobody's talking about it becoming a paid-for service any more than Google or Gmail are. FB is monetised through advertising and additional purchases (games, marketplace, personalised pages, who knows what) and always will be.

Not specifically true. They are already trialling paying per post, in NZ. Facebook in New Zealand are being asked if they would be willing to pay a small fee to make their posts more visible to their friends and subscribers. It's called "Pay to Promote."

[Sysman]

Not specifically true. They are already trialling paying per post, in NZ. Facebook in New Zealand are being asked if they would be willing to pay a small fee to make their posts more visible to their friends and subscribers. It's called "Pay to Promote."

Yep. Exactly what I was thinking of. Facebook tests 'pay to promote post' tool

April fool from 2010:

Top 10 Premium Facebook Features, Services Worth Paying For

• Hide all games/apps
• Priority support
• Remove the 5000 friends limit
• Remove ads for profiles and fan pages
• Better privacy
• Improved management of fans
• E-commerce storefronts
• File sharing
• Ability to export data
• Premium apps

Now where do I send my invoice?

[d000hg]

Not specifically true. They are already trialling paying per post, in NZ. Facebook in New Zealand are being asked if they would be willing to pay a small fee to make their posts more visible to their friends and subscribers. It's called "Pay to Promote."

And exactly as I said, these are additional purchases. Paying to highlight a post like how you can pay extra to highlight an eBay auction.

A free service with paid premium membership and/or optional add-ons is the very foundation of web-based businesses.