14 replies to this topic

[StarLord]

~~Interesting Take on manipulating numbers for the wee people...
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We always knew Facebook was big, but until the social network filled papers to become a publicly traded company, we didn't know exactly how big. Facebook is very close to hitting the one-billion-users mark, and as predicted, that will probably happen in 2012. The company also turned a tidy profit to the tune of $1 billion in 2011. More than half of Facebook's monthly active users visit the social network from mobile devices, and about 80 percent of Facebook's fans are outside the U.S. and Canada.

Facebook employees thanked users.The company hopes to raise about $5 billion during its initial public offering, which has yet to be scheduled. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will serve as the company's chairman and chief executive and will be the company's largest and controlling stockholder.
Here's a look at a few more tidbits included in the company's recent S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission:
Lots and lots of users

Facebook said it had 845 million active users as of Dec. 31, with slightly more than half of those people, 425 million, using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to visit Facebook. An average day on Facebook sees about 483 million people logging into the world's largest social network, an increase of 48 percent over the previous year.
It's all about likes, comments and photos


Thanks to the presence of the Facebook "like" button on almost every website known to humanity, the social network adds another 2.7 billion likes and comments every single day. Users also upload 250 million photos to Facebook every 24 hours, and the social network has helped its users create 100 billion online friendships.
That's a lot of corn

Facebook has been busy making money in recent years, as well as growing fast. In 2009, the company said it brought in $777 million in revenue. That figure grew to $1.974 billion in 2010, and then almost doubled in 2011 when the company had $3.71 billion in revenue and $1 billion in profit.
The S-1 filing also shows that digital cows, crops, and mafia hit jobs are a big source of revenue for the company; social game maker Zynga was responsible for about 12 percent of Facebook's revenue in 2011.
Zuckerberg went to China but Facebook didn't

Facebook isn't sure it can move into China and is concerned about any restrictions the Chinese government might put on the company. This is a lesson Facebook likely learned from Google's problems with Chinese authorities in early 2010 that resulted in the search giant shutting down its ".cn" Chinese-language search engine. "We continue to evaluate entering China. However, this market has substantial legal and regulatory complexities that have prevented our entry into China to date," Facebook said in its SEC filing.
Later in the document the company added, "We do not know if we will be able to find an approach to managing content and information that will be acceptable to us and to the Chinese government."
Zuckerberg is king

Not only will Zuckerberg serve as chairman and CEO, he will also be granted the power to name his successor if he still controls the company when he dies. "In the event that Mr. Zuckerberg controls our company at the time of his death," Facebook's S-1 filing says. "Control may be transferred to a person or entity that he designates as his successor." This clause has struck some analysts as unusual, according to several reports including The New York Post and Bloomberg Businessweek, but the clause also makes it clear that Zuckerberg is Facebook's ruling power.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/249206/facebook_goes_public_surprising_facts_learned_from_ipo_paperwork.html

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From someone who understands the market a little better:

Well, That's The Face Of The Beast, The Innards May Portend Something Different:

This is how the manipulated Facebook IPO will go…

Big banks are invested in it now, and only big banks and hedge funds will be allowed to at the start. The price will skyrocket as the banks, hedgies, and other skimmers drive up the price to a certain point. Then the small investor will be allowed to buy in at much higher inflated prices. The price will continue to rise. Then the big investors will start taking profits as the little guy buys in.

WAIT FOR IT…

…then the price will fall, BIG, and the little investor will be left holding the bag. By the time any of the employees are allowed to sell shares, the price will be 1/3 of what it ran too. If you don’t believe me, just watch, but by all means, do not invest in it unless you can get in somehow before the IPO, or real soon after. Do not hold long term, the big guys won’t, at least they will sell enough to hold free shares.

This is how IPO's work, its call Market Maker Manipulation. It happens every day...good luck suckers!


“in order for someone to win, someone else has to lose”
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A very interesting prediction.

For myself. I have other issues with facebook and other social contact machines like them. Not only can you be found, so can your friends. I pity the idiots that post pictures of their guns and whatnot on line as well as the foolios that do the same with their Iphones...

One would have to be very silly indeed not to see that plugging a place like facebook into Carnivore, Echelon and the other latest info scanning beast saves alphabet companies serious man hours of work...

HURRA! HURRA! HURRA! Step Right Up And Highlight Yourself!!

[dreamwalker]

Very good insight SL. In 90% of cases surrounding IPOs I would agree with you 100%. Though I think your secondary point may negate a good portion of the first. Information is power. Information creates wealth. I can definitely see a fall off at some point. Though I don't think it will be more than a 5% drop. Information farms are cash cows. Facebook being the largest of those farms, stands to make enough profit that the big boys will be leary to back out too quickly.

[Aravind Dealan-de]

I've actually been considering disabling my facebook account for a while now. This just may be the thing to get me to do it.

Seems like just another way to screw the little guy. While information is king right now DW, it won't be forever. This is just another piece to the grand puzzle.

[deepthought]

I don't and never will use Faceache. When Grayson mentioned running adverts before the crash, I sent him something about Google.

I'll copy it here as it needs to be seen.







'nuff said!

[Harte]

The part about not letting private individuals in at the opening would be news to me.

That's not how Google did it, IIRC.

If you buy in, and you're worried about it, then don't hold it for too long.

I'm buying in and I'll sell when the value has doubled. Less than a year, I'd say.

Harte

[dreamwalker]

Aren't most IPOs invitation based?

[Harte]

<sub>You won't get in on the initail sale.

Please note that google is selling today at $609 per share.

The IPO price was $85. The price was about 100 per share IIRC by the time private investors got in.

Maybe 200.

Harte</sub>

[Firesong]

Google and Facebook are 2 different things. Facebook has made a lot of changes that the users don't like, particularly those in groups. Where once I saw people begging others to join I am now seeing more and more members leaving FB. It's heading in the same direction as Bebo and MySpazz.

Don't buy in. It's already failing.

[Harte]

Right.

Facebook is the single largest presence on the web.

The membership is increasing.

Harte

[dreamwalker]

Will try to look up and post numbers. Though it does sound like a good investment, whether it be one with the Devil or not.