Here comes the coverage of the stock sold by the same firms, that will report how great everything is.

I think there is a 30 day period of which firms that sell the stock can't comment on the stock, but as that period of time is expiring, all the FB is wonderful stories will make the stock go much higher. I still say buy SOCL, so when the next FB comes out, u dont get killed.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Social is going through a swoon that most technologies face. Its just not as sexy as it once was. The sexy technologies now are mobile and cloud. Facebook will need to continue to be innovative in the space to not see its stock fall. From what I have seen, they have some struggles ahead. Last year, Facebook had looked to improve eCommerce through its platform. Companies like JC Penney opened a Facebook store, but after some time many had closed. I can only assume issues like working with the Facebook API is a pain in the ass. Small businesses have tried to use Facebook pages for their business and found it to be an incredible hassle. First, Facebook changed how businesses were supposed to create their page on the site. Then, Facebook provided little customer service to these businesses. All that being said, apps on Facebook are making a ton of cash, such as Zynga. As long as that continues, Facebook might be a good stock.

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$50 Bill, they better be making a ton of cash

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I'm curious how long the Zynga model will last. People spend a LOT of money on virtual items for farmville or poker or whatever. Over time, I would assume people would realize they are buying a bullshit product that retains no value to them, but people really want to make sure their farms are thriving I guess.

Facebook fears the competition they will have in the mobile app space (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-29/a-facebook-phone-ambitious-leap-or-fatal-mistake). I won't be surprised if they do turn into the next MySpace, I just think it will take a longer time since so many people are so tied into Facebook right now.

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I just can't see how the revenues can be sustained. Nobody I know clicks on Facebook ads on purpose. And at a certain point, why does Zynga need Facebook? It's like the tail wagging the dog. The Zynga apps are perfect for mobile platforms. Where do the pay-per clicks come from on mobile? I'm trying to figure that out right now for a site I own. Several months ago it was averaging about $60 per day in Google ads and that has dropped nearly in half. I can see through analytics that more and more users are accessing the site via mobile.

Really, what is the killer app of Facebook? Trying to fuck ex-girlfriends. I'm sure we can come up with a better mousetrap for that that will work perfectly as a mobile app.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

The problem with Facebook is that they thought they were the next Microsoft or Google. They aren't, and probably never have been. They won "social networking" and won't give that up. If anything, social networking will be lessened just like instant messaging was. It still exists, but the web has moved on to cooler and better things.

The moment I stopped believing in Facebook was when I read an article that stated they wanted everyone to start searching the web directly through the site. I remember this, it was called America Online, and it was awesome because the internet wasn't that good. Eventually, the actual internet was superior and that didn't work. It's moving backwards. Why would I want to search on Facebook when I can search on Google? Now, I have a Facebook email address. Why? I'm never using that.

Facebook is great for what it is but it already is what it is. It just needs to be good at social networking for a long time and it will make good money. Then, just buy other companies.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Agree completely, but I'm not surprised with their approach to be the next company that tries to force users to come to them as the gateway to the web. The problem is every company wants to do this and if you are not trying to do it, you worry about what investors are thinking. This is why mobile will be such an incredible impact to companies like Microsoft and Facebook. Google and Apple have become the gateway to the mobile world.

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I find it eminently fascinating that one of the major sea changes of the Internet Age has been the near complete eradication of the middleman and yet, one of the Internet's biggest success stories is a company that has attempted to set itself up as a middleman for actually using the Internet.

Why the fuck do I need to go to www.facebook.com/ford when I can just go to www.ford.com? But heretofore serious businessmen have been sold into childishly "liking" other companies via Facebook.

Finally, some of you may not have noticed that Facebook has quietly switched your default e-mail address to the @facebook.com one.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Why would you go to the Facebook Ford site? There is no reason to. It is a two part problem. Ford is not a social media company, so ideally you want to have a branded page in the social media space rather than roll your own in your website. The issue is that Facebook has been too focused on supporting Farmville and the likes rather than offering real utilities (analytics, apps, etc.) that can help the Fords of the world make customers want to go to the Ford Facebook site. These companies also were being run by marketing and advertising people who were and are still very technologically retarded. When I was consulting a few years back, I remember talking with a VP of marketing for a major mens clothing retailer and she did not know what Twitter was. There was also the infamous discussion I had of why you can't spam a user's wall fifteen times a day with product advertisements. There is not the platform nor the talent to come up with a value add for having a Facebook branded site, so that is why people like you (and I) see no purpose in going to their page.

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There's a purpose for Ford though. When we visit the Ford site we do so as anonymous users. When we do so via Facebook the data-mining is far more comprehensive. As a user, I don't see that as a positive. But I'm on the older end of the user demographic. I think younger people are being trained to like sharing their information in return for specifically directed marketing.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

But you can get that data without the Ford Facebook page. There are ways to associate Facebook IDs on your site to get those details.

Whether you like it or not, your data is getting mined. Just look at Acxiom out of Downers Grove: http://theweek.com/article/index/229508/acxiom-corp-the-faceless-organization-that-knows-everything-about-you

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