Something to know before buying into the Facebook IPO

[Rumsfeld]

Facebook if it does not change it's business model will lead into a downward spiral. The question I want to ask is if they do fall into obscruity, who will take it's place? There is this massive black hole for social media and something has to fill it, right?

[Sammich]

With all of the privacy concerns and shady backgrounds of the initial investors in the startup of FB, I think the next social network will most likely be decentralized and run on open source software using p2p or user selected cloud services for page storage. Or maybe, just maybe, people will try something new like meeting each other face to face. Looks like Zuckerberg lost $2 billion today. Facebook shares tumble as underwriters desert stock Shares in Facebook plunged by more than 10% within minutes of markets opening on Monday as underwriters deserted the stock and questions continued to be asked about how the Nasdaq stock exchange has handled the controversial flotation. Henry Blodget, the former Wall Street analyst who ahead of the IPO called the shares "muppet bait", said on his Business Insider site on Monday that the lack of big jump in first-day trading was probably good news for millions of small investors, who were thus discouraged from piling into the stock. He reckons that a fair value for the company would be somewhere between $16 and $24 a share, depending on its results. That would value it at between $50bn and $85bn – a substantial amount, but far from the $104bn that the $38 share price put on it. If Blodget is correct, this means that guy who dumped his daughter's $25,000 college fund into FB shares friday will end up losing $9,250-14,500. I hate to think what those who used their entire life's savings in to the IPO are thinking today. -- -------- Post added 22-May-2012 at 12:44 AM ---------- Previous post was 21-May-2012 at 06:46 PM ---------- This is entertaining. I have been thinking about how an alternative FB type site could be run. A service modeled after the numerous free 2 play mmos could possibly work. You can put up basic info for free, but beyond that you would have to buy "gamecards" to obtain credits to spend on additional options in the online store. Say 10 credits for a scrapbook of pictures, 100 for storage space to host a short video, virtual items etc. Offer package deals and monthly specials. Things like that. -- -------- Post added at 08:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:44 AM ---------- Another indication that the FB IPO was a huge orchestrated pump and dump. The FB stock dropped another 8.55% from friday to $31.12. Facebook Bankers Secretly Cut Facebook’s Revenue Estimates In Middle Of IPO Roadshow And now comes some news about the Facebook (FB) IPO that buyers deserve to be outraged about. Reuters' Alistair Barr is reporting that Facebook's lead underwriters, Morgan Stanley (MS), JP Morgan (JPM), and Goldman Sachs (GS) all cut their earnings forecasts for the company in the middle of the IPO roadshow. This by itself is highly unusual (I've never seen it during 20 years in and around the tech IPO business). But, just as important, news of the estimate cut was passed on only to a handful of big investor clients, not everyone else who was considering an investment in Facebook.

[Rumsfeld]

Diaspora is one alternative. Although it took them much longer than they expected and it sounds like some of their backers are upset with them.

[LouCipherr]

Reuters' Alistair Barr is reporting that Facebook's lead underwriters, Morgan Stanley (MS), JP Morgan (JPM), and Goldman Sachs (GS) all cut their earnings forecasts for the company in the middle of the IPO roadshow. Anyone who was stupid enough to buy into this knowing that these idiots were the underwriters deserve all the losses they get. "Pump and dump" isn't even the words to describe this fiasco. I can't think of anything more fun than watching the "Good Ship Zuckerberg" sink on the horizon.

[Neil]

Up today - http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-...23-712848.html

[Sammich]

I wonder where these regulators were when they were warned repeatedly about Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme. CLUSTER-ZUCK: Facebook investigated as losses hit $40 billion US REGULATORS will investigate claims that Morgan Stanley shared negative news about Facebook with major clients in the lead up to its initial public offering. Allegations are flying that the IPO's lead underwriter Morgan Stanley only told its top clients it had reduced its revenue forecast for the tech giant, and did not spread the word to other investors. Analysts at Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs reportedly cut their revenue forecast after a tip from a Facebook executive "who knew the business was weak", Business Insider reported. $15 billion class action suit for privacy violations and now this: Facebook, banks sued over pre-IPO analyst calls (Reuters) - Facebook Inc and Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter of social networking company's IPO, were sued by shareholders who claimed the defendants hid Facebook's weakened growth forecasts ahead of its $16 billion initial public offering. The lawsuit, which also targeted underwriters JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs among others, comes as Facebook and the banks that took it public face many questions about the IPO process, which culminated in a May 18 stock market debut plagued by technical glitches. Anyone buying into FB right now is essentially doing the same a going to a casino and playing blackjack against the house who is using a marked deck. Analysts have calculated that the actual worth of FB is really under $10 a share. Since the underwriters seem to have bowed out, it wouldn't be a surprise if FB itself is buying back shares to keep the price from sliding.

[MoonSylver]

I can't think of anything more fun than watching the "Good Ship Zuckerberg" sink on the horizon. Being the one to sink it? Seriously, I've told several people that I've been tempted to do a Tyler Durden, but on FB instead of credit card companies.

[Sammich]

I wonder if all of the small investors that got zucked still have Mark on their friends lists. FB is probably considered a "too big to fail" and will be given a bailout by the feds when this is all over. How Zuckerberg cashed in $1.13 BILLION worth of his personal shares BEFORE stock cratered - now could it end up at $10? Mark Zuckerberg and leading Facebook investors cashed out millions of shares before the price dropped off a cliff, according to company filings. It was also revealed that a company executive issued a warning days before the Initial Public Offering that Facebook;s revenues are lower than expected, information that would have likely dropped the opening price of the stock. The new reports are already raising questions about whether top investors profited from the IPO at the expense of smaller buyers.

[Mike70]

I can't think of anything more fun than watching the "Good Ship Zuckerberg" sink on the horizon. i can't think of anything more fun than watching "social media" site creators shot into the heart of the sun. facebook, myspace and the rest of that trash are among the worst things to happen on this planet in a long time. i fail to see the fascination with any of that shit. i don't care that you are doing laundry. i don't give a shit you had to take your dog to the vet or if the guy next to you in line has bad breath. facebook is esp. horrible in my view. it's like a giant, perpetual middle-age school reunion where high school gets replayed on the internet. no thanks on any of this shit and as for investing in it, i'd rather have my balls attacked by rabid wolverines.

[Christopher Jon]

i can't think of anything more fun than watching "social media" site creators shot into the heart of the sun. facebook, myspace and the rest of that trash are among the worst things to happen on this planet in a long time. i fail to see the fascination with any of that shit. i don't care that you are doing laundry. i don't give a shit you had to take your dog to the vet or if the guy next to you in line has bad breath. facebook is esp. horrible in my view. it's like a giant, perpetual middle-age school reunion where high school gets replayed on the internet. no thanks on any of this shit and as for investing in it, i'd rather have my balls attacked by rabid wolverines. I'll bet you don't use facebook. You cranky old men complaining about facebook is amusing.

[LouCipherr]

I'll bet you don't use facebook. You cranky old men complaining about facebook is amusing. I can tell you I, personally, never have and never will use facebook. But let me reassure you, it has nothing to do with being a 'cranky old man.' Facebook is the single greatest data gathering/spying instrument ever created, and what's most astonishing is that the participants voluntarily post all their private info - pictures included. Every wonder why the director of the CIA hangs out at the Facebook headquarters quite often? You can file that one under "Things that make you go 'hmmmmm...'" So, ya'll young'ins can have your Facebook. Post some more pictures of the party you went to this weekend and let us all know when you're going on vacation. That information will come in handy down the road.

[Mike70]

I'll bet you don't use facebook. You cranky old men complaining about facebook is amusing. well chris, i am well on my way to being a cranky old man but hope that is still about 25 years off in the future. i do have a facebook page but i only interact with my ex-wife on it. she and my son live in Canada and it is an easy way for her to share pics of the stuff he's up to. other than that, i don't do social networking sites. i think i'd rather have leprosy than be addicted to myspace or facebook. -- -------- Post added at 11:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:45 AM ---------- Facebook is the single greatest data gathering/spying instrument ever created, and what's most astonishing is that the participants voluntarily post all their private info - pictures included. this is what bothers me most about social networking sites. privacy depends upon the expectation thereof. the more stuff people post about their lives online, the harder it is to maintain that that sort of info is "private."

[LouCipherr]

this is what bothers me most about social networking sites. privacy depends upon the expectation thereof. the more stuff people post about their lives online, the harder it is to maintain that that sort of info is "private." You're exactly right, Mike - and what's funny is, if you read Facebook's EULA (which most if any even bother to do), they state right in there they're going to use any and ALL information you post to their advantage. Why people are "ok" with this is so far beyond me I can't even comprehend it. I guess a lot of this has to do with the fact that we're losing what's left of our "privacy" left and right, so most people see it as "par for the course" or just don't care. Anyone remember this little quote from Zuckerberg? CEO of Facebook calls it's users dumb f*cks for trusting him with their information Yeah, that's the guy I want to trust with my personal information!

[Mike70]

You're exactly right, Mike - and what's funny is, if you read Facebook's EULA (which most if any even bother to do), they state right in there they're going to use any and ALL information you post to their advantage. Why people are "ok" with this is so far beyond me I can't even comprehend it. I guess a lot of this has to do with the fact that we're losing what's left of our "privacy" left and right, so most people see it as "par for the course" or just don't care. Anyone remember this little quote from Zuckerberg? CEO of Facebook calls it's users dumb f*cks for trusting him with their information Yeah, that's the guy I want to trust with my personal information! i have zero personal info on facebook other than my name and the fact that i love Valium. i'm sure my ex knows who the frak i am, we were together for 15 years. i hate facebook so much, i'm considering setting up a flickr account that we can both access. that way i get my pics of what my kid is up to and don't have to deal with facebook. i was on facebook for a bit until it struck me that what i was doing was actually degrading my rights as an individual person. i'm not one of those follower types that need to be doing what everyone else is. i care very little for the things of this world because i live in my own little world and have no plans that include living in anyone else's.

[LouCipherr]

i have zero personal info on facebook other than my name and the fact that i love Valium. Nothin' wrong with that, especially the second part! I, fortunately, never opened an account on FB. I guess you could say I'm pretty OCD, but before I get involved in anything - be it a car loan, buying a house, or signing up for twitter or facebook - I always research the shit out of what I'm planning on getting into. FB just rubbed me the wrong way, so I've always stayed far and away from it. It just... I don't know, perhaps it's the tinfoil-hat-wearin' crackpot inside me, but something just doesn't sit well with me and FB. It's fishy. And I hate fish.