printI’ve been debating futilely with someone about the value of purchasing Facebook stock, pursuant to the IPO (Initial Public Offering).
In my opinion—and I am not a stockbroker or an expert; just a rational thinker who uses (as opposed to hangs-out on) Facebook—at $38 to $42 a share, Facebook stock is not that expensive.
You have to be bereft of an imagination, and/or someone who has never used Facebook to productive ends—not to realize that Facebook is no hot air, Dot.com financial balloon.
Facebook is a planet unto itself, a global, social and political tool; a revolution.
UPDATE: I would compare the invention of Facebook to the discovery of a planet. The products of many a dot.com come and go; Facebook is here to stay. I said that to my better half a short while after joining FB last year (2011). Bono might be “a chap who fronts a three-chord band of unimpressive droners,” but he knows a good business deal when he sees one.
No, facebook is a con job, perpetrated by a perpetually-grinning mega-thief. As a child, I had only one or two Imaginary Friends. Now, I have hundreds. So exciting. But, thank God, no stock in the bogus Company. Said stock will, of course, be briefly run up by the Wall St. Banks, their HFT computers, and Fed Reserve funny money. Zucker-bait. Soon enough, though, along with all other dollar-denominated paper assets and the dollar itself, it’ll be ashes blowing in the wind…a wind whistling through the vacant, corpse-filled canyons of Ilana’s favorite city.
Con job? You gotta lose something to be conned, last time I checked. And besides, if having imaginary friends is all you do in facebook, then you might be one of those people who ‘hang out’ on facebook, rather than use it.
For one thing, facebook is the easiest and most reliable ways to centralize information among those to whom it is relevant (almost every spiel I’ve been involved with has a secret facebook group which centralizes pertinent information). Another thing, you can pump a lot more info through facebook than through conventional means (e-mail), though at this point, facebook sharing is a conventional mean.
I really, really hope you didn’t buy any FB stock at “$38-$42”, Ilana….@ http://zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-failbook%E2%80%99s-epic-fail-does-zuckerberg-want-users-pay
I believe in capitalism because it is the one economic system compatible with human liberty.
That does not mean the market makes mistakes. The market makes mistakes all the time but, in the long run – unless distorted by corrupt government coercion – it is self-correcting.
However, a share of stock is a piece of paper. My can of tuna will still be a can of tuna one year later. A share that sells at $ 38 today could be $ 380 in a year or $ 3.80 a year later. The market is dominated by fads and herd thinking – e.g. 90% bullsh*t floating on a bed of 10% reality. While there is often money to be made, it is good to approach with skepticism.