Mary953 (76.10)

Facebook where are you?

February 01, 2012 – Comments (3)

Where is Facebook?  According to last night's news,  IPO was scheduled for today, but I cannot find the company on any exchange (and I have Googled it, checked through Scottrade, and searched here) I cannot find the symbol (FB?  $FB?) and can find nothing on the stock for the company except for the "hype-type" articles.  These include everything from  "Yes, Facebook is coming! Buy it through our brokerage!"  to the nightly news programs from ABC, CBS, and NBC.  

I look at Facebook gaming rather like high school/college.  As a phase.  I have known a lot of people who get "hooked" on Facebook games for a while and then get fed up and leave (including ages 10 through 80+).  At the same time that FB is losing burned-out gamers,, new people are coming in and are at the excitement of beginning.  Loss of audience does not concern me so long as new audience is coming in to replace those who leave.  For that matter, I have noticed that you can play those games with your time and your friends or you can just buy your way over the rough spots.  Does Facebook get a cut of the money spent on the games carried by Zynga and others?

I realize that there are other non-gaming FB markets. .Grandparents who can only get at pictures of the grandkids by joining Facebook make up the market that pulled me into FB  .Other uses include finding people with common interests or lifestyles, locating school friends, keeping in touch (cheaply) with friends who have moved, and of course Politics, Politics, Politics.  Whether it has to do with an election, a recall, or the overthrow of a dictator, FB can be an unstoppable tool.  The uses of Facebook are relevant only because the medium is essential to the delivery of the message.  Facebook will be around for a while because it serves a purpose.  It will remain an outlet that pulls in massive numbers of users.  Given the sheer volume of Facebook users, advertising opportunities are huge!  Profits are possible (my understatement of the week.)

All of that is just wonderful, but it is not the kind of info that you use to evaluate an investment.  I am frustrated by the inability to find  solid information that lets me do a bit of due dilligence. Amazon, Garmin, and Netflix offered some great profits. They each opened a business that filled a niche and did it well and profitably.  Now we have Facebook which may or may not be able to join that list..   Am I looking for "the next big thing?"   Absolutely!

Any ideas or opinions out there?.  

Disclosure: I have owned Garmin and Netflix and still own Amazon. 

Also about Facebook - http://beta.fool.com/chelseydulaney/2012/02/01/facebook-may-have-missed-boat/1534/ and also  http://beta.fool.com/elmosworld/2012/01/31/welcome-ipo-mania-and-facebook-gamble/1511/  (Based on these two articles, I should not touch FB IPO-priced stock with a ten foot pole!)