Facebook to Disappear?

[frogger]

Monday, 4 Jun 2012 | 11:50 AM ET

Facebook will lose dominance as a major web company in less than a decade, Eric Jackson, founder of Ironfire Capital said Monday on CNBC's Squawk on the Street.

"In five to eight years they are going to disappear in the way that Yahoo has disappeared," Jackson said. "Yahoo is still making money, it's still profitable, still has 13,000 employees working for it, but it's 10 percent of the value that it was at the height of 2000. For all intents and purposes, it's disappeared."

Jackson said there have been three generations of web companies. The first generation was big web portals, such as Yahoo, where content was aggregated in one place. The second was the social web with Facebook and the third generation is companies focused entirely on monetizing the mobile platform, something Facebook will continue to struggle with, Jackson said.

"When you look over these three generations, no matter how successful you are in one generation, you don't seem to be able to translate that into success in the second generation, no matter how much money you have in the bank, no matter how many smart PhDs you have working for you," Jackson said. "Look at how Google has struggled moving into social, and I think Facebook is going to have the same kind of challenges moving into mobile."

Last month Facebook acknowledged its mobile challenge in a regulatory filing. The company stated that the growing number of mobile users using Facebook is hard to monetize and "may negatively affect our revenue and financial results."

Jackson's comments on the future of the social network come at a time when Facebook's stock is down about 27 percent from its IPO price of $38 a share, making it the biggest two-week loss of any IPO since 1995.

"The world is moving faster, it's getting more competitive, not less, and I think those who are dominant in their prior generation are really going to have a hard time moving into this newer generation," he said. "Facebook can buy a bunch of mobile companies, but they are still a big, fat website and that's different from a mobile app."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/47674474

[Flamingo]

On the radio this a.m. driving to work, it was mentioned that many people are leaving Facebook after the disaster with its decline in share value. Now they are looking to start a Facebook for kids under 13.

I have never been a huge fan of Facebook and many people I know don't even have an account. Many people just don't like to be in constant contact with everyone and advise everyone what they are doing or where they are every minute of the day. Several people I know are getting irrate at stuff sent to them by others as to games, etc. Also, Facebook and other social media are getting people in trouble at work as many people log in while at work on their phones, laptops, tablets, etc. while sitting there trying to look busy otherwise. It does get noticed by other workers or the boss(es) and it is getting a lot of people in trouble and/or warned or fired.

[frogger]

it is getting a lot of people in trouble and/or warned or fired.

True story here Flamingo:

At one of our local national chain business establishments, there was a manager that was going to make his store a success by being the social media king.

Spent countless hours connecting, networking, commenting. All on how great his store was and how well he was doing with it.

In the meantime, (and pardon me for phrasing it this way), "his" store went to hell in a handbasket. Quality, employee morale and customers all saw a huge decline.

Upper management came in and gave him his walking papers, complete with documentation on how much time he spent on Facebook instead of running his store and doing his job.

New management back on the floor, employee morale with huge improvement, and management interacting with the people that are in the store. A huge turn around in the store and its profitability/reputation simply by working the business instead of the social networking.

Facebook is evil my friend, even when used in moderation.

Facebook is watching you........

[bcohen]

Yahoo hasn't "disappeared"--it was severely overvalued when it went public, and the stock price has declined to its real value. The services which Yahoo provides (news, email, Yahoo answers, etc) are still widely used, and not obsolete. I still use Yahoo, and many other people I know still use it.

Facebook, on the other hand, will likely go bust at some point in the future. In addition to the fact that the stock price will inevitably decline to its real value of around $5-7 a share, the company will begin to lose users as negative publicity spreads, and newer, better social networking sites arrive. Just as Myspace, and other similar sites before it, Facebook is a passing fad, which will eventually go out of vogue with the younger generations who are addicted to it.

I have NEVER used Facebook, Myspace, or any other social networking website, and I never will. I am much more concerned with protecting my privacy and keeping my personal information confidential, than I am in having hundreds of virtual "friends" and being able to play mind-numbing games, update my "status" every 15 minutes, and so on.

[AngelinaCat]

As I said elsewhere, 'Hub and I were the victims of cyber-stalking, and cyber-bullying for nine years.

This happened on another site, not FB, but the experience put such a bad taste in our mouths, plus helped cause our bankruptcy due to our attempts to legally quash this crap--the law has NOT kept up with technology--that we just do NOT sign on to any social media. At all. Period. And I tell people, that if you are smart, you will stay away from it also.

[df04527]

^^^this! Agree 1000%..

[banca rotta]

True story here Flamingo:

At one of our local national chain business establishments, there was a manager that was going to make his store a success by being the social media king.

Spent countless hours connecting, networking, commenting. All on how great his store was and how well he was doing with it.

In the meantime, (and pardon me for phrasing it this way), "his" store went to hell in a handbasket. Quality, employee morale and customers all saw a huge decline.

Thanks much for clearing this up Frogger. I have discussed this with co workers on how useless Facebook is for most businesses. My firm promotes it and I cannot see how they will boost their sales with Facebook. We were forced to put the link on our outgoing email signature.

I'm sure it's good for some, but not most.

I think the IPO was nothing more then an exit stratagy for Mark Zuckerberg. Both he and Morgan Stanley and the rest of the bank mafia painted lots of lipstick on this pig.

[frogger]

I think the IPO was nothing more then an exit stratagy for Mark Zuckerberg. Both he and Morgan Stanley and the rest of the bank mafia painted lots of lipstick on this pig.

This IPO was nothing more than the "elites" fleecing the sheeple yet again........

[Tater]

I had FB for awhile a couple of years ago. I was able to get in contact with some family members that I had not talked to in years. We eventually just began to email or call each other now and then. Honestly, I just got tired of everyone sending me stupid game requests as I never played them. I just couldn't believe what some people posted about their private lives. I got turned off by it and deleted my page after a few months.

[JessMN]

I had FB for awhile a couple of years ago. I was able to get in contact with some family members that I had not talked to in years. We eventually just began to email or call each other now and then. Honestly, I just got tired of everyone sending me stupid game requests as I never played them. I just couldn't believe what some people posted about their private lives. I got turned off by it and deleted my page after a few months.

+1

[HRx]

Facebook will meet the same demise Myspace met.

[Pandora]

internet - the best thing to happen to us..and the worst. I wonder if Ol' Zuck knew it was flailing before he went public with it? Seems odd that a release that people knew was coming would fail as bad as it did.

While I do have a FB page, I rarely ever post anything to it and mainly have it to keep up with our eldest and give her that motherly advice of "please remove that from your FB page". She is learning (finally!) not to post such personal information or anything that can come back and bite ya in the ass.

[df04527]

internet - the best thing to happen to us..and the worst. I wonder if Ol' Zuck knew it was flailing before he went public with it? Seems odd that a release that people knew was coming would fail as bad as it did.

While I do have a FB page, I rarely ever post anything to it and mainly have it to keep up with our eldest and give her that motherly advice of "please remove that from your FB page". She is learning (finally!) not to post such personal information or anything that can come back and bite ya in the ass.

I have that same issue except DD gets mad at me! Lol. Kids!

[frogger]

I wonder if Ol' Zuck knew it was flailing before he went public with it?

I actually don't think that you "wonder" that at all. We all know the answer to that one.

Fleece the flock......

[Flamingo]

Exactly two years ago I was visiting my daughter in NC and for Christmas the prior year got a new IPad from her hubby. We stopped at a cool restaurant near the Outer Banks and after we ordered she pulled out her IPad and logged into Facebook stating she wanted to post where she was and "like" the restaurant. I asked her why she had to do that and what would that accomplish - shouldn't time such as this be spent with those in your presence talking, etc. instead of logging into the computer telling everyone where you are? It's like an addiction - who cares where one is having lunch or where they are traveling and why would you want to let everyone know what you are doing and where you are going, what you are a member of, the names of all the people you know, etc., etc.? I think everyone has gone on social overload and the overload will eventually crash - who can keep up with having over 500 friends on Facebook? What is the purpose? Eventually it becomes all about everyone else instead of yourself and in time one will eventually loose one's sense of self-worth as it will be a constant effort to stay on top of everyting and try to be one step ahead of everyone with the next ap, photo, game or posting.

I think my conversation with her at that lunch table sunk in because since that time she realizes it is a waste of time and energy and there are more important things in life than social media.