Facebook has coloured our days almost for the whole time. Everytime we go online either using our desktop, laptop or mobile, most of use will open Facebook. According to Facebook Inc, it has had 1 billion users at the end of 2012, yet it is not allowed in China, where the highest internet users are. At university, every time I have group work, everyone will say, 'Hey, we should create a Facebook group.' Not wikispace, but Facebook group. Everyone expects everyone to have Facebook and we are seemed to have it more than social network.
Either we realise it or not, Facebook is not only used for maintaining relationships by posting to someone's timelines. More than that, Facebook is used as a marketing tool, wiki, blog, events, reminders and so forth. Despite of its popularity, Facebook itself has its own dark side.
By going public since 31 May of 2012, with $38 as the opening, Facebook share price has been declining, until now, $19 per share. Its current price is only half of the beginning price. Why is this happening? Is it probably because of public does not trust Facebook? Probably. In what?
Facebook does have a lot of security issues. Everyone can create a Facebook account, no formal identity verification when establishing a new account. Even though there is a security setting, the users do not seem to be educated enough not to show their profile for public. A lot of criminal offences came with Facebook as its source when someone can stalk and pretend to be someone else and finally rape and murder cases occur. Even with the security setting as well, there are some deficiencies which may not seem to be significant but affect our security. For example, the photo of you and your friend published in your friend's album. You cannot really prevent them not to show your face to your friend's friends in Facebook. Even though security setting seems to be promising, it is still not a perfect system. Also, the issues of cyberbullying and cyberstalking through Facebook are not new topics. A lot of people have become the victims and they cannot simply get out from that position because when it goes cyber, then everyone sees it and there is no place or time boundaries. It will bombard them anytime and anywhere.
Seeing the implication of the price of the share that keeps declining, it might be possible that public does not trust that Facebook will exist in a future. There is an indication of a short-term trend, such as Friendster which has disappeared by now, was popular in the early 2000. The regulation about social network, including Facebook is still unclear as well. Even though there are actually a lot of offences (physical or non-physical) have occurred in social network, there is still no law regulating the operation. There are still blurs around the issue. There is possibility that Facebook will no more exist in years ahead.
However, with the number of active users that keeps increasing and how people use it everyday, Facebook has become needs for some. The advertising that appears on the website everyday has appeared to a promising income and people might be just too skeptical about this new type of business.
In reality, Facebook's share is declining because Zuckerberg does not give a shit what investors think. In his letter to the investors, he did warn that he owns 57% of Facebook and thus have complete control over the company. What he cares about mostly is Facebook as the product, not as a business.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good info!!
ReplyDeleteHowever though,there is still also a lot of doubt about FB. If the shareholders just care about gaining, maybe they will not care much about the control of the company. And still price is determined by the supply and demand in the market. But probably, that attitude does make an anger vibe within the shareholders.