Facebook to seek to raise $5 bil in IPO

Elbuda Mexicano:

as long as facebook is used for positive purposes, I think it is a great tool to help us all keep in touch, but when it is used to attack and put down others, then it can be very very bad.

I think you're right, I think FB is here to stay. The question is what benefit it will do. Well, as you say, it's a great tool to connect people. The purpose for which we connect is up to us but of course, FB itself sets the limits of how to use our investment (of time and information posted) according to what they want to make out of it. It would be silly to think that the answer to that is not money, even though Zuckerberg says he wants to connect people. Of course he wants to connect people as much as people wants to connect, and of course he wants to make money as much as everyone wants to make money.

The question is what the real benefit will be (suggesting that money is not a real benefit ...).

Just like the craze fading away after sometime playing with the new toy/gadget/whatever, facebook's craze will fade away too. IPO marks the begining of it.

Indeed its great to keep in touch with old friends. So facebook has the craze now. Now that you have already got in touch with old friends, whats next? It is this "whats next" that facebook has to answer for it to remain showing its face on all our books.

Stay in touch with SKYPE live.

They do not tangle you up in their web of garbage and privacy issues.

Plus you only SKYPE with real friends and family and not fake ones.

Think of how much money is "lost" due to people accessing FB while at work....it must be billions of US$ per year. There is a downside to everything.

Just like the craze fading away after sometime playing with the new toy/gadget/whatever, facebook's craze will fade away too. IPO marks the begining of it.

Except F8 is not Groupon. FB had ACTUAL revenues of 4.3BB. GOOG had revenues of 37BB last year. GOOG is doing its SPYW spazz because of FB. GOOG is actually quite alarmed at FB's potential to undermine its business. I think it's fair to day that FB is in-line to be up there with the premier web properties like GOOG, EBAY, AMZN, in a couple year's time. FB is not a Twitter and is not a GRPN.

Stay in touch with SKYPE live.

Skype's limitation is both or all parties have to be online at the same time, thus have to coordinate schedules, rather than receiving the package at their time of choosing.

Look at all that hot air

@herefornow

"Meanwhile Japan is still pouring its precious capital into zombie companies, ones in trouble, like Olympus,"

Right, because the US will never do anything like that, the government helping "too big to fail" old companies like GM, lehman brothers, AIG, that never happens, right ?

Funny how people only see the positive sides once they leave their own country.

The US government didn't help lehman bros... just sayin'

Many big tech bosses are weird, from Steve Jobs to Bill Gates to Mark Cuban..........

with most things, there are pro's and con's ... last year during the triple bad day of 3/11 I know plenty of people that used facebook and tweet to communicate with their families and friends. This was due to using the internet was a lot easier and not as busy as phone or cell lines were. My husband was in Hachinoe in Iwate, just 2 km off shore working at the time. He didnt have use of a phone, but when he was able to charge his cell, he was able to email me Saturday night to tell me he was ok. I went 30 hours not knowing ... his family in Sendai is the same. I was able to email them and find out how they were - the tsunami stopped less than 100 meters from the house. I agree there is the loss time at work for those that spend all day using facebook instead of doing their job. But companies can put blocks on their computers the same way games and other sites are blocked... for those companies that desire to do so. But what happens when that is the ONLY way of communication during a problem? I admit I am selfish and have more pros in my pocket for facebook then I do cons ... so I am glad that it is going to stay around.

I also wanted to add that with FB I am able to follow what my daughters are doing with friends in America while I am in Japan. I can keep involved with my brothers and sisters families - in America as well - with out having to schedule my time around what time it is in America to make phone or skype calls. I can read what they put down, when I get on or if we are on the same time, I can then chat with them ... and since fb and skype are co-ordinating their time together... I can even call them threw FB if wanted/needed. I dont feel like I am a gaijin alone in my inaka neighborhood.

I hope you are wrong, as long as facebook is used for positive purposes, I think it is a great too to help us all keep in touch, but when it is used to attack and put down others, then it can be very very bad.

A perfect example of the differnce between the U.S. economy in 2012 and the one in Japan. Despite still being hit by the effects of a lingering recession, the U.S. still manages to find ways to spawn entrepeneurs and funnel capital into these exciting and promising start-ups. Meanwhile Japan is still pouring its precious capital into zombie companies, ones in trouble, like Olympus, or even the public debt. Enjoy the ride down, Japan. Hope it does not become a plunge.

facebook sux! the boss is so weird too @__@