Facebook's
stock is soaring today, up more than 8%, even as a massive lockup that
allows employees to sell a ton of stock expired this morning.
2012.9.5
Facebook Plays Defense
Facebook
said CEO Zuckerberg won't sell any shares in the social network for a
year and unveiled other steps to reassure investors worried about its
plummeting stock price, as the stock hit a new low.
《MarketWatch》周三 (5日) 報導指出，社交龍頭臉書 (Facebook Inc.) 的兩大投資人—億萬富翁 Peter Thiel，以及共同創始人 Dustin Moskovitz，均正拋出手上持有股份，公司股價現已降至 IPO 價格的一半不到。
Thiel 自從 IPO 迄今，已賣掉將近 1700 萬檔股票，8 月中旬追進加賣超過 2000 萬檔，每股價格約 20 美元。根據科技網站 Silicon Alley Insider 資料，這約相當於 Thiel 手上 87％ 持股量。
目前 Thiel 仍持有臉書 560 萬檔股權，也在董事會占有一席之位。
Moskovitz 現任職於 Asana 軟體公司，同時從事慈善事業。8 月 17 日至 9 月 4 日期間，他每天賣掉 15 萬檔臉書股票，總共拋出 180 萬檔，變現 3450 萬美元。
臉書原始公開售股價格為 38 美元，今日收盤上漲 0.16％ 至 18.61 美元。
《MarketWatch》專欄作家 Mark Hulbert 指出，在不少公司裡，內部拋售臉書股票的數量仍呈上升趨勢。
8.17
Facebook股价跌破20美元
这家社交媒体公司今年5月以38美元发行价上市，
创办人结婚，股价跌昏
Facebook’s Debut Raises Questions on I.P.O. Process
By EVELYN M. RUSLI and MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED 7:17 PM ET
Regulators, in part, are concerned that banks may have shared information about Facebook with certain clients, rather than broadly with investors.
Facebook Stock Falls Again 5:34 PM ET
社群網站臉書公司（Facebook Inc.）掛牌上市以來，蜜月期未如預期甜蜜，掛牌第3天收盤價每股31.12美元，盤中一度跌至每股30.94美元，較承銷價38美元下滑18.1%。
《中央社》報導，投資人認為臉書定價和承銷有內幕，連2天大跌18%。
Facebook stock slide puts new pressures on company
SAN FRANCISCO |
(Reuters) - Facebook Inc's underwhelming debut on Wall Street increases
the pressure on the social networking giant to deliver stellar growth - a
novel situation for Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, who has been clear
he is more interested in building products than making money.Facebook shares fell 11 percent on Monday, the company's second day as a publicly traded company, due to what many analysts and investors blamed on overly aggressive pricing by Facebook's underwriters, as well as a decision to expand the size of the offering by 25 percent.
The poor stock market performance has intensified the scrutiny of Facebook's business, raising the bar for the company to regain Wall Street's confidence, say some investors and analysts.
"What's most important now to investors is top line growth," said Michael Binger, a senior portfolio manager at Gradient Investments. "If they're interested in seeing their stock work, they need to have a good quarter," he said, referring to Facebook.
Falling below the offering price is damaging to investor "psyche" noted Binger, who has personally bought some shares in Facebook but whose firm does not have a position.
"People who usually would be buying are now going ‘Something is seriously going wrong here.' Emotions and skepticism take over," he said.
Facebook generated $3.7 billion in revenue in 2011, with net income of $1 billion - a sharp contrast to some of the money-losing Web companies such as Groupon Inc and Pandora Media Inc, that have recently gone public.
But Facebook's revenue growth has been slowing in recent quarters, raising flags among some investors who believe a company such as Facebook should be delivering consistently strong revenue growth at this stage in its life.
"Wall Street is a severe task master and they're going to want to see quarterly results, then guidance, then subsequently they're going to want to see that guidance beaten, and then the guidance raised," said David Rolfe, chief investment officer of Wedgewood Partners.
"Either they deliver those results and make folks happy, or they're going to see another element of Wall Street, that ‘Hey - when you have a richly valued stock you must deliver, or the stock's going to correct and correct hard,'" said Rolfe.
Shares of Facebook, which priced at $38 in last week's IPO, finished Monday's regular session at $34.03, with more than 168 million shares trading hands -- more than seven times the volume of Apple Inc on Monday.
LONG-TERM BET
Zuckerberg, the 28-year-old Facebook CEO who controls 56 percent of the company's voting shares, has signaled that short-term financial considerations are not the priority.
In Facebook's prospectus, Zuckerberg wrote in a letter to investors that "we don't build services to make money; we make money to build better services" and referred to the company's "social mission."
It's precisely Zuckerberg's long-term perspective and his product-first approach that many investors are betting on.
"Everything that I understand about the company is that they're trying to build something for the long term," said Ken Allen, a partner at The Blackstone Group. "The idea that simply because the IPO trades down after a couple days that Mark Zuckerberg is going to change drastically...I don't think that's going to happen."
Still, he noted that Facebook's falling stock price was "certainly a negative from a kind of momentum standpoint and potentially an employee morale standpoint."
With 900 million users, Facebook has become one of the Web's most popular online destinations, challenging established businesses such as Google Inc and Yahoo Inc.
Among the key challenges for Facebook is consumers' use of smartphones to access the mobile version of the service on which Facebook currently shows only limited ads. Just before the IPO, Facebook in a regulatory filing flagged this as an area of concern due to the lower revenue potential of mobile.
Some marketers have also questioned the long-term potential of Facebook's main advertising business, with General Motors' decision to stop spending money on Facebook ads last week underscoring the concerns.
While Google's search-oriented advertising has proven consistently effective and profitable, and continues to grow, Facebook has yet to show that its huge store of personal information about its users user will translate into similarly high-margin advertising on a mass scale.
Facebook's dual-class share structure, which gives Zuckerberg majority control, and other governance practices such as Zuckerberg's role as CEO and Chairman of the board, have also been criticized.
While Facebook's corporate governance practices leave much to be desired, the company is unlikely to feel any real pressure for change from investors for some time, said James Post, a professor of management at Boston University.
If the company were to make a costly strategic blunder which raised questions about Zuckerberg's leadership, that might increase pressure for change, said Post.
At this point however, Post said, "the sentiment is just the opposite. What investors are really betting on is his continued leadership of the company."
(Editing by Jonathan Weber and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
5月18日是臉書創辦以來最風光的一刻，但也很有可能將是臉書由勝而衰的轉折點。
這幾天各大新聞網站的科技頻道幾乎被臉書公開上市的新聞「洗版」，根據最新消息，臉書公開上市的股價將定為每股38美元，市值將達到1,040億美元，預估將可募集到160億美元。
然而，在這些驚人數字的背後，其實隱藏了不為人知的重大危機。過去，所有人的焦點都在於臉書的使用者人數如何急速暴增，卻少有人注意到快速成長下的實際真相：
1.社群網站退燒：社 群網站成了當今人們生活不可或缺的一部分，但是氾濫的結果也開始引起不少人的反感。臉書、推特、Pinterest……各式各樣的社群網站紛紛冒出，但一 個人一天能有多少時間貼文更新或瀏覽朋友的動態訊息？而我們真有必要隨時隨地知道朋友的一舉一動？根據一項最新調查，將近半數的美國人認為臉書不過是一時 熱潮，嘗鮮期過後便將快速消失。社群網站的存在目的，開始受到愈來愈多人的質疑。
2.廣告主賺不到錢：通用汽車決定撤下在臉書平台刊登的廣告，因為完全無法達到廣告效益，但仍將保留通用汽車的臉書粉絲專頁。通用汽車的決定恐怕將引起其他企業的跟進，若臉書遲遲無法找出適當的廣告獲利模式，公開上市後如何長期維持獲利、達到投資人要求，將是一大問號。
3.行動平台無法獲利：同樣地，儘管臉書每天流量有將近一半來自行動裝置，但至今臉書仍無法從行動平台上獲利，要如何讓行動廣告成為未來獲利的主力之一，這點同樣讓臉書傷透腦筋。
4.使用者將大出走：公 開上市後，就得面對每季的財報數字表現，臉書必須想辦法從使用者身上賺到錢，將臉書轉型成可獲利的商務平台，例如使用者必須付費才能使用進階服務。但如此 一來，很有可能讓原本只是將臉書單純視為交友與溝通平台的使用者大為反感，引爆出走潮。要如何拿捏兩者之間的平衡，考驗著馬克的智慧。
2012.6.1
The cookie laws were drawn up to help privacy on the web
Cookies are widely used to customise what repeat visitors see on a site and by advertisers to track users online.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it would offer help to non-compliant sites rather than take legal action against them.
Action plan The regulations say websites must get "informed consent" from users before they record any detailed information in the cookies they store on visitors' computers.
Among websites that have complied with the law, getting consent has involved a pop-up box that explains the changes. Users are then asked to click to consent to having information recorded and told what will happen if they refuse.
UK firms have had 12 months to prepare for the change and the ICO has spent much of that time reminding businesses about their obligations.
The ICO has also updated its policy to allow organisations to use "implied consent" to comply. This means users do not have to make an explicit choice. Instead, their continued use of a site would be taken to mean they are happy for information to be gathered.
However, it was a "concern" for the ICO that so many sites were not yet compliant, said Dave Evans, group manager at the ICO who has led its work on cookies in the last 18 months. However, he added, it was not necessarily easy for companies to comply with the laws because of the amount of work it involved.
On busy sites, he said, an audit of current cookie practices could take time because of the sheer number of cookie files they regularly issue, monitor and update.
Mr Evans said the ICO was expecting sites that were not compliant to be able to demonstrate what work they had done in the last year to get ready.
Fines for non-compliance were unlikely to be levied, he said, because there was little risk that a non-compliant site would cause a serious breach of data protection laws that was likely to cause substantial damage and distress to a user.
It was planning to use formal undertakings or enforcement notices to make sites take action, he said.
"Those are setting out the steps we think they need to take in order to become compliant and when we expect them to be taking those steps," he said. "If they comply with one of those notices or sign one of those undertakings they are committing to doing this properly and that's the main point."
As well as advising firms, the ICO has also issued guidance to the public that explains what cookies are, how to change cookie settings and how to complain if they are worried about a site's policy.
No Vital Few
2012.2沒有老大的業界就是沒有關鍵少數 多是"有用的多數" (USEFUL MANY)
In China, Facebook Alternatives Thrive
這幾天各大新聞網站的科技頻道幾乎被臉書公開上市的新聞「洗版」，根據最新消息，臉書公開上市的股價將定為每股38美元，市值將達到1,040億美元，預估將可募集到160億美元。
然而，在這些驚人數字的背後，其實隱藏了不為人知的重大危機。過去，所有人的焦點都在於臉書的使用者人數如何急速暴增，卻少有人注意到快速成長下的實際真相：
1.社群網站退燒：社 群網站成了當今人們生活不可或缺的一部分，但是氾濫的結果也開始引起不少人的反感。臉書、推特、Pinterest……各式各樣的社群網站紛紛冒出，但一 個人一天能有多少時間貼文更新或瀏覽朋友的動態訊息？而我們真有必要隨時隨地知道朋友的一舉一動？根據一項最新調查，將近半數的美國人認為臉書不過是一時 熱潮，嘗鮮期過後便將快速消失。社群網站的存在目的，開始受到愈來愈多人的質疑。
2.廣告主賺不到錢：通用汽車決定撤下在臉書平台刊登的廣告，因為完全無法達到廣告效益，但仍將保留通用汽車的臉書粉絲專頁。通用汽車的決定恐怕將引起其他企業的跟進，若臉書遲遲無法找出適當的廣告獲利模式，公開上市後如何長期維持獲利、達到投資人要求，將是一大問號。
3.行動平台無法獲利：同樣地，儘管臉書每天流量有將近一半來自行動裝置，但至今臉書仍無法從行動平台上獲利，要如何讓行動廣告成為未來獲利的主力之一，這點同樣讓臉書傷透腦筋。
4.使用者將大出走：公 開上市後，就得面對每季的財報數字表現，臉書必須想辦法從使用者身上賺到錢，將臉書轉型成可獲利的商務平台，例如使用者必須付費才能使用進階服務。但如此 一來，很有可能讓原本只是將臉書單純視為交友與溝通平台的使用者大為反感，引爆出走潮。要如何拿捏兩者之間的平衡，考驗著馬克的智慧。
2012.6.1
Zuckerberg Tumbles From Bloomberg's Billionaires List
Facebook stock's 24-percent drop means the CEO is no longer one of the world's 40 richest people.
根據《紐約時報》（New York Times）獨家報導，臉書將於明年推出自有品牌的智慧型手機，為此臉書更大舉向蘋果挖角多位先前曾參與設計iPhone與iPad的軟硬體工程師。
這已是臉書第三次嘗試推出自己的智慧型手機。早在2010年，科技新聞網站TechCrunch報導臉書計劃研發智慧型手機，最後因難度過高而宣告失敗。2011年，臉書轉向與宏達電合作，研發代號為「Buffy」的智慧型手機，目前計劃仍在進行中。
這次臉書大規模挖角蘋果工程師，《紐約時報》表示有兩種可能：一是擴大Buffy的研發規模，另一個可能是研發新的智慧型手機。
針對這項新聞，臉書既未否認，也沒有正面承認。為了保密，甚至不曾在公司網站上公告徵人啟事，而是由主管親自聯繫可能的人選。
不過，臉書走向這一步，理由實在可想而知。「馬克擔心，如果臉書無法生產自己的手機，未來臉書就只能是其他行動平台上的一個應用程式，」一位臉書員工向《紐約時報》表示。
未來要在行動市場佔有一席之地，就得同時掌握作業系統以及手機硬體的生產，這正是蘋果的成功模式。
---
這已是臉書第三次嘗試推出自己的智慧型手機。早在2010年，科技新聞網站TechCrunch報導臉書計劃研發智慧型手機，最後因難度過高而宣告失敗。2011年，臉書轉向與宏達電合作，研發代號為「Buffy」的智慧型手機，目前計劃仍在進行中。
這次臉書大規模挖角蘋果工程師，《紐約時報》表示有兩種可能：一是擴大Buffy的研發規模，另一個可能是研發新的智慧型手機。
針對這項新聞，臉書既未否認，也沒有正面承認。為了保密，甚至不曾在公司網站上公告徵人啟事，而是由主管親自聯繫可能的人選。
不過，臉書走向這一步，理由實在可想而知。「馬克擔心，如果臉書無法生產自己的手機，未來臉書就只能是其他行動平台上的一個應用程式，」一位臉書員工向《紐約時報》表示。
未來要在行動市場佔有一席之地，就得同時掌握作業系統以及手機硬體的生產，這正是蘋果的成功模式。
---
《華爾街日報》再度揭發驚人內幕，詳細報導了臉書大股東如何事先知情承銷銀行調降臉書營收預測的細節內容，也證實了臉書的管理階層確實牽涉其中。事件的經過如下：
●展開公開上市法說會的第三天，臉書向美國證期會繳交修正過的公開上市說明書，其中只是約略說明，臉書使用者人數的成長速度高於營收成長，但並未提到第二季營收可能不如預期。
●就在提交說明書後，臉書內部一位高階主管隨即聯繫21家華爾街投資公司的分析師，告知營運可能不如預期的消息，並要求他們調降預測。
●臉書的4大承銷商將臉書2012年的營收預測從原先的51億美元，調降為48億美元。
●同時，承銷商的業務部門開始密集以電話聯繫重要的投資人，告知營收預測調降的訊息。
●許多投資人因此減少要購買的臉書股票，或是降低願意購買的股價。
●上述的投資人當中，僅有部分投資人心知肚明，後來承銷商提高臉書公開上市的股價根本是「荒謬可笑的行為」，但其他多數投資人卻被蒙在鼓裡。
由上述提及的事情發展經過，可以百分之百確認：1、臉書高階主管打電話給華爾街分析師，要求調降預測；2、承銷銀行以口頭方式將調降預測的訊息告知部份的投資人。這兩個重要關鍵已經構成「選擇性揭露重要的非公開資訊」的事實。
儘管摩根史坦利辯稱一切的流程都依照合法的程序，不過這當中有太多疑點與模糊地帶，需要進一步調查。
只不過，這又再度證明，只有華爾街圈內人和銀行家才有可能取得內線消息、從中獲利，一般投資大眾成了最大的受害者。
●展開公開上市法說會的第三天，臉書向美國證期會繳交修正過的公開上市說明書，其中只是約略說明，臉書使用者人數的成長速度高於營收成長，但並未提到第二季營收可能不如預期。
●就在提交說明書後，臉書內部一位高階主管隨即聯繫21家華爾街投資公司的分析師，告知營運可能不如預期的消息，並要求他們調降預測。
●臉書的4大承銷商將臉書2012年的營收預測從原先的51億美元，調降為48億美元。
●同時，承銷商的業務部門開始密集以電話聯繫重要的投資人，告知營收預測調降的訊息。
●許多投資人因此減少要購買的臉書股票，或是降低願意購買的股價。
●上述的投資人當中，僅有部分投資人心知肚明，後來承銷商提高臉書公開上市的股價根本是「荒謬可笑的行為」，但其他多數投資人卻被蒙在鼓裡。
由上述提及的事情發展經過，可以百分之百確認：1、臉書高階主管打電話給華爾街分析師，要求調降預測；2、承銷銀行以口頭方式將調降預測的訊息告知部份的投資人。這兩個重要關鍵已經構成「選擇性揭露重要的非公開資訊」的事實。
儘管摩根史坦利辯稱一切的流程都依照合法的程序，不過這當中有太多疑點與模糊地帶，需要進一步調查。
只不過，這又再度證明，只有華爾街圈內人和銀行家才有可能取得內線消息、從中獲利，一般投資大眾成了最大的受害者。
Cookie law set to come into force
The cookie laws were drawn up to help privacy on the web
Thousands of UK websites are expected to be in breach of a law that dictates what they can log about visitors.
European laws that define what details sites can record in text files called cookies come into force on 26 May.Cookies are widely used to customise what repeat visitors see on a site and by advertisers to track users online.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it would offer help to non-compliant sites rather than take legal action against them.
Action plan The regulations say websites must get "informed consent" from users before they record any detailed information in the cookies they store on visitors' computers.
Among websites that have complied with the law, getting consent has involved a pop-up box that explains the changes. Users are then asked to click to consent to having information recorded and told what will happen if they refuse.
UK firms have had 12 months to prepare for the change and the ICO has spent much of that time reminding businesses about their obligations.
The ICO has also updated its policy to allow organisations to use "implied consent" to comply. This means users do not have to make an explicit choice. Instead, their continued use of a site would be taken to mean they are happy for information to be gathered.
However, it was a "concern" for the ICO that so many sites were not yet compliant, said Dave Evans, group manager at the ICO who has led its work on cookies in the last 18 months. However, he added, it was not necessarily easy for companies to comply with the laws because of the amount of work it involved.
On busy sites, he said, an audit of current cookie practices could take time because of the sheer number of cookie files they regularly issue, monitor and update.
Mr Evans said the ICO was expecting sites that were not compliant to be able to demonstrate what work they had done in the last year to get ready.
Fines for non-compliance were unlikely to be levied, he said, because there was little risk that a non-compliant site would cause a serious breach of data protection laws that was likely to cause substantial damage and distress to a user.
It was planning to use formal undertakings or enforcement notices to make sites take action, he said.
"Those are setting out the steps we think they need to take in order to become compliant and when we expect them to be taking those steps," he said. "If they comply with one of those notices or sign one of those undertakings they are committing to doing this properly and that's the main point."
As well as advising firms, the ICO has also issued guidance to the public that explains what cookies are, how to change cookie settings and how to complain if they are worried about a site's policy.
No Vital Few
2012.2沒有老大的業界就是沒有關鍵少數 多是"有用的多數" (USEFUL MANY)
In China, Facebook Alternatives Thrive
Investors
flock into China's social media companies, but a lack of a dominant
player in the sector makes it unlikely that a "Facebook of China" will
appear anytime soon.
2011.12.12 Facebook 疲勞症
2. Facebook Fatigue: Is This the Beginning of the End for the Web Giant?
By Ben Bajarin
Many
of the young people I surveyed conveyed that they were ready for
something else. Call me crazy, but I firmly believe that Facebook has
either peaked or is on the cusp of peaking.
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