The big news this past week was the Facebook IPO. As you surely know by now, most investment analysts had great expectations for the stock, but were somewhat disappointed when the shares sank well below the opening price of $38 a share in subsequent days. Now there are all sorts of Congressional investigations and lawsuits threatened over the conduct of the IPO, and I am afraid that it will take many months for this mess to get sorted out.
I personally think that Facebook is a useful thing for many people, and I am bullish for the company in the long term. But time will tell. The consumers of the Internet are a fickle bunch.
I can remember when America Online and MySpace were in similar positions as Facebook is today. However, both America Online and MySpace are now just a shadow of their former selves, both in popularity with the Internet public and in share value. Although Facebook is flying high today, there is no guarantee that it will be in the same position tomorrow.
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I hope that all of you have an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. It’s cold and cloudy here in La Jolla, but I think we may see the sun yet.
— Bob