The short answer is no. They will have an extremely successful IPO on launch day followed by volatility for a month. How they handle the volatility will determine how successful it will be long-term, but the first few months will be measured on “how” rather than “if it’ll be” successful. The longer answer is a bit more disconcerting and may make the long-term prospects for a Facebook IPO look something like what is happening with Groupon (pictured above). The fourth amendment to their S-1 filing with the SEC revealed some risks that many had speculated about but nobody knew for sure until Monday….

When Microsoft won the auction that brought over 925 US patents from AOL’s portfolio, there was clear indication that Facebook wanted in on the action. They got their wishes today and Microsoft was able to get what they wanted and have half of it paid for through Facebook’s purchase of 650 of those patents. “Today’s agreement with Facebook enables us to recoup over half of our costs while achieving our goals from the AOL auction,” said Brad Smith, executive vice president and general counsel for Microsoft. “As we said earlier this month, we had submitted the winning AOL bid in order to obtain…

$100,000,000,000. A one followed by 11 zeroes. Has social networking truly become so lucrative that Facebook’s intention of launching their initial public offering on May 17th will yield a company that can raise $10 billion against such a lofty valuation? It’s a question that was being asked when Facebook was worth 1/3rd of where it is now. The question will be asked until it fails or clearly succeeds. What do you think? Is Facebook really worth that much?…

Everyone has startup fever again after Facebook’s huge purchase of Instagram last week, perfect timing for Path to announce a $30 million round of funding led by Redpoint. “We are delighted to announce that last week we closed a significant round of funding with a new set of investor partners,” CEO Dave Morin. “It is important to us to work with investment partners who share common values around quality and building for the long term. Our ‘Path’ has only just begun, and we are looking forward to continuing to bring world-class design and simplicity to the world of mobile personal…

It’s hard to imagine the world without Facebook right now. Even people who aren’t users are affected by it even if only because they are constantly bombarded with commercials, billboards, and other people telling them to follow this and like that. The site has become the center piece of a company that is expanding beyond the boundaries of social media and influencing the real world. Is it possible that Facebook can fall in the next few years? Yes, Facebook is doomed The brief history of the internet has brought us many companies that were too big to fail. They held the collective attentions of the…

Since the upstart of Google Plus, it has been increasing its popularity at a very fast rate. Shockingly enough, at a faster rate than Facebook had when it was first started. Google Plus has recently climbed over 170 million users sharing information and ideas with their social circles, all within its first year of operation. Facebook, while it is clearly the most popular social media platform, may not be in the driver’s seat for too long, with Google Plus right on their back. First, let’s look at the positives of each site. Facebook has top quality privacy settings; you can even make it so that…

As startup success stories go, few can compare to Instagram. When they were purchased by Facebook earlier this week, there weren’t many people crying the standard conviction of “they sold too early!” At $1 billion, most agree that they hit their peak and sold off at just the right moment. This timeline from Visual.ly breaks down the course that brought them from small startup with a clever concept for photo sharing to a company that has made its 13 employees rich and ready for more adventures with Facebook. Click to enlarge. From: Los Angeles Honda Via: Visual.ly H/T: Automotive SEO…

When it comes to social networking and search, the two big internet activities are dominated by the 800 lb gorilla in each of their respective rooms. Facebook has all but won social networking and will turn thousands of people into instant millionaires once it goes public. Google allows Bing and the others to stick around in search just so they aren’t technically considered a monopoly, but they are in most aspects. While Facebook considers getting into search, Google has already made their move into social. Did it work (they say 14th time is a charm)? Will it ever work? Are they gaining traction?…

There are already questions surrounding Facebook’s purchase of Instagram for $1 billion yesterday. Was it a talent purchase (of 13 employees)? Is it the peak of social media purchases before the bubble starts bursting? Is Facebook only interested in companies with zero revenue? Is this a play against Google+? Twitter? There’s one question that was clearly answered: “How do you build a billion dollar company in 17 months?” In this Instagram Infographic, Visual.ly takes us down the path that started in March, 2010, when Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger raised $500,000 in seed funding for burbn,…

It’s a sign of the times. Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook has purchased photo app Instagram for $1 billion. The 13-person team at Instagram has not been able to generate revenue but was able to build a strong base of 30 million users. Facebook has done poorly at developing their own mobile technology with the Facebook iPad app having not been released until after the iPad 2. Here’s the report from the Wall Street Journal: …