Facebook’s Big, Bad, IPO

When Facebook goes public, CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be richer than Microsoft Corp.’s Steve Ballmer and Russian steel billionaire Vladimir Lisin, both twice his age.

This is according to an article in the Washington Post, one of an array of publications that’s buzzing about the whole thing. Facebook, the world’s most massive social network, arguably the originator of the social media movement, is going public, and no one can stop talking about it.

But what significance does it have overall? Should we be happy about this arrangement? Is Facebook really worth this much money?

I have very few answers – perhaps none. And lots of questions…

How will the company structure change?

How will my experience as a user change?

What does this mean for my privacy?

Will I end up having to pay for Facebook ever, even though Mr. Z says it will always be free?

 

Will advertisers start targeting me outside of Facebook?

And then questions I have from a retailer’s perspective:

What will it mean for my Facebook advertising campaigns?

How will it change how my marketing team uses Facebook to talk to customers?

What new information will Facebook capture for me and how will I know about any changes?

 

Will I be allowed to target customers whose info I bought from Facebook, outside of Facebook?

I imagine this will all be sorted eventually, but in the meantime, we will all continue to ruminate about what this all means, how Facebook will change, and what Zuckerberg will do with all that dough.

For some of the most useful articles on the topic, check out the below:

How Could Privacy Concerns Affect Revenue? (Washington Post)

5 Reasons to not ‘Like’ Facebook IPO (CNN)

So How Much Is Facebook Worth? The Financial Times Has Concerns (Forbes)

Your Facebook IPO Weekend Reading List (Bloomberg Business)

Facebook sets IPO share price at $28-$35 (USA Today)