Seven reasons why the Facebook IPO was a bust

6. Facebook is not necessary. Investing in tech companies is never easy. The great Warren Buffett eschews it. The key question about tech companies is not P/E values, but necessity. I like Google, Intel, Cisco, IBM, Oracle, EMC and SAP because the world’s economy depends on them. Sure, we could live without them, but not without major disruption. The switching costs would be extremely high. (I like Apple for an altogether different reason — the 80-20 rule; 20% of customers in any field will pay top dollar for a great product. Apple may be more of a luxury than it is integral to the global economy, but Apple monopolizes the luxury category.) Facebook is not integral to the global economy and its cool brand is rapidly fading.

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7. Mass social media is a crock. It is an inherent contradiction. This is why I like LinkedIn more than Facebook. It has a special purpose and therefore doesn’t feel like a time waster. FWIW, I predict the next huge win in social media will be in health care. As a health care consumer, I want to chat with people who are just like me. With similar gene structures. Who suffer from similar maladies as well as the genetic potential for similar maladies. When linking up with my “health friends” I also want a 100% guarantee that my social network won’t betray my health confidences. Would I trust Facebook to keep these confidences? Never.

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