Rumours are floating out there about an Initial Public Offering for stock in the Facebook company, with a plan to raise $10 billion for various purposes.
No doubt Mr. Zuckerberg could use an influx of cash to expand his social media website into other areas of modern technology. After all, things change quickly and a man has to be a step ahead of the herd if he's to avoid getting trampled and left in the dust.
You have to wonder if Mark Zuckerberg saw what happened to Groupon's IPO, which sold strongly and then tanked.
For a long time, the Facebook founder said he wasn't interested in going public, but like Groupon, his offering could be on the verge of growing over-ripe. Investors who were burned by Groupon are going to be wary of another flash in the tech pan. If he's to reap some large profits out of his invention, he can't wait too long. Any sort of competition for Facebook, such as hurt Groupon, could damage his chance to strike gold.
I'm too cautious of an investor to jump on the Facebook bandwagon. You never know how long Facebook will thrive, whether the economy picks up or stays flat.
The money to be made by investors comes in buying the IPO early and selling into the teeth of a run by an excited second wave. They made a killing with Groupon. They'll do the same with Facebook.
It's those who end up holding the stock who may or may not be seen as prescient, as those who were as wise as the savvy few who snapped up Microsoft when no one knew anything about PCs or laptops or smartphones.
The rest of us will hold our blue chips and be glad of the annual dividend.
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