Poll: Half of Americans call Facebook a fad

[marmar]

(AP) Half of Americans think Facebook is a passing fad, according to the results of a new Associated Press-CNBC poll. And, in the run-up to the social network's initial public offering of stock, half of Americans also say the social network's expected asking price is too high.

The company Mark Zuckerberg created as a Harvard student eight years ago is preparing for what looks to be the biggest Internet IPO ever. Expected later this week, Facebook's Wall Street debut could value the company at $100 billion, making it worth more than Disney, Ford and Kraft Foods.

That's testament to the impressive numbers Facebook has posted in its relatively brief history. More than 40 percent of American adults log in to the site _to share news, personal observations, photos and more_ at least once a week. In all, some 900 million people around the world are users. Facebook's revenue grew from $777 million in 2009 to $3.7 billion last year. And in the first quarter of 2012 it was more than $1 billion.

Just a third of those surveyed think the company's expected value is appropriate, 50 percent say it is too high. Those who invest in the stock market are more likely to see Facebook as overvalued, 58 percent said so. About 3 in 10 investors say the expected value of shares is fair. ......................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20120515/US.Facebook.Poll/?cid=hero_media

[renate]

1. I would leave Facebook in a New York minute...

... if another site that guaranteed my privacy came along. I don't think I'm alone in that.

As it is, I never post a thing and I use a separate browser that's just for Facebook. Even so, every time I'm on a webpage that has a Facebook link, I'm worried that somehow I forgot to log out and my friends will see I'm reading a story about the Kardashians or something. I don't recommend comments on the NY Times website because both sites have my e-mail address and I'm afraid any recommendation I'd make there will show up on my Facebook page. But I dislike Facebook less than I like my friends, so I'm staying... for now. If a Mozilla equivalent of Facebook were developed, I would never use it again.

[daaron]

6. There are... several, in fact.

I like diaspora, as it has one of the larger communities. Problem is getting your friends to quit FB.

Facebook IS a fad. It's not a matter of opinion. That's exactly what, by definition, it is.

[obxhead]

2. I deleted my FB account last Sunday.

The primary reason is the escalation in the number of employers asking for FB login info. As I'm on the job hunt I decided it was better to simply answer with the truth if it came up, I don't have FB.

I was hoping Zuckerberg would take a strong, active stance against this practice, but then I realized FB was created to do just what these employers are doing, violate my privacy. From day 1 that was FB's purpose.

The second reason I deleted FB is what it was teaching me. I was learning that valued family members and friends were bigots, homophobes, and extreme right republicans. I was learning things about people I've known for 30+ years and wished I had never read. People will post things to FB they would never say in public. It a phenomenon I just don't understand.

So I deleted my FB acct. I'll miss some of the things about it, but overall I found it to do more harm than good.

As for the stock? No I don't think FB is worth even 25 billion much less 100. I also see the stock rising quickly at first release, then plummeting within a few weeks back to or below it's offering price.

[patrice]

3. A lot of people probably still think FB is a place where you post pictures of your lunch and

gossip about others, or bitch about your zits.

[Quantess]

14. Wait, it isn't?

I get sick of seeing photos of half-eaten lunch.

[patrice]

20. and announcements about "beer-time" - or private jokes, conversations we aren't really part of etc.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

27. That's the lounge.

[phleshdef]

4. Facebook has been going strong for quite a long time now to be just a fad.

Fad implies something with less of a lifespan than its already endured, in my opinion.

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. What is Facebook?

Never tried it.

[Seeking Serenity]

7. How else am I gonna play Farmville???

[patrice]

21. I love Farmville! Don't play it anymore, though. & HATED Yo-ville!!

[Arugula Latte]

8. I don't think so. It has revolutionized the way people keep in touch

and there's no going back. If FB itself fades, something similar that is like a giant interactive worldwide bulletin board will take its place.

[AsahinaKimi]

9. I started out on FB..and quit the day

They accidentally revealed information that was not supposed to see the light of day..(addresses, phone numbers, etc.)

Then I went to Twitter. Twitter is short, sweet, and fun to eat!

[Odin2005]

10. Most of that half are probably over 40.

[Woody Woodpecker]

11. It will go the way of Myspace

Eventually yet another mistake by Rupert Murdoch to buy a dead website.

Facebook will yet be another dead website within two-three years.

[MineralMan]

12. And they posted just that on their Facebook timeline.

Then, all their Facebook friends liked it.

[KansDem]

13. Right up there alongside 8-track tapes, Earth Shoes, and the Pet Rock...

Oh, and "Harry Potter," too!

[lynne]

15. Not surprising since much of the population is boomers and parents -

- many of them are afraid of the internet, not to mention Facebook.

I'm a boomer. Have been on FB for years. Not only is it useful for networking and keeping in touch with friends and family, all my news and weather shows on my wall so it's the first and last thing I look at during the day.

About as much a fad as that wacky television!

[HiPointDem]

23. boomers are afraid of the internet? lol.

[lynne]

30. Yes, a surprising number of them are -

- Many aren't comfortable with computers as they weren't raised with them. Others have privacy concerns regarding internet and FB use.

I know this as I'm a boomer and hear these excuses and concerns from friends and acquaintances. In looking at my FB friends list, appears that only about 15% of my HS graduating class is on FB.

[HiPointDem]

31. I'm not on FB either, but i'm not afraid of the internet. Everyone I know in my age group is on the

internet at work, at home, or both. I don't know anyone who isn't.

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. it's an annoying fad

[Yavin4]

17. See America Online (AOL)

At one point, nothing was bigger than AOL. It even acquired Time Warner, and I remember how everyone was shaking in their boots over the merger.

Now? AOL is nothing but a memory.

Technology is a lot like music. Genres may be highly popular for a while, and then they fade.

[FSogol]

19. And MySpace.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

28. That's a great analogy.

What really killed AOL was that the rest of the web grew like crazy and left AOL's little cul de sac looking like a school bus at the Indy 500. To think nothing could come along and do the same to Facebook is just naive.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

29. Or Blockbuster Video.

The place was huge, huge, huge in the 1990s. There were literally Blockbusters across the street from other Blockbusters, I kid you not.

And now you are lucky if you have a Blockbuster in a 25 mile radius of your house.

Which I'll admit is sort of a shame, because casual browsing at the video store was sort of a fun pasttime for me back in the day. It sure beats standing in line at the automated DVD box at the supermarket hastily running through all the selections while you have 5 pissed people standing behind you. Or waiting for your movie to arrive in the mail.

[Starry Messenger]

18. Something like it will come along to replace it, the way it replaced MySpace.

It fills a lot of niches. It's easy to keep in touch with people and communicate with groups all at once. Teh privacy aspect of it can be annoying, but you can always start one with a fake name. Your potential future employer will not know that you go by Cheesus Crispies on the internet.

[obxhead]

22. That's something I may do myself.

However, you should start it with a new email address as well since you can search for friends by email address. It's a shame that something as innocent as FB is now a serious concern when looking for employment.

[Starry Messenger]

25. Good point, thank you for adding that!

Get a throw away address for Facebook, something unlike your name or any identifying words.

[Bake]

24. Well, I'm not buying its stock!

Overpriced. No earnings to speak of. No fundamentals.

Now get off my lawn!



Bake

[Johonny]

26. the other half posted it was a fad on Facebook