Technology

Facebook Phone? Time To Hang Up

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Yeah, if you’ve been kicking around there’s intermittent rumors about Facebook adding a phone to their repeitoire.  This probably has some of us thrilled and thinking of the career options, but let me say it’s not making a lot of sense geekonomically.

  • First, Facebook is dealing with the recent IPO debacle.  Any new radical move isn’t going to instill confidence and may not instill curiosity.
  • A move to hardware beyond a partnership is going to be insanely hard.  The competitors are established, the market’s margins aren’t the greatest, and Facebook has rep issues.  Are they honestly going to compete with, say, Apple?
  • What more can they offer that others can’t?  Just integration with their services.  They can offer that many ways.
  • They’d have to gear up to do it, and that requires burning money, making alliances, and hiring people who think this is going to work.  I’m not so sure on a lot of this.

If Facebook does indeed go for the phone, I’d be cautious in many ways.  I see a lot of strikes against them in doing this, so if that recruiter comes a-calling, be skeptical.

Oh, and imagine what happens if they try this and fail . . .

– Steven Savage

 

Facebook IPO, Yadda, Yadda Yadda

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OK, here’s the Facebook IPO.  It’s here.  We knew it was coming.  We’re all waiting to analyze the results, and see how many of us have been humiliated.

So first, let me go with my take on this.  Thus I am prepared for humilation.

  • I don’t see it as a long-term investment.  I’ve seen too many companies come and go – Facebook has to become “infrastructural,” and I’m not sure they’ve done it enough to maintain it.
  • Can Facebook become “infrastructural?”  Yes, but I think they’re aiming to be “everything.”
  • Facebook seems new, some of it’s not – it’s a social integration site, and that used to be called “Prodigy” and “AOL.”  That’s fine, but I’m not sure this model can quite work income-wise in the modern age.
  • I think Facebook does have enough money and energy to refocus itself to be a success and validate (or expand) it’s stock prices.  My fuzzy vision for it is a kind of integrated social services company with various income streams.
  • Facebook could “over generalize” itself to become about so much it’s not about anything.  It could then split into several business lines.  This would be interesting to watch.

Now, from around the net as of this morning:

– Steven Savage