Face of US$ 100 Billion ... Facebook Specialty Is Pilfering Client Data, While Instag

[mick silver]

Zuckerberg defends $1bn Instagram grab to IPO investors ... Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has defended his $1bn acquisition of Instagram, telling skeptical investors at the social site's IPO roadshow that there's still huge growth potential in the camera app. The site founder told a New York investor gathering that Facebook had spotted a "tipping point" in Instagram's user data, The Telegraph reports, with Zuckerberg showing up for presentation duty wearing his traditional hoodie and jeans as he tried to justify what's believed to be a purchase he approved with little to no input from the company's board. The buy, Zuckerberg insisted, had to be fast because other heavyweights in the web 2.0 market were also circling. Twitter is believed to have attempted to buy the photo app several months before the Facebook deal was closed, though Zuckerberg did not specifically name rivals. – Slashgear
Dominant Social Theme: Together, Facebook and Instagram are as mighty an industrial duo as US Steel and General Motors once were.
Free-Market Analysis: We've been clear about our disbelief regarding Facebook and its US$ 90 billion valuation, which is apparently about to go up to US$ 100 billion or so based on the company's acquisition of Instagram, a photo-fiddling utility. You can see an article here: "Facebook IPO is US Intel Operation? (http://thedailybell.com/3565/Facebook-IPO-Is-US-Intel-Operation)"
Our incredulity regarding Facebook has to do with the company's initial funding – which has the fingerprints of American Intel on it – and the way the company has been nurtured by a Who's Who of the US's military-corporate-industrial complex.
Read More (http://www.thedailybell.com/3869/Face-of-US-100-Billion-Facebook-Specialty-Is-Pilfering-Client-Data-While-Instagram-Is-a-Craft-Package) http://www.thedailybell.com/images/blackRightArrow.gif

[Silver Rocket Bitches!]

A billion dollars for a site that lets you sephia your pics. Is it 1999 all over again?

The owners of instagram are laughing all the way to the bank.

No really, they are.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJXOJ6oro_s

[Gaillo]

because other heavyweights in the web 2.0 market were also...

Anyone else find this alarming? :o

[Glass]

I think this is a good fit from an intel PoV. You have all of these people who have profiles who are all linked by "likes" (is that the term?) and are all connected via their phone apps, providing time and location data in real time. I think looking at the relationship matrix built up by being a facebooker would be both fascinating and frightening. Six degrees of separation is the max AFAIK. I think it's usually closer to 3 or 4.

Then you have an automated photo analysis system.. So when someone walks by a CCT, they get face scanned. That goes via instagram photo analysis to match all instances of their image in facebook and wider web. So any time you get your face shot at a party, club, pub and ending up on someones facebook page, they can pick you out in a crowd.

Now front facing phone cams can come into play. We know iPhone takes a front facing shot for many things, coupled with a GPS stamp.

Little bits add up. That's why I think they scooped it up.

Personally I'm very paranoid about preventing my image getting on the net. I've had arguments with people trying to photofacebook me at parties and even business events. I've even stopped and warned people taking photos in the street when they point the damn things at me. Professional looking photographer types.

[Neuro]

Anyone else find this alarming? :o

Yes, web 2.0 might only include safe and controlled, corporate type, data mining, psychological profiling web entities, like facebook, yahoo, google, twitter, msn, iTunes, etc... Most certainly it will not include gold-silver.us. It is the first time I hear about it though, but I doubt it is good for Internet freedom...

[Neuro]

Just looked up web 2.0 on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

Seems like an old concept (about 10 years), re interaction on the web... Maybe more to be worried about web 3.0 or 4.0, were artificial intelligence starts interacting on the web, it already does in psychological profiling IMO, but eventually we may be flooded with machines that give seemingly logical responses in discussions etc...

[gunDriller]

the best way to profit from the Facebook IPO - stay away from it like the Plague.

the valuation of Facebook at 25 times revenues.

add the fact that "active users" number is grossly inflated.

for example, the ADL censored me on their Facebook page. an act to which i do not take kindly, given that my statements were quite factual. long story short, i have 5 to 10 Facebook accounts - and when i use them to post they are quite active. but i've never bought anything from a Facebook advertiser - never even been tempted.

it's a Virtual Reality version of an IPO.


i wonder if any of the Facebook millionaires or billionaires will be smart enough to buy gold & silver ?

[Twisted Titan]

I don't know.....but I know one FB owner dumped his US citizenship ahead of the IPO for Brazilian that has zero capital gains tax that move I read might save him over 400 million.

You can buy a sh!t load of gold with that.

[Cebu_4_2]

Facebook tests 'pay to promote post' tool

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/60167000/jpg/_60167768_facebooklogospreadacrossscreens.jpg The 'promote a post' system has so far only been tested in New Zealand
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18033259#story_continues_1) Related Stories



Facebook launches its app store (http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18017379)
Does it matter that Mark Zuckerberg wears a hoodie? (http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18032190)
Welcome to the social revolution (http://www.bbc.com/news/business-18013662)


Facebook has started testing a system that lets users pay to highlight or promote posts.
By paying a small fee users can ensure that information they post on the social network is more visible to friends, family and colleagues.
The tests are being carried out among the social network's users in New Zealand.
Facebook said the goal was to see if users were interested in paying to flag up their information.
Money maker The tests of the "pay to promote" system were discovered by a Facebook user in Whangarei, reported New Zealand's news magazine Stuff.
At first, said Stuff, the user thought the offer to pay to promote a post was a con trick. (http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/6904136/Facebook-running-test-for-highlighted-posts)
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to the BBC the offer was genuine.
"We're constantly testing new features across the site," said the spokesperson. "This particular test is simply to gauge people's interest in this method of sharing with their friends."
Different methods of highlighting posts were being tested, said the spokesperson. These would see a range of charges being levied to make posts more visible. Comments on the tests suggest the highest price being charged was £1.25 ($2) while others cost 25p or 50p.
Payments could be made via credit card or PayPal.
The spokesperson said some of the methods it was trying out would incur a charge but others would highlight a post for free. The spokesperson would not be drawn on when the test would end or if it would be tried in other territories.
"We're going to see a lot more ideas like this where they are testing out different ways to try to make money," said Ian Maude, internet analyst at Enders Analysis.
Both Facebook's imminent stock market flotation and a recent slowdown in revenue growth were helping to concentrate its attention on ways to make money, he said.
"In the last few years their overall revenue has grown much more quickly than their audience," he said. However, he said, that rapid growth had slowed in the last six months and had perhaps prompted it to experiment.
The flotation will add more pressure, said Mr Maude but he added that the way the stock would be split could lighten that burden a little as Mark Zuckerberg would be left 57% of the shares.
"He's always said he wants to make money to run the company not run the company to make money," said Mr Maude.

[Twisted Titan]

I paid my money so you HAVE to listen to me.

Hell of a slogan no?

[Sparky]

I see three problems with Facebook as a long term investment:

1) The personal privacy issue is starting to creep in, both in terms of being "out there", and in terms of them holding your information, including photos.
2) They tend to piss people of fairly frequently, with all their design changes. And this be will more signficant when:
3) They are so ripe for competition. What they do isn't that hard or creative. They just took over the space. Someday, a much less arrogant group is going to provide an option, probably accompanied by some gimmick stunt to promote a massive switchover.

Admittedly, I thought Google was a questionable investment as well, and I was wrong. That's a very innovative company that continues to provide clever products that people want, and they have a good business plan. I don't think Facebook will have the breadth and depth that Google has.

Now, the word on FB is to avoid buying right away since the early rise is essentially all the suckers paying the insiders, who then make an early sell and deflate the price. So I see an UP, DOWN, UP, DOWN, FLAT scenario setting up over the first year or two. If I were going to play this, I'd play the second UP, then get the hell out.

[FreeEnergy]

I think this is a good fit from an intel PoV. You have all of these people who have profiles who are all linked by "likes" (is that the term?) and are all connected via their phone apps, providing time and location data in real time. I think looking at the relationship matrix built up by being a facebooker would be both fascinating and frightening. Six degrees of separation is the max AFAIK. I think it's usually closer to 3 or 4.

Then you have an automated photo analysis system.. So when someone walks by a CCT, they get face scanned. That goes via instagram photo analysis to match all instances of their image in facebook and wider web. So any time you get your face shot at a party, club, pub and ending up on someones facebook page, they can pick you out in a crowd.

Now front facing phone cams can come into play. We know iPhone takes a front facing shot for many things, coupled with a GPS stamp.

Little bits add up. That's why I think they scooped it up.

Personally I'm very paranoid about preventing my image getting on the net. I've had arguments with people trying to photofacebook me at parties and even business events. I've even stopped and warned people taking photos in the street when they point the damn things at me. Professional looking photographer types.

It is what Glass said in post #4. Worth repeating here.

It has nothing to do with web 2.0 and fiddling. It has to do with spying, collecting personal information ofyou and everyone you know, and now photo face recognition. Facebook and Twitter looks like have the same or similar TPTB controllers , the goal is "to organize world' information (about people)". same as Google's.

Don't get your hopes up that there's "competition that will creep up", without an alphabet soup agency backing competition isn't going to materialize.