Facebook stock continues its downward slide, but it may be too early to panic. There are signs the company’s revenue base is continuing to expand and, of course, Facebook continues to lead a social media revolution that has been vital to businesses of every type and size. Here’s more about where things stand, with thoughts from some leading business bloggers.
Too Hard to Face
Going down. Facebook’s stock slides another 6.2 percent, reaching another record low for the third day of trading Tuesday. The company has lost 40 percent of its value since it went public May 18. Doubts swirl about the company’s ability to retain its valuation among rumors of an increase in automated accounts on the site and a planned sell-off of employee stock next month. Yahoo! News
Help Wanted: A new CEO. Some people are placing blame for Facebook’s poor stock performance squarely on the shoulders of the company’s fearless leader, CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Columnist John C. Abell insists the real problem with Facebook is that Zuckerberg is no longer playing to his strengths. He should be back in his hoodie, creating awesome tools that improve user experience, not working to soothe stockholder worries. Reuters
Socially Awkward
Play the game. Facebook’s dependence on revenue from social gaming company Zynga, maker of games like Farmville, dropped while overall Facebook earnings increased, showing the company is diversifying its revenue stream. One growing source of revenue is Facebook advertising. Forbes
Browsing for business. Gradually people are moving away from using Facebook as a form of leisure toward using it as a tool for business. Growth in the social network, while perhaps not impressing Wall Street, is possibly a result of this trend. No matter how Facebook performs in the stock market, businesses and individuals who use its services will continue to see its value. U.S. News & World Report
We’re Engaged
The great Exodus. Controversial reports suggest that there is an increasing number of “likes” by automated or fake Facebook accounts. Critics say manipulation by bots instead of real people on the networking site make engagement worthless and devalues Facebook’s advertising . Startup Junkies
Interested in Pinterest. Marketing professional Mark Riemer thinks Facebook’s new “want” feature reminds him of a Pinterest function. Here are the positives and negatives Riemer sees in the new tool and what he thinks it will mean to the social network’s users. Adam Riemer Marketing LLC
Putting the work into networking. If you don’t use social networking for your business, you can’t reap its benefits. Here are some of the things you’re missing out on if you’re one of those people who just doesn’t get social media sites like Facebook or what they can do for your business. Firefly Coaching
Great wrap up on Facebook. As you state, I don’t think the shareholders don’t have to panic yet, but they have to look out for new players on the social networking market, e.g. SiteTalk that has built-in a revenue model from the start.