On top of the world: Is Facebook - like the big banks - too big to fail?

 

 

Why Facebook Will Not be Permitted to Die (Der Tagesspiegel, Germany)

 

"Now with more than 1.2 billion users and corresponding amounts of data, Facebook can now be referred to as only banks have been: too big to fail. How would one go about closing down such a huge network? What would happen to the massive amount of data that makes Facebook so valuable? ... Yet a challenge remains: growth. Even Facebook cannot escape the logic of the market. The Western market is getting ever-smaller for Facebook, because it has virtually grazed it bare."

 

By Christian Tretbar

                                   

 

Translated By John Goodall

 

February 8, 2014

 

Germany - Der Tagesspiegel - Original Article (German)

Zuckerberg's Facebook: Is the organanization so integrated into our lives and the economy, that it's 'too big to fail'?

 

MASHABLE VIDEO, U.S.: Ten Years of Facebook: Past, Present and Future, Feb. 6, 00:40:25RealVideo

It has been said repeatedly that Facebook has reached its zenith. But ten years after it's founding, the platform turns out to be an educational network for the middle class. Nevertheless, the question arises, where will further growth will come from?

 

In 2006, Mark Zuckerberg could have clicked the “Like” button and he would have been right as rain. Viacom and Yahoo, two major media and Internet companies at the time, had offered billions to acquire Facebook. He could have hit the button and taken a long rest. Only retirement isn't right for someone like Zuckerberg. He turned them down, probably ensuring Facebook’s continued existence - because Yahoo never really managed to maintain its power and develop further.

 

Last Tuesday, the social network turned ten years old, and Zuckerberg’s previous steadfastness shows one thing: one shouldn't write off Facebook too quickly.

 

The network may be losing prestige because of criticism of its data protection policies, and there are the technical glitches, but one thing above all is certain: it's adaptable. Perhaps Facebook is more a learning network than a social one.

 

Facebook has seen some of its former competitors die off - or is watching them die. MySpace was once number one, and is now en route to oblivion. StudiVZ began like Facebook, but never made the leap out of student dormitories. And Google Plus? The offensive by Facebook’s great rival, which has similar vitality, has so far not really done damage to Facebook - which is in part because Google prefers to seek large niches within specialised circles rather than just the masses.

 

Facebook has continued to evolve and has cleverly reinforced itself - as it did with the photo service Instagram. When it comes to photos, music or news, it focuses on the integration of services. It also relies on mobile solutions. Its own Smartphone app is certainly no technical high-flyer, but the details of its implementation have not been critical to Facebook’s business model. The very fact that Facebook has made the leap into the mobile space has inspired renewed confidence.

 

With 1.2 billion users, Facebook is now too big to fail

 

Now with more than 1.2 billion users and corresponding amounts of data, Facebook can now be referred to as only banks have been: too big to fail. How would one go about closing down such a huge network? What would happen to the massive amount of data that makes Facebook so valuable?

Posted By Worldmeets.US

 

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SEE ALSO ON THIS:

O Globo, Brazil: Mark Zuckerberg and the 'Muses' of Rio's Carnival

El Tiempo, Colombia: Google and Facebook Thrive Off of Our Own Indiscretions

Die Tageszeitung, Germany: Google, Facebook, et.al., Mount 'Disingenuous' Privacy Campaign

Sol, Portugal: WikiLeaks and Facebook: What Came Before Will Soon Be Rubble

Jornal de Noticias, Portugal: Facebook’s Downfall: The Unreliability of Virtual Friends

O Globo, Brazil: Facebook and Twitter are Just a Means to a Greater End

FTD, Germany: Will Goldman Sachs Bring the Downfall of Facebook?

 

Of course, Facebook has its problems. Young people are drawn to other services. However, as long as those in their mid-30s and older continue to use the network, the fading number of young users is not a major problem. It need not be the platform for nerds and young people. Rather, it is the network for the large middle class. In the meantime, it is so strong that fierce competitors can simply be swallowed up.

 

Yet a challenge remains: growth. Even Facebook cannot escape the logic of the market. The Western market is getting ever-smaller for Facebook, because it has virtually grazed it bare. The same is true for online companies like Google or Amazon, which is why China, with its information and consumer-oriented potential, is becoming the most desirable destination. But so far, no one has managed to establish itself there, because in China, data protection is not the great enemy, but limits on free expression.

 

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Posted By Worldmeets.US Feb. 8, 2014, 2:49am

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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