Friends needed

The haemorrhaging of value from Facebook stock following last week’s IPO has been cause for much consternation in the business press.

“Where are Facebook’s friends?”

they ask in unison (for instance, here and here and here and so on).

As a concept Facebook is “really cool”, CEO Mark Zuckerberg is wont to say (endlessly).

It is by far the most innovative online social networking platform with incredible reach and penetration. Show me someone whose Mum isn’t on Facebook and I will show you a socially deprived individual.

But that cool concept must be monetised in order for it to be viable and sustainable. The health and vigour of an online community is reflected in its share price.

That’s where you, the Facebook user, come in. As a free-loader on the online corporate infrastructure provided by Facebook, it behoves you to do your part in generating the value that will sustain the concept.

In short, you need to get on that platform and interact. Use the silly applications. Play the mindless games. Engage in shameless self-promotion, or even a spot of cyber-bullying within acceptable limits. Generate your fair share of interstitial nodes of demographic data.

In shorter: Be Mark’s friend.

Consume and, ultimately, be consumed.

image source verydemotivational.com

FACEBOOK & YOU