Saudi, British FMs discuss regional developments in phone call    Saudi Arabia unveils new skill-based system for expatriate work permits Classification for existing workers began on June 18 while July 1 set for newcomers    New Saudi embassy building inaugurated in Moscow    Nearly 17 million foreign pilgrims perform Umrah in 2024, up 101% from 2022 Makkah ranks 5th globally in number of international visitors    Saudi Arabia reaffirms dedication to achieving equitable and sustainable digital development    Over 80,000 commercial registrations issued in 2Q 2025, bringing total to 1.7 million    Elon Musk announces launch of new political party amid fallout with Trump    UK Foreign Secretary makes historic visit to Syria    Khamenei makes first public appearance since Iran–Israel war    Desperate search continues as Texas flood kills 51, including 15 children 27 girls from summer camp still missing    Riot Games responds to match-fixing allegations in VALORANT    BLAST responds to BESTIA Visa controversy ahead of CS2 Austin major    Christophe Galtier named NEOM SC head coach ahead of historic Saudi Pro League debut    Level Up Docuseries launches June 6 on Prime Video    OPEC+ further accelerates oil output hike by 548,000 bpd in August    Saudi Arabia tops global ICT Development Index for 2025    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







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Published in The Saudi Gazette on 19 - 05 - 2012


The Facebook float
The world's largest social networking site Facebook has partially floated on the US stock exchange with the company valuing itself, in total, at $100 billion. Facebook's offering is indeed historic. This is more than just another initial public offering. It's the largest ever for an Internet company and among the largest for any US company in history.
It is unprecedented for a company just eight years old to receive a market cap of $100 billion. But Facebook is no ordinary corporation; it is one of the biggest business success stories in history. The site had one million users by the end of 2004, the year wonder boy Mark Zuckerberg started it in his Harvard dorm room. Two years later, it had 12 million. Facebook had 500 million by the summer of 2010 and right now has 901 million members.
And there's plenty of room left for Facebook, particularly in developing countries where people are only starting to get Internet access. As it is, about 80 percent of its users are outside the US and Canada.
This staggering rise in popularity is one reason why Facebook Inc.'s initial public offering is one of the biggest in years, making it worth more than Ford or Disney.
But if Facebook is to live up to its IPO hype and reward the investors who are clamoring for its stock, it needs to persuade some of the resisters to join. For all the millions on Facebook, millions elsewhere are Facebook holdouts. Two out of every five American adults have not joined Facebook. Among those who are not on Facebook, surveys find a third cite a lack of interest or need. They say they don't want Facebook and insist they don't need it. Some people don't join the social network because they don't have a computer or Internet access, are concerned about privacy, or generally dislike Facebook. While more than half of those under 35 use it every day, about three-quarters 50-64 years old are not on Facebook.
The resistors or those without the means - those without a college education are less likely to be on Facebook, as are those with lower incomes - suggest fewer opportunities for Facebook to sell the all-important ads. Fifty-seven percent of Facebook users reported that they never click on Facebook ads, and 54 percent said they wouldn't feel safe buying things through Facebook. And as more users come to rely on mobile devices rather than computers to access Facebook, it becomes harder, not easier, for Facebook to use ads effectively without congesting the tiny screens with bothersome promos. When that happens the system isn't as useful.
Facebook had its critics from the start. Some say they're living life just fine without connecting to the long-forgotten acquaintances that Facebook became famously associated with. Some deem the site as too much of a frivolous waste of time, what with its endless FarmVille requests from so-called friends. But Facebook is undoubtedly one of the most successful and significant companies of the past 100 years and its IPO valuation proves it. __


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