Do you have any idea of your personal worth? Well Facebook, or rather some new investors in it, seem to have an idea: about $100. This figure comes off the back of recently announced investment of $500 million by investment bank Goldman Sachs and Russian group Digital Sky Technologies. The fresh injection of capital marks another milestone in the company’s valuation, putting it at a lofty $50 billion, and founder Mark Zuckerberg at $7 billion. Previous high profile investments from the likes of Microsoft ($240 million) and legal settlements in the tens of millions portray a company more concerned with being cool than corporate, more bombastic than boardroom.
Given that Facebook became the world’s most visited website last year, it’s fair to say there’s money in it somewhere. It’s that ‘somewhere’ that has attracted private investors, venture capitalists and even Bono. Surely 500 million users can be tapped for more than virtual gifts and casual games like Farmville.
Perhaps the key to understanding Facebook is to look at the brains behind it. Anyone who has seen David Fincher’s The Social Network will have gained some insight into a world of Web developers and entrepreneurs struggling to convert cultural impact into commercial viability. The film painted a picture of a company (even an industry) run on narcissism, naivete and genius, where big ideas are the real currency and investors are treated with disdain on the assumption that ‘they just don’t get the Internet’. (If you think that’s a clich
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