FB is here to stay for awhile because it is constantly reinventing itself. Like how they now act as a 'master passport' for a lot of websites where you can easily sign in or register using your facebook profile instead of having to create an account and manually sign in every time. Their recent purchase of Oculus Rift also created some very exciting prospects! But as a stock, its value might not go very high as public perception of the staying power of social media sites has always been leaning towards the negative and public confidence of its continual popularity is low. And the older facebook gets, this perception will only get worst.
Now that I think about it, Facebook has so many advertisers on the side of its screen and promoters, that they are making enough money to keep going. But definitely one day they will not be able to keep up.
I bought just a little on the day it IPO'd, a while after the market opened, and it had seemed to "stabilize" at 39 or so, and I figured it would stay "propped up" by the underwriters at no lower than 38 - which didn't turn out so well... I always wait at least 6 months before buying after IPO, and the one time I figured a stock would keep going up and up early on, they botched the whole thing. I eventually bought a put and held the long stock position for what seemed like an eternity through a 50% loss, and finally sold out when it eventually got north of 50. Luckily it wasn't a huge amount of money. David Tepper recently bought some, and I see other institutions have bought in Q1 of '14, which looks encouraging but certainly doesn't guarantee anything. It's currently a little high for me.
Facebook stays around, but it is nothing like it used to be and I think it will continue to go downhill as something new emerges. I have not touched my account in months and I know a lot of people who have also quit using theirs.
But you just answered your own problem. Even if younger kids are leaving facebook, older people are taking its place. Usually, that would mean they aren't losing accounts and are remaining stable. I'm also of mind that Facebook is to ingrained to really totally die off at this point, at least in the near future. As far as future growth though, they need to continue to expand into other areas.
Facebook will be popular for years to become because of its status thus far as probably the most popular social network. But as a young man who went to school at the height of the Facebook popularity, a lot of young people (and others) are shifting away from Facebook. The access of information has changed in the decade Facebook has been out. With concerns of privacy, selective target audiences, etc., social media like Snapchat is becoming increasingly popular. Snapchat, barely even a social network as much as an application, has been bought for billions of dollars. In my opinion, Facebook is slowly becoming less popular, and though it is still widely successful, it won't always be. Also: Even if old people flock to Facebook at the same rate young people are leaving, it would still become less valuable because young people are a more valuable demographic than the grandfather from the dinosaur age.
I think Facebook will be around for quite awhile. Activity may decrease with time as other social media sites become more popular, but I definitely think it will be around for quite some time. I know of many avid Facebook users that are addicted! I however deactivate and reactivate my account on a regular basis. I get tired of it, and then decide I want it back and then get tired of it again. It's a love/hate relationship!
That's true, Facebook is an all age thing now, it's not uncommon to see loads of +60 years old there, so they are not losing users. They have so many functions, namely to accompany your away family, that more and more people are joining.
Yeah, it does seem as if Facebook will just become more and more of a mainstay as we go on. The only thing that is any different, that I can think of, is that more and more people that I know are using Facebook as just to keep up with acquaintances. Almost no one uses it for day to day communications at all. Even then, it is still very much present in that many of my friends post announcements, pictures, and general messages there. Plus, even if it is going downhill, I think there is still growth left before any sort of losses occur. Moreover, I also think the stock has some growth, which can be lucrative.
I have never tried Twitter, but I know that a ton of people use it. I see little Tweets pop up on everything. It is probably a great tool, but I don't know if I really see the point of this website.
