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After releasing its high IPO on March 18th, 2012, Facebook has fallen over 50% and does not seem to be headed in the right direction anytime soon. The costly mistake in the first day of trade of a computer malfunction placed millions of dollars in the wrong location, and there was no recovery after that. With social media on the rise worldwide, it was believed that this would be a hot stock early on. The overly-optimistic buyers were waiting for an early 50%-60% increase, and little did they know it was about to be a failure. Was the IPO too high, or is Facebook just losing its popularity it once had?
Facebook is the dominating social media site in every country in the world besides six. Statistics show that social media is spreading faster than ever, and especially in major countries such as China and Brazil. With the explosion of other social media sites, Facebook finally has some competition. Speculations that Twitter may be the new favorite social media site are starting to look more and more valid, and other companies such as Linked In are also entering the field. Twitter has become a major source for news, which distinguishes itself from Facebook. The ability to follow celebrities and political leaders has allowed one to have a better understanding of what goes on in these people's everyday lives. Twitter’s growth is expected to be four times greater than Facebook’s growth over the next four years. With the one-billion user mark in sight, it is tough to explain why Facebook is currently on the downfall. After the main investor Peter Thiel sold basically all of his Facebook stock, it showed the world that even he had little confidence in their success. Its incredible user base spans worldwide, revolutionizing modern day communication.
Social media is shifting to become primarily a mobile market, as the smartphone industry has allowed it to do so. Ninety-one percent of mobile internet usage is to socialize, compared to seventy-nine percent on desktops. The mobile market in Asian, African, and European countries is also on the rise, almost doubling since 2010, and with this rise comes extensive use of these social media sites. Over one-third of Facebook’s users use Facebook Mobile, and for Twitter, over half use Twitter Mobile. Businesses have used social media to communicate with other corporations and allow interested prospects to easily access the information about the company and contact information. Linked In has allowed international businesses to communicate worldwide and recruit to new areas of the world. The opportunities for businesses to expand internationally have been opened up to businesses both small and large through these websites. Schools are also integrating social media into the everyday classroom life as teachers are posting homework on Twitter or Facebook, and allowing students to ask questions via these sites.
Updated applications and new technology have allowed people to communicate in many different ways, and it is unclear which company is going to dominate the long run. With the skepticism of Facebook and the uprising of new sites, it is tough to predict the outcome of this battle. As of now, what social media site do you think will come out on top on a global level?
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