(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 8, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.)
Facebook (FB) has fallen far. Already beset by privacy concerns, now Facebook has cost a lot of people, a lot of money. So, it is understandable that it has become quite fashionable to hate, even loathe, Facebook more than ever.
With this context of distaste as a backdrop, Reuters published the results of a Reuters/Ipsos poll of Facebook users (see “Facebook comments, ads don’t sway most users: poll“). The reporting of these results looks specifically constructed to tap into Facebook angst…{snip}
The worst part about the reporting the poll results is that the statistics are scattered throughout the article. Each negative point comes with supporting commentary and almost every positive statistic hangs empty like an irrelevant factoid. {snip}
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I think that there are a LOT of websites out there that would love to have these kinds of usage statistics. Even with the negative slant of this article, I was quite surprised that Reuters did not report the overall impact of the audience data. {snip}
I am making these criticisms to highlight how the current discussion and debate may now be overly captured by a presumption of guilt: disastrous execution of the IPO equates to a bankrupt business model. {snip}
Facebook’s stock is indeed troubled right now. I am not overlooking the negatives to insist that all is roses and wine. {snip}
Last week, Facebook showed a glimmer of promise with a bottoming chart pattern as buyers finally picked the stock off fresh all-time lows into a rare positive gain for the day. That promise lasted all of three days.
Source: FreeStockCharts.com
I will not guess where FB will finally find equilibrium between the hate and the love, but I do suspect that its first earnings report will be held as a major litmus test. If Facebook flubs that event, even avid users like myself may have to join the growing, angry mob.
Be careful out there!
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 8, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.)
Full disclosure: long FB, GM, ZNGA