Brand Index: Users take time to get the message on Facebook changes April 22, 2014 IN A recent interview, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg revealed that a major plank of the company’s growth strategy is to diversify its offering into many smartphone apps. The aim is to create different programmes to serve users’ needs, rather than trying to make the main Facebook platform all things to all people. Users were given [...]
How Facebook built a $1bn business in 16 months March 26, 2014 Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg yesterday described his purchase of Oculus VR as key in jumping onto virtual reality which he says will become a part of everyday life and be the “next major computing platform that will come after mobile.” To find out just how quickly Facebook can capitalise on a new business, it’s [...]
Facebook in $2bn virtual reality buyout March 25, 2014 SOCIAL media giant Facebook has bought Oculus, a virtual reality gaming firm, for $2bn. The shock deal saw Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg pay $400m in cash and 23.1m in Facebook shares, as well as a $300m cash incentive if certain key milestones are reached. “Mobile is the platform of today, and now we’re also getting [...]
Turkey’s prime minister confirms possible Facebook and Youtube ban March 7, 2014 Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the country could ban Facebook and Youtube after local elections on 30 March, because, he claims, it’s being used by his political opponents to discredit him. On a late night TV interview yesterday, he said he’d rather shut the sites down then see them be used against [...]
Market reaction to the Facebook-Whatsapp deal is leaving this investment veteran feeling “old and tired” February 21, 2014 The market loved Facebok's $19bn Whatsapp shopping spree – but it's leaving some feeling confused. Bronte Capital's chief investment officer John Hempton writes that while he once held Facebook stock, he is "no longer so in tune with valuation" of the social media giant. The investment guru works for the Australian and USA licensed global fund [...]
Facebook stock hits record high after $19bn deal February 20, 2014 INVESTORS warmed to Facebook’s $19bn (£11.4bn) takeover of mobile messaging app WhatsApp last night as shares touched a record high of $70.11 during trading, valuing the social network at nearly $180bn. Investors’ initial fears that the social network, led by chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, may have overpaid for a chat app that has little revenue [...]