Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) was the most important company in the world in 2012. Ten years ago nobody could have imagined the effect a social networking company could have on the world’s economy. Today we simply cannot imagine the world without it. So, in now particular order, here are the most important moments in Facebook’s 2012.
IPO:
VERDICT:FAILURE
This was undoubtedly a momentous occasion in the history of not only Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), but also the web industry. If only it wasn’t such a disaster. Facebook, the most hotly anticipated IPO in recent years, could not have had a worse offering.
The NASDAQ failed on the company’s first day of trading and the company was alleged to have given fraudulent information to the public in order to boost its stock price. Several lawsuits have been filed against the firm. The company debuted at $38, and, despite great indicators in the months past, the company’s stock stands at little more than $25 today.
Mobile:
VERDICT:SUCCESS
In the wake of the Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) IPO, many of the criticisms of the company’s performance stemmed from its lackluster mobile performance. In recent months the company has made great strides in developing technologies that will allow it to generate revenue from mobile users.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has launched sponsored posts, sponsored search, and an ad network in a bid to claim revenue from mobile users. Facebook’s mobile future is not yet assured but the company is trying, and its attempts have reinvigorated interest in the company. That makes 2012 a successful year for Facebook’s mobile efforts.
VERDICT:UNDECIDED
Facebook purchased Instagram, the photo sharing service, for around $1 billion last may. The price seemed exorbitant to most analysts, but that didn’t stop them advising clients to buy Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares at $38, so their advice rings silent on the matter.
Since then it has been unclear what Facebook management though Instagram was worth $1 billion for. The firm still brings in almost no revenue, and has recently been the source of legal problems. The service still has millions of users, and Facebook’s intentions were either non existent or have not come to fruition yet. Giving the company the billion dollar benefit of the doubt, Facebook’s purchase of Instagram is still not resolutely a success or a failure.
One Billion
VERDICT:SUCCESS
This was the most important moment for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) in 2012. The film, “The Social Network” dramatizes the reaction of Facebook employees upon reaching one million users. The ability to attract one billion users, with different degrees of enthusiasm, to your service, is something felt by few.
There are no major user milestones left for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Two billion users, if the company gets that far, will be nowhere near as meaningful as this year’s achievement was. Facebook is one of the most successful companies of all time, if only for having reached so many people. Reaching one billion users was a definite success for Facebook.
Privacy
VERDICT:FAILURE
There is probably no year in the history of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) that the company’s privacy achievements could be called a success. By nature the company gathers the data of users and sells it to the highest bidder. 2012 was still worse than other years in terms of privacy.
There have been lawsuits, and there have been accusations of gross misuse. Facebook’s very nature invited these infringements, and grosser accusations. The company deals in information, and it deals in it right in front of its users. Facebook’s year in privacy doesn’t need to be documented in general. It should be documented in a single person’s experience. Take, for example, Randi Zuckerberg’s story. There are a billion more.
