Technology / Internet
Facebook will 'disappear' in the next decade - Analyst
06 Jun 2012 at 00:54hrs | Views
An analyst according to nydailynews.com has predicted that the social network giant Facebook will "disappear" in "the next five to eight years" time.
Eric Jackson, founder of Ironfire Capital, predicted the social network will follow in the footsteps of former tech giants AOL and Yahoo in the years to come, following its big bang success with a slow fade from the spotlight.
"In five to eight years they are going to disappear in the way that Yahoo has disappered," Jackson told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Monday. "Yahoo is still making money, it's still profitable, still has 13,000 employees working for it, but it's 10 percent of the value that it was at the height of 2000. For all intents and purposes, it's disappeared."
Jackson believes the next wave in tech will be defined by mobile, and that Facebook is having a hard time transitioning into the new era.
"Look at how Google has struggled moving into social, and I think Facebook is going to have the same kind of challenges moving into mobile," he said.
Jackson argued that Facebook's success won't translate into the future because it isn't nimble enough to change gears.
"The world is moving faster, it's getting more competitive, not less, and I think those who are dominant in their prior generation are really going to have a hard time moving into this newer generation," he said. "Facebook can buy a bunch of mobile companies, but they are still a big, fat website and that's different from a mobile app."
Facebook has acknowledged its need to find a way to draw revenue stream from mobile, and on Tuesday the company made a move to address that weakness, unveiling its Sponsored Stories platform for mobile. Marketers can now promote their stories so that they show up on mobile devices as well as desktop.
The company is still reeling from its disappointing IPO last month - its stock has already dropped a quarter of its value since going public.
But if Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's past optimistim about the future of his company is any indication, he likely won't be jarred by Jackson's criticism
"Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission - to make the world more open and connected," Zuckerberg wrote in Facebook's IPO filing earlier this year. "We believe that we have an opportunity to have an important impact on the world and build a lasting company in the process."
Eric Jackson, founder of Ironfire Capital, predicted the social network will follow in the footsteps of former tech giants AOL and Yahoo in the years to come, following its big bang success with a slow fade from the spotlight.
"In five to eight years they are going to disappear in the way that Yahoo has disappered," Jackson told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Monday. "Yahoo is still making money, it's still profitable, still has 13,000 employees working for it, but it's 10 percent of the value that it was at the height of 2000. For all intents and purposes, it's disappeared."
Jackson believes the next wave in tech will be defined by mobile, and that Facebook is having a hard time transitioning into the new era.
"Look at how Google has struggled moving into social, and I think Facebook is going to have the same kind of challenges moving into mobile," he said.
"The world is moving faster, it's getting more competitive, not less, and I think those who are dominant in their prior generation are really going to have a hard time moving into this newer generation," he said. "Facebook can buy a bunch of mobile companies, but they are still a big, fat website and that's different from a mobile app."
Facebook has acknowledged its need to find a way to draw revenue stream from mobile, and on Tuesday the company made a move to address that weakness, unveiling its Sponsored Stories platform for mobile. Marketers can now promote their stories so that they show up on mobile devices as well as desktop.
The company is still reeling from its disappointing IPO last month - its stock has already dropped a quarter of its value since going public.
But if Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's past optimistim about the future of his company is any indication, he likely won't be jarred by Jackson's criticism
"Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission - to make the world more open and connected," Zuckerberg wrote in Facebook's IPO filing earlier this year. "We believe that we have an opportunity to have an important impact on the world and build a lasting company in the process."
Source - www.nydailynews.com
