The world’s biggest software maker, Microsoft, has already been running Facebook’s ads for over a year, but now they’re fully investing in the company.
What’s an even scarier aspect of this story is that at $240 million dollars, the investment is considered less than 2% of the social networks estimated valuation of $15 billion. With that small of a percentage, it is doubtful that Microsoft will have much, if any, influence on how things are run at Facebook.
There are a few things to wonder about though. A) How did Facebook get such an insane evaluation when people just hang out there? B) If they truly are worth so much, why did they need this “paltry” $240 million from the Bill Gates company?
All things to ponder, but I am sure there have been odder match ups in the technology world… somewhere. For now, things will probably remain unchanged, but it never hurts to keep an eye out.
No doubt that many of these sites are overinflated by hype. However it seems to me that most of them are not direct start-ups as they may have been before the big burst, but rather these are companies founded by people who lived through round 1 and hopefully are more savvy. Additionally, although someplace like Linked In might burst at any moment, the majority of social media outlets are, to the end user, disposable. Sure I have my profile up there. But I have my profile up tons of places. If one of those fail, will I be crying a river?