ParisLemon

Mark Cuban argues that Andrew Ross Sorkin’s piece on Facebook’s IPO was well, stupid. It’s probably not surprising that I largely agree since I wrote something similar over three months ago (which itself was riffing off of Joe Nocera’s NYT op-ed, which was one of the first smart things I had read on the IPO). 

A lot has happened over those past three months — namely, Facebook’s stock has fallen quite a bit more. It’s fallen so much, in fact, that I did something I haven’t done in years: I bought a public stock. Once Facebook fell below $20, I made the plunge.

But I’m not looking to make a quick buck. Those people who were — including Cuban — got screwed. But as Cuban notes, that was was their own fault (or the fault of their portfolio managers). I’m thinking long-term. I believe Facebook will ultimately be a very good investment for precisely the reason that some people are so up in arms: the company is not about optimizing from a stock perspective, it’s about optimizing itself from a product perspective. If successful, I think the latter will ultimately boost the former. See also: Apple. 

Yes, they’re taking some steps to help with the stock market situation. But ultimately, I still believe the company largely doesn’t give a shit. And I think that’s a good thing. Focus on what matters. The product.