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The Case For Apple Buying Facebook

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the large-fortunes dept.

The article makes the case that Jobs has been hinting that he wants to actually spend some of the $51 billion Apple has been sitting on, and that Facebook is a likely candidate. Considering how thin the Ping social network is, and the integration issues the two companies have had, there are some good reasons for such a deal. And a heck of a lot of reasons why not.

16 of 255 comments (clear)

  1. Yep.. by Palmsie · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sounds like its time to find a new social media website.

    --
    Carl Sagan quotes get you an automatic +5 on all posts.
    1. Re:Yep.. by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What makes you think Apple is interested in your privacy? Apple is interested in money, and when it comes to Facebook, you are the product, not the customer.

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      Palm trees and 8
    2. Re:Yep.. by MichaelSmith · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Its arguably the most long lived social website.

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      http://michaelsmith.id.au
    3. Re:Yep.. by Shark · · Score: 2, Insightful

      My initial thought was: At last, they might even screw it up badly enough that people would give up on that terrible, soon-to-beat-TV-in-IQ-sucking-potential idea. Stuff like requiring you to install iTunes to post or some other typical Apple stroke of genius.

      Then my brain started working again and I realized that Facebooks success is precisely the same as Apples of late: it relies on people being so absorbed in their own image that they become oblivious to all the horrors lurking beneath shiny, polished skin.

      I'll take a moment to note OS-X as a temporary exception but we all know they dream to replace that with iOS as soon as they've dumbed their user base down enough.

      --
      Mind the frickin' laser...
    4. Re:Yep.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Your post reminds me of people around my age who are snobs about hipsters and talk about how annoying hipsters are, only to be so focused on the superficialities they associate with hipsters that they essentially are the new hipsters.

      In case you don't understand: I'm saying you're a self-absorbed, pretentious, yet dumbed-down, computer person.

  2. Not that stupid by Capt.DrumkenBum · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Apple tends to buy things that will make them money. I really doubt Facebook would ever make any money for Apple. (Or anyone for that matter.)

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    If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
    1. Re:Not that stupid by Darkness404 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      ...Except for the fact that Facebook has an elevated self-worth at the moment. Social networks really only have a lifespan of a few years before they are no longer used by the masses.

      If Apple wanted to buy Facebook, they should have done it a few years ago, or perhaps a few years in the future. If Apple buys it now, they have a very limited amount of time before the feature is still a feature.

      FB has very little IP, the only thing they have is users and brand recognition but MySpace also had that but essentially lost it.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
  3. simple... by syngularyx · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Usually Apple buys small, "cheap" and useful companies and Facebook doesn't belong to any of these categories.

  4. Netscape, AOL, Facebook by Toe,+The · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Once upon a time, there was this amazing company called Netscape. It was so fantastic that this other company called AOL bought it for over $4 billion.

    Later on, there was this amazing company called AOL. It was so fantastic that this other company called Time Warner believed it was valued it at something like a quarter trillion dollars, so merged with it.

    Later on, there was this amazing company called Facebook...

  5. Doubt it by macwhizkid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Strategic partnership, sure, but outright purchase? No way. Sure, it's temping to consider the ways Facebook could interface with iOS, but Facebook is valued somewhere in the neighborhood of $30-35B, and Apple only has $50B cash on hand. Facebook is too expensive for what it is -- a neatly designed hack for people to make their own web pages and connect with others. The value of the company lies in the number of active accounts, not the technology itself. And for Apple, a technology company which already has an accomplished marketing department and more publicity than it can ever use, the purchase just doesn't have enough value.

    Besides, Facebook has already displaced Google in the areas the two compete in. There would be nothing to add to that particular rat race, but the danger that Google could focus on a single enemy instead of several. Yhe only reason to buy a company is to harness the potential innovation and future success when integrated with your own. Buying a fully-fledge corporation relying on something as fickle as consumer taste is a terrible idea.

  6. Why didn't I think of this? by MBCook · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's ingenious! How could it not work?

    Just like when AOL bought Llamasoft. No, you know what would be a better example? When Fox bought MySpace. That worked out well, right?

    This is moronic. This is "I need column inches, and Apple has money and gets pageviews, and Facebook gets page views, so I'll write a column..." nonsense.

    What would Apple get out of this? A big messy architecture (in maintaining all those servers, integrating OS X with FB)? A giant target on it's back for even more privacy lawsuits? I don't see any value to Apple in buying Facebook. It would make a ton more sense to just buy up some good ISVs or more hardware companies to help design their products in house.

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    Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
  7. Re:Shelf Life by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 2, Insightful

    While I agree with the concept, changes in social media dominance might not come so quickly.

    Before Google came along, a new search engine became dominant every few years. With Google, the situation seems to have stabilized, Bing took a bite, but they don't seem to be going further with the momentum.

    MySpace (2003) is only 1 year older than Facebook (2004). Friendster was founded in 2002, the early "baby" years were tumultuous, but the landscape seems to have matured such that significant changes are slower to come by. New features of upcoming sites can be co-opted before they threaten the big players, as you might have seen with Facebook taking on some Twitter-like notions, such as the feed.

  8. Stretch that dollar. by LaminatorX · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They could take half of that cash and buy Yahoo, Adobe, and Novell. Why mess with Facebook?

  9. Re:Maybe Facebook would get a real UI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Right ... Apple interface, my guess they'll remove 90% of the links, buttons and features, and put the rest with glossy graphics and expect you to congratulate them.

  10. facebook already past it's prime by papasui · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Both my wife and myself have deleted our facebook accounts. Last time I was in that situation it was with Myspace. Remember Myspace?

    1. Re:facebook already past it's prime by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Both my wife and myself have deleted our facebook accounts. Last time I was in that situation it was with Myspace. Remember Myspace?

      What would give you the idea that you and your wife are leading indicators rather than anomalous outliers?

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