Facebook's Zuckerberg changes status, weds Chan

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg capped the week of a lifetime, changing his own status to married after wedding Priscilla Chan just a day after his company went public, he announced.

Zuckerberg posted a wedding picture with his bride, where else but on his Facebook page.

"Mark added a life event to May 19, 2012 on his timeline: Married Priscilla Chan," was the only description of the shot of the bride in white and the groom -- famous for his attachment to casual clothes -- all smiles in a dark suit and tie on his other big day.

Facebook stumbled on its first trading day Friday as shares ended barely above the starting price after a glitch-plagued market debuton the Nasdaq that failed to live up to its enormous hype.

The stock, priced at $38 on Thursday in the largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) for a technology firm, eked out a gain of just 0.61 percent to end at $38.23, amid record volume of more than 575 million shares traded.

Shares in the social network titan saw roller-coaster action in what was one of most keenly awaited stock issues in history. The day began with a 30-minute delay in trade, an incident which regulators are still reviewing.

Zuckerberg, 28, wearing his trademark hooded sweatshirt, remotely rang the bell to open the Nasdaq, marking the start of trade.

He told the crowd at the company's new campus in Menlo Park, California, that going public is a "milestone" but added: "Our mission isn't to be a public company. Our mission is to make the world more open and connected."

The IPO gave Facebook a dizzying value of $104 billion at its market debut.

It raised more than $16 billion, making it the richest after that of financial giant Visa in 2008, according to Renaissance Capital. The addition of a possible stock "over-allotment" could boost the total to $18.4 billion.

With its current market value, Facebook is now among the most valuable US companies, ahead of sector giants Amazon ($96 billion) and Cisco ($89 billion), and more than twice the value of Ford Motor Co. ($38 billion).

But it remains behind Google ($196 billion) and Apple ($496 billion).

Facebook calls on members to flag organ donor status

(Reuters)

 

image courtesy of focusonlinecommunities.com

Tired of the long wait for a new kidney, Michael Shelling, a 50-year-old video game marketing consultant based in San Diego, decided to take a more active role in the search.

About three months ago, he decided to tap into his social network by setting up a Facebook page to get the word out to his friends, and their friends, that he needs a new kidney and, by the way, his blood type is O.

The search may have paid off. A potential donor is going through testing to see if they are a match.

It is the kind of scenario Facebook hopes to foster. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg put out the call earlier on Tuesday to encourage the social network's users -- more than 900 million -- to speak up if they are organ donors and display it on their personal pages.

"We think that people can really help spread awareness of organ donation and that they want to participate in this to their friends, and we think that can be a big part in helping to solve the crisis," Zuckerberg told ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" program on Tuesday.

There are currently 92,102 people in the United States waiting for a donor kidney -- the organ that is in greatest demand -- according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Last year, only 28,535 kidney transplants took place, with the majority of those donated from deceased donors.

That disparity leaves many like Shelling waiting in line for a donor organ to become available, a process that can take three or four years, said Joel Newman, a spokesman for the United Network for Organ Sharing.

In 2007, Shelling was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease as a result of chronic high blood pressure. He undergoes home dialysis to clear excess fluid, minerals and wastes from his blood, but he longs for the day when he can do without it.

So, he decided to conduct his own search for a donor.

"With the waiting list, that tells you there are more people out there that need organs than are willing or able to donate. Some of that has to do with a lack of awareness," Shelling said.

Facebook reveals revenue, profit slide ahead of IPO

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc reported its first quarter-to-quarter revenue slide in at least two years, a sign that the social network's sizzling growth may be cooling as it prepares to go public in the biggest ever Internet IPO.

The company blamed the first-quarter decline, which surprised some on Wall Street, on seasonal advertising trends.

"It was a faster slowdown than we would have guessed," said Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group.

"No matter how you slice it, for a company that is perceived as growing so rapidly, to slow so much on whatever basis - sequentially or annually - it will be somewhat concerning to investors if faced with a lofty valuation," Wieser said.

Facebook, lawmakers warn employers not to demand passwords

Reuters

Facebook and lawmakers have warned employers against requesting Facebook passwords while screening job applicants, a controversial practice that underscores the blurring distinction between personal and professional lives the era of social media.

The practice has reportedly grown more commonplace as companies increasingly regard profiles - or embarrassing photos from wild nights out - as windows into a prospective employee's character.

On Friday, Facebook Inc's Chief Privacy Officer, Erin Egan, posted a note warning that the social networking company could "initiate legal action" against employers that demand Facebook passwords.

Exclusive: Facebook seeking bigger credit line: sources

SAN FRANCISCO(Reuters) - Facebook Inc plans to increase its $2.5 billion credit line to help cover a major tax hit when employee stock awards vest shortly after it goes public, according to two sources familiar with the company's plans.

The world's largest social media network, which boosted its borrowing capacity by two-thirds just six months ago, is taking advantage of its strong position to get more financing for its phenomenal growth, the sources said.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about such plans.

A spokesman for Facebook declined to comment.

"All these tax obligations are being created and you need cash to take care of it. You see this all the time but in this case it will be substantial," said Michael Moe of GSV Capital, which owns Facebook shares. "Having the cash to be able to take care of that makes a lot of sense. That would be the motivator of a larger credit facility."

Facebook has said it plans to pay taxes on its employees' restricted stock units, or RSUs, when they vest six months after the company's initial public offering. The exact amount is likely to total billions of dollars, based on Facebook's stock price at the time.

Helping employees cover tax on RSUs is relatively unusual and leaves the employer with a "very expensive obligation" that could increase if Facebook shares climb, said Bart Greenberg, a partner at law firm Haynes and Boone LLP who advises start-up tech companies.

Yahoo threatens Facebook as patent war looms

SAN FRANCISCO(Reuters) - Yahoo has demanded licensing fees from Facebook for use of its technology, the companies said on Monday, potentially engulfing social media in the patent battles and lawsuits raging across much of the tech sector.

Yahoo has asserted claims on patents that include the technical mechanisms in the Facebook's ads, privacy controls, news feed and messaging service, according to a source briefed on the matter.

Representatives from the two companies met on Monday and the talks involved 10 to 20 of Yahoo's patents, said the source, who was not aware of what specific dollar demands Yahoo may have made for licenses.

Yahoo did not elaborate in an emailed statement on details of its discussions with Facebook, but indicated it would not flinch at taking the social networking giant to court over its patents.

Yahoo said other companies have already licensed some of the technologies at issue, and that it would act unilaterally if Facebook refused to pay for a patent license.

"Yahoo has a responsibility to its shareholders, employees and other stakeholders to protect its intellectual property," the company said.

The meeting between the two companies was first reported by the New York Times.

A Facebook spokesman said: "Yahoo contacted us at the same time they called the New York Times and so we haven't had the opportunity to fully evaluate their claims."

Should Yahoo wind up suing Facebook, it would mark the first major legal battle among technology giants in the social media sphere and a major escalation of patent litigation that has already swept up the smartphone and tablet sectors and high-tech stalwarts such as Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Motorola Mobility.

Yahoo's patent claims follow Facebook's announcement of plans for an initial public offering that could value the company at about $100 billion.

Several social networking companies, including Facebook, have seen an uptick in patent claims asserted against them as they move through the IPO process.

However, most of those lawsuits have been filed by patent aggregators that buy up intellectual property to squeeze value from it via licensing deals, and none by a large tech company such as Yahoo.

(Reporting By Dan Levine; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

Exclusive: Facebook governance a concern for Calif pension fund

(Reuters) - Facebook's corporate governance rules, which give shareholders little say in how the social networking website would be run as a public company, are raising the hackles of one of the largest U.S. investors, the California State Teachers' Retirement System.

The pension fund, which has a portfolio valued at around $145 billion, is planning to send a letter to Facebook, hoping to engage the social networking website on corporate governance, two CalSTRS executives told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

"We are in the beginning stages of talking to Facebook," said Janice Hester-Amey, a portfolio manager in CalSTRS Corporate Governance unit.

Facebook, which is run by Chief Executive and founder Mark Zuckerberg, declined to comment.

CalSTRS decided on Friday -- just two days after Facebook filed for a $5 billion initial public offering -- to try to talk to the website about improving its corporate governance.

CalSTRS invested in Facebook from its funds on the private equity side and is likely to invest in the company's publicly traded shares, Hester-Amey said.

"No matter how brilliant you are, when you come to the public market -- not that we want to ever tell Zuckerberg or anyone like him how to run his company -- there should be some protection especially for long-term, patient money like CalSTRS," Hester-Amey said.

"So I think there should be some more respect for capital," she said.

Facebook has put up a series of defenses against proxy battles and unwanted takeover attempts, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Under the governance provisions, Zuckerberg would remain in complete control of the company for the foreseeable future, so much so that the 27-year-old Harvard University drop-out would even have the right to appoint his own successor before he dies.

"With a person that owns as much of the stock and the way he has set up the governance ... it will be very hard to influence him except if he's got some kind of a conscience," Hester-Amey said.

Facebook's corporate governance measures go against a decade-long trend of a move toward more shareholder-friendly corporate governance in the United States, prompted by institutional shareholders such as CalSTRS.

S&P 500 companies have been taking down classified boards, poison pills and other defenses over the years under pressure from institutional investors to have more shareholder-friendly governance rules.

For example, only about 24 percent of S&P 500 companies now have classified boards -- where only some of the directors come up for election every year -- down from 61 percent in 2002, according to FactSet SharkRepellent.

Facebook has two different classes of common stock, with Class B shares entitled to 10 votes per share against one vote per share for Class A. Class A stock is being sold to the public.

Zuckerberg has also struck voting agreements with investors including DST Global Ltd and Accel Partners. Overall he will have majority control after the IPO, giving him the power to determine the outcome of matters submitted to shareholders for approval, including the election of directors and any merger.

Given Zuckerberg's holdings, Facebook is also deemed a "controlled company," which gives the company the right to not have an independent nominating committee of the board to choose directors.

Moreover, Facebook's governance rules say that when Class B shareholders have less than the majority of the combined voting power, the board will become staggered, only the board will be able to fill director vacancies and it will take a supermajority to change the company's by-laws.

Corporate governance expert Charles Elson said provisions such as the dual-class stock structure, different voting powers and Zuckerberg's ability to designate his successor were all reasons for concern.

"I find it very troubling," said Elson, who is the director of John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. "The whole tone to me was contrary to where governance has been moving, and the lessons that we have learned."

(Reporting By Paritosh Bansal)

Facebook IPO latest chapter for Zuckerberg

Agence France Presse

SAN FRANCISCO - At just 27 years old, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been the subject of a Hollywood blockbuster, Time's "Person of the Year" and cracked the Forbes list of 20 richest people in the world.

Now he's tackling Wall Street.

Facebook's plan to raise at least $5 billion from investors is the latest chapter in the life of the New York-born computer prodigy who has become a Silicon Valley legend.

Zuckerberg has transformed from an awkward public speaker into a confident chief executive presiding over a company that, in the words of Time magazine, is "transforming the way we live our lives every day."

One thing that hasn't changed over the years is Zuckerberg's look -- despite a personal fortune estimated by Forbes at $17.5 billion.

Zuckerberg still sports blue t-shirts, jeans and sneakers, his trademark hoodie and a mop of brown, curly hair.

Born on May 14, 1984, Zuckerberg was raised in Dobbs Ferry outside New York, one of four children of a dentist father and a psychiatrist mother.

Zuckerberg began writing computer programs at the age of 11 including one said to resemble Pandora's musical taste program which reportedly drew the interest of AOL and Microsoft.

He went to high school at the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy, where he was captain of the fencing team, before entering elite Harvard University.

Zuckerberg launched Thefacebook.com, as it was then known, from his Harvard dorm room on February 4, 2004 with roommates and classmates Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin.

The stated goal: "Making the world more open and connected."

Facebook's origins were not without controversy, however.

In 2008, a $65 million settlement was reached with three Harvard classmates -- twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and Divya Narendra -- over their charges that Zuckerberg had stolen the idea for Facebook from them.

The conflict was at the heart of "The Social Network," the Oscar-winning film written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher.

Zuckerberg left Harvard in May 2004 for Silicon Valley, where he received his first major funding -- $500,000 -- from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel followed by nearly $13 million the next year from Accel Partners.

Despite recurring privacy complaints, Facebook has gone from strength to strength, growing from 50 million members in 2007 to more than 800 million today.

For someone whose Facebook page carries the quotation "I'm trying to make the world a more open place," Zuckerberg shares little of his own life with the public.

His Facebook page, which has attracted 11 million fans, contains a few personal photos -- pictures of his dog, Beast, Zuckerberg handing out candy with his girlfriend, Priscilla Chan, on Halloween, a goat roast...

A maxim from Virgil adorns the page -- "Fortune favors the bold" -- along with Zuckerberg's vows for the year.

In 2011, it was to become a vegetarian and "only eat meat if I kill the animal myself."

In 2010, it was to learn Chinese. "Some members of my girlfriend's family only speak Chinese and I wanted to be able to talk to them," he said.

In 2009, his vow was to wear a tie for the whole year. "I wanted to signal to everyone at Facebook that this was a serious year for us," he said.

Unlike Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Zuckerberg has never relinquished the title of chief executive, as Page did to Eric Schmidt at Google in 2001 before reclaiming it last year.

"His position there is similar to Bill Gates' position at Microsoft," said Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff.

"At Facebook I think it's pretty clear that Zuckerberg determines what the future is," Bernoff said.

"He has delegated power but he has not ceded power to other people."

Facebook forces Timeline

Facebook, the leading social media site will soon force its users to using Timeline whether users like it or not. Timeline is a new profile format which allows easy access of the past post, photos and links. 

Beginning today, Facebook give its users  seven days to clean up their profiles before Timeline is automatically activated in everyone's profile. More of this on Yahoo.

Angel Locsin,#18 on Top 20 Facebook Page Wordwide

Manila, Philippines- Actress Angel Locsin is the only Filipino artist who is on the top 20 of Famecount's most popular Facebook page worldwide. Angel posted on her official Twitter account a 'thank you post' to one of her followers who congratulates her.

143redangel Angel Locsin 

Wow, thanks guys :) RT @oxygen_inverse: @143redangel nice po.. congrats! famecount.com/facebook-rank/…

14 Aug 

Angel is on the #18th spot while Megan Fox is on the first followed by Vin Diesel. Click here for a complete list.

Winklevoss twins lose bid to reopen Facebook case

the Winklevoss

Reuters- Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss Twin brothers who accused Facebook Inc and its founder Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea for the social networking website, failed to convince the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to reconsider its April 11 ruling upholding the $65 million cash-and-stock settlement they reached with Facebook in 2008.

The brothers had complained the settlement was fraudulent because Facebook hid information from them.
Chief Judge Alex Kozinski called them "sophisticated parties" who, with a team of lawyers and a financial adviser, had reached a "quite favorable" settlement.

The Winklevoss were classmates of Zuckerberg at Harvard University and are rowers who competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Their feud with Zuckerberg was dramatized in the 2010 film "The Social Network."

Gag order for Twitter and Facebook

WORLD

A British judge issue and an order prohibiting Twitter, Facebook or any social networking site to disclose sensitive information and issues. Mr Justice Baker, in the Court of Protection in London, order was in accordance with an ill-woman who can only be referred as "M".