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”s a very bad thing

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There is something very unsettling about this market.  Perhaps there is no better example than the news of  Twitter appointing a new CFO today. Twitter is up over 4% at the time of writing on their appointment of Goldman Sach’s reknown technology banker, Anthony Noto.  Is that a good thing, really?  When a $20 billion company that just went public announces a new CFO, that is never a sign of outstanding current financial performance.  Just the opposite actually.  You don’t need a new CFO if the business is unfolding as planned or even tolerably well.  Instead you make this gut wrenching … Read more

Follow up on Vocus (VOCS)

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I have to give Vocus management credit for being responsive to shareholders. I know firsthand that the management of a public company can become beleaguered by shareholders when their stock gets crushed.  So when  I complained about not getting one of my questions answered by the CEO , I didn’t expect an immediate response.  Yet I got one today from the CFO no less. Vocus is one of the new companies staking out the social marketing space.  It’s a cloud based software suite that includes PR Web, iContact, and tools to listen and interact with Facebook and Linkedin users.  I … Read more

So Just How Much Is That Tweet Worth?

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Rob May, who is a co-founder of Backupify (online data storage) just posted some interesting information on his blog.  In case you ever wondered just how much your Yelp review or Tweet, was worth in real life dollars, here’s what he found: Check-in on Forsquare= $.40 LinkedIn Search= $.124 Facebook Share= $.024 Tweet= $.001 and last we have a Yelp review= $9.13 Keep in mind, May produced relatively rough estimates of these valuations based on the parameters he came up with.  Read more about how he came up with the valuation here: How Much Is a Tweet Worth? – Businessweek.

More Ads? Facebook and Twitter Stepping Up Mobile Coverage, And Revenue

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Enjoy the unusually ad-free browsing of Facebook and Twitter on your phone?  Not for long..  Both companies are adding an ad platform to mobile devices in the upcoming weeks (reaching 425 million Facebook users and 55 million Twitter users)  While this will fill major gaps in both social media companies revenue streams, it will result in the following changes: Twitter: Promoted (paid advertising) accounts will be recommended for you to follow, Tweets by promoted accounts will appear no matter if you follow them or not, and Tweets from brands you follow will move to the top of your newsfeed. Facebook: … Read more

Saudi Arabia Will Not Let Oil Go Above $100

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According to Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud, the billionaire head of Kingdom Holding Co., Saudi Arabia is poised to limit the appreciation of oil to no greater than $100 a barrel. “We can use our leverage, our excess capacity to be sure to pump more [oil] if needed so it will not impact the consumer countries while they’re getting out of their recessions slowly but surely,” the prince said. As for Iran, he said it is important for the U.S. and other nations to put sanctions on the “renegade country” to force its government to negotiate. Issuing an … Read more