ARN

Fear not. Facebook isn't shutting down

Social network moves quickly to quash rumors Zuckerberg is set to call it quits

No need to worry that Facebook will shut down on March 15, as reported by the supermarket tabloid Weekly World News.

Facebook quickly dispelled (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9202938/Facebook_passes_Google_as_most_visited_site_of_2010 ) rampant online rumors that the site will be shut down for good on March 15. The rumors spread after Weekly World News, best known for stories about UFOs, aliens and the like, published a story over the weekend saying that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced he was shuttering the company because it had become too stressful for him.

Facebook's quick reply: "We didn't get the memo about shutting down, so we'll keep working away like always. We aren't going anywhere; we're just getting started."

"It's hard to believe that anyone would take this seriously," said Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group. "But Weekly World News readers probably have bigger things on their minds, like their story about aliens attacking Earth in 2011 or the story about developing the skills to be invisible and levitate."

The rumors come just a week after Goldman Sachs and Digital Sky Technologies invested $500 million in the company, which gives Facebook a valuation of $50 billion. Shortly thereafter, leaked financial documents shows that Facebook generated a profit of $355 million on $1.2 billion in revenue during the first nine months of 2010.

The financials began leaking out last Friday thanks to a not-very-secretive 101-page document that Goldman Sachs is sent to potential Facebook investors. Citing an unnamed source who had reportedly received the document, Businessweek reported that Facebook is on a path to generating $1 billion in profit this year.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: etwork, Facebook, Goldman, Google
References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the ARN comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: Facebook, goldman sachs, Google, internet, IT industry, Web 2.0 and Web Apps
ARN Directory | Distributors relevant to this article
Aquion , Avnet Technology Solutions
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events.
ARN Distributor Directory
Find distributors by name | vendor | location
Channel Deals
/deals/aca-pacific/435_fujifilm-lto-10-for-10-promotion-ends-june-30t
ACA Pacific

Fujifilm LTO 10 For 10 Promotion. Ends June 30th, 2012.

More details »
ARN Vendor Directory
Find vendors by name | category

iAsset is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales,marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.