Facebook Inc (FB)’s Balancing Act: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

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All of these alternatives offer fewer ads and a cleaner experience than Facebook. LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) ties with Facebook at the least satisfied end of the ACSI survey; everyone else runs miles ahead. Yes, even the much-maligned Google+ “ghost town.” And even LinkedIn reports fewer ad-taint complaints than Facebook.

That’s why I’d take this week’s Facebook share-price pop as a temporary boost, and not as a sustainable clean bill of health. The service currently leans far too heavy on the monetization side of the fence and runs a very real risk of finding out that the next era of social networking doesn’t include much Facebooking.

So my bearish CAPScall on Facebook stays in place until Mark Zuckerberg and company adjust their strategy again. If you can’t keep your users happy, the money will very quickly cease to matter.

The article Facebook’s Balancing Act: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund owns shares of Google. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn.

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