(Reuters) - Facebook Inc is set to raise up to $18.4 billion in its IPO and become the first U.S. company to be worth more than $100 billion at its debut, as investors bet on a big pop in the stock when it begins trading on the Nasdaq on Friday. Frenzied demand, especially from individual investors hoping to buy into an Internet juggernaut that touches hundreds of millions of people every day, is expected to drive Facebook well above its initial public offering price of $38 a share, which was already at the top end of its target of $34
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It’s no secret that Facebook is worth about $100 billion because it collected personal data about its users. A lot of data. Although Twitter tracks its users too — albeit in a much less aggressive way — the company has decided to take a different route. It announced Thursday that it is joining Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox Web browser, and giving its users the ability to opt-out of being tracked in any way through Twitter. Twitter is doing this by enabling the Do Not Track feature in the Firefox browser that enables people to opt-out of cookies that collect personal
Read MoreUSA is doubling down on its commitment to digital media this year, with a broad portfolio of ancillary projects—six, covering the network's slate of originals—to boost viewership, draw in megafans, and provide deeper ad integrations for the shows' partners while the series are running. This year, the company has not one but four major automotive sponsors (Ford, Toyota, Lincoln and Lexus) buying tie-in digital integrations, and Capital One on a fifth.
Read MoreUSA is doubling down on its commitment to digital media this year, with a broad portfolio of ancillary projects—six, covering the network's slate of originals—to boost viewership, attract mega fans, and provide deeper ad integrations for the shows' partners while the series are running. This year, the company has not one but four major automotive sponsors (Ford, Toyota, Lincoln and Lexus) buying tie-in digital integrations, and Capital One on a fifth.
Read MoreTelemundo pulled out all the stops on Tuesday evening after a day of Hispanic media pitches from larger rival Univision and cable company Discovery U.S. Hispanic. The presentation took place at the Al Hirschfeld Theater on 45th street, which seemed appropriate given some of the Spanish-only quirks of the show.
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General Motors Co. GM -0.97% plans to stop advertising with Facebook Inc. after deciding that paid ads on the site have little impact on consumers' car purchases, according to a GM official. The move by GM, one of the largest advertisers in the U.S., puts a spotlight on an issue that many marketers have been raising: whether ads on Facebook help them sell more products. On Friday, Facebook is expected to sell shares in an initial public offering that could put a market value on the company of as much as $104 billion. Executives have spent the last two weeks trying to convince
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From Foursquare to Tumblr, lots of today's hot tech companies are being grown in New York City. The fifth annual Internet Week NY, which began Monday and will run through May 21, is designed to, among other things, recognize companies like them and help foster startups shooting for similar success. "The cool thing about Internet Week NY is it's entirely programmed and curated by the city's internet community," said Internet Week co-chairman David-Michael Davies. "We have about 225-250ish events happening throughout the city and they really range. We have some art events happening in galleries in SoHo, we have conferences happening
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U.S. social-media advertising spending may rise to $9.8 billion in 2016 from $3.8 billion last year, as companies seek to harness new tools that help reach people who interact online, researcher BIA/Kelsey said. Higher ad spending at Google Inc. (GOOG)’s YouTube and LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) boosted BIA/Kelsey’s forecast from six months ago. In November, BIA/Kelsey projected 2011 social-media advertising revenues would reach $3.4 billion -- $400 million less than the figure released today. “We’ve slightly accelerated our numbers for 2012 and 2013 because of the growth we’ve seen with social video, with YouTube as a driver,” said Jed Williams, an analyst and
Read MoreIn what has become a snarky rite of spring, ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday afternoon affectionately skewered his network, before turning his sights on the competition. Speaking at the tail end of ABC’s 2012-13 upfront presentation, the star of Jimmy Kimmel Live wearily upbraided media buyers, telling the likes of Mindshare CEO Antony Young and MagnaGlobal chief Tim Spengler that he was getting tired of having to deliver his annual message to the advertising community. “I’m sick of it. I’m sick of new shows. I’m sick of the old shows. I’m sick of research. I’m sick of demographics. I’m sick of Anne [Sweeney]. I’m sick of Paul [Lee], and I’m getting sick of you,” Kimmel beefed. “How many times do I have to tell you that this is bullshit? This is bullshit.” With that, the comic launched into a five-minute bit that saw him ridicule some of ABC’s more egregious miscues. According to Kimmel, the jaw-droppingly awful comedy
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