This might be a problem if they didn't have an enormous number of users and a very impressive amount of active users.
Somehow this reminds me of the old joke about the guy who lost money on every sale but made it up in volume. Yes, Facebook might make money enough to recover the investment of the first investors someday (I can remember when Amazon looked like it would never do that), but that all depends on the overall net earnings per user being positive. To date, even Facebook's own press releases don't report a situation that makes it clear the initial investors will ever be able to recover their investments. I like Facebook well enough, but unlike my early interaction with Amazon I have never made a payment to Facebook for anything.
Are you trying to suggest that for a website like facebook, it costs them more money to serve a few dumb HTTP requests, than they can make from adverts?
That would be quite an achievement.
>> "I like Facebook well enough, but unlike my early interaction with Amazon I have never made a payment to Facebook for anything."
This might be a problem if they didn't have an enormous number of users and a very impressive amount of active users.
Somehow this reminds me of the old joke about the guy who lost money on every sale but made it up in volume. Yes, Facebook might make money enough to recover the investment of the first investors someday (I can remember when Amazon looked like it would never do that), but that all depends on the overall net earnings per user being positive. To date, even Facebook's own press releases don't report a situation that makes it clear the initial investors will ever be able to recover their investments. I like Facebook well enough, but unlike my early interaction with Amazon I have never made a payment to Facebook for anything.