Trends Today

While it has always been a problem when those in business enjoy really fast success, to think they’ve stumbled on to something so successful, that they’re almost invulnerable. That is especially true of tech startups, and lately many are thinking Facebook is starting to struggle because this is where founder Mark Zuckerberg is at.

I’ve been saying for years, specifically on my online marketing blog, that there was no way all the hype about ‘user experience’ could trump making money.

Who cares about user experience if you can’t afford to give that experience to them because they have been socialized into getting everything for free and without ads?

That’s over. Even Google is struggling with YouTube to monetize it because investors are starting to rebel because of its slowing growth and revenue.

In the case of Facebook, even if it does go public, very quickly the hype will go down, because investors expect a return for their investment, and where will Facebook get it?

Google is one of the true Internet companies that have a real and profitable business model; at least as far as text ads and adsense go.

For Facebook to go public because they need to raise money because they’re going through it so quickly, won’t deal with the issue of monetizing the web property.

All it does is buy time. But if there’s no plan in place, or every time a user whines and rants because Facebook won’t continue on without revenue and profits - something will have to give.

Facebook and the management team can’t continue to cave in every time they try to figure out ways to make money and their users go on a rampage.

How hard is it to say either you receive ads of some type, or there won’t be any Facebook. Sure, you’ll have the bloggers attempt the usual viral negative publicity, but who’s going to leave to go somewhere else?

Sure it’ll be threatened, and some will. But what company will continue to take losses to gain users which they’ll eventually have to find a way to monetize to survive too? Nobody.

When huge companies like Google and News Corp. - with their MySpace - struggle to make ends meet with their Internet properties, you know others will too.

Twitter is already facing this dilemna, and very soon you’ll start hearing about their struggling as well. It’s not cheap to run a highly visited and used web property.

My prediction is tech and online companies will need to monetize from the beginning while building up a significant user base. The only other alternative, which is really a gamble, is to hope a huge company will buy you out. That’s just a roll of the dice, and most don’t get the right numbers.

Every time the online hype begins, especially after a economic fallout, there’s the continuing mantra that ‘this time it’s different.’ No it’s not! And it never will be. You either can run a business through it being monetized or not. It’s as simple as that.

Online tech companies stupidly plod on thinking they’re operating in a world that is different than the past, as far as business goes. They aren’t.

Only the process and tools are different. You still have to make more money in than it costs to produce the products or services. It’s no more complicated than that. Facebook marketing by users is more profitable than those running the company

The sooner Facebook and others learn this, the quicker they can move on to a profitable business model. The newest tech and Internet trend needs to be running a business that makes a profit. Anything else just won’t last, no matter how many users it draws in.

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