For the past year, the projected numbers for Facebook have been unbelievable. Literally. Unbelievable. Before, it was the CEO’s inflated opinion of monetary worth (at some point I heard $8 billion kicked around), which understandably made early MySpace investor heads explode.
$580 million! News Corp knows how to make a deal and when, even as MySpace membership trails off a bit – well, levels, might be a better word, as the meteoric rise comes to its peak and the dream dust settles at a hundred million or so members, much fewer that are active.
Facebook still has a fraction of that, but is growing fast, especially since opening up to third-party applications. Is it an $8 billion property yet? Well, no. I still think Zuckerberg should have taken the $2 billion offered and run with it before everybody got over it or graduated – whichever came first – and went to another network, which seems to be happening, at least a little, to MySpace.
The most recent prediction says Facebook, with 38 million members, will hit 220 million members in a year if it continues to grow at its current rate. And there’s a distinct possibility Jessica Alba might change her mind about nudity clauses.
Not saying it won’t happen and good for Facebook if it does, and good for every red-blooded male if Jessica decides we deserve it yet. But I have a hunch Facebook will peak and level out, perhaps near or even above MySpace – but the current growth rate would be a difficult one to maintain.
