Once again, Facebook is all over the tech and business news. The fast-rising star of the social networking planetarium is on the verge of surpassing MySpace as most-used and is becoming the target of lawsuits and speculation. Like any Hollywood star, Facebook is getting massive publicity and papparazzi-style scrutiny.
The latest news is with the Russian investment group, Digital Sky Technologies, and their move to put $200 million into Facebook, valuing the social networking giant at $10 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. There’s no word on whether Facebook has accepted the offer, but Facebook has been talking to several investment firms thanks to this new, larger valuation.
TechCrunch says that there’s no word on whether Digital Sky would want a board seat, which was the deal-killer in an earlier $200 million investment attempt. That would mean that if Digital Sky gets one, a board seat at the social networking site is worth $2 billion.
Meanwhile, the legal side of Facebook’s rise saw an improvement this week. Friday, the site issued a press release announcing that it had settled a trademark dispute with Think Computer Corporation. The lawsuit was initiated by Think’s founder Aaron Greenspan, who claimed that his student efforts at Harvard in building the houseSYSTEM and it’s Face Book feature were infringed by Facebook.
Zubkerberg of Facebook was a classmate of Greenspans and, it turns out, also a user of houseSYSTEM while at Harvard. No one has said how much the settlement was worth, but Facebook’s last settlement was rumored for $65 million, so Greenspan likely saw a huge sum.
For more details on the lawsuit and Greenspan’s claims against Facebook, review this insidefacebook.com article.
Last and likely least in the Facebook frenzy this week, Greg Sterling, on his blog, ties together several columns and thoughts from various people in the business of tech regarding whether Facebook should just buy up Yelp. Arguments for this buyout are both for and against, with the core idea being whether Facebook should get into search.
All in all, Facebook is climbing the hill and becoming the King in social media. Of course, like all Kings of the Hill, once up there, the struggle has just started. Staying on top of the hill is the real challenge.
