BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Seeing value in Facebook applications?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/17/seeing-value-in-facebook-applications/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/17/seeing-value-in-facebook-applications/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/17/seeing-value-in-facebook-applications/#commentsFiled under: ,

Any user of Facebook is probably well aware of its addictive and habit-forming properties. It's these simple characteristics that make Facebook so valuable to a potential acquirer. Users spend an enormous amount of time on the site every day and they visit huge amounts of pages on each visit. Because Facebook seems to be out of reach for just about every American company or venture capital firm, interested parties have begun to enter the Facebook Applications space with hopes of cashing in on the Facebook craze that's taken America by storm.

TripAdvisor, owner of TripAdvisor.com, is the reported buyer of the Where I've Been application for a pretty penny of $3 million according to VentueBeat. For those of you who don't use Facebook this is simply an optional addition to one's profile which displays a map and allows users to show where they've visited. This is TripAdvisor's second Facebook application. Their first, Cities I've Visited, has about half the users of Where I've Been.

As a VentureBeat post from about two months ago outlined, other businesses are also actively involved in acquiring these valuable and lucrative Facebook applications. It's remarkably interesting that Facebook applications are becoming parts of business strategies and it should be very fascinating to watch this story unfold.

Seeing value in Facebook applications? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>FacebookFacebook applicationFacebookApplicationTripAdvisorVentureBeatFri, 17 Aug 2007 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Cisco in China: Approaching cautiously]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/12/14/cisco-in-china-approaching-cautiously/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/12/14/cisco-in-china-approaching-cautiously/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/12/14/cisco-in-china-approaching-cautiously/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Venturebeat.com wrote a good piece this morning summarizing Cisco Systems Inc.'s (NASDAQ: CSCO) activities in China. Cisco, which generates about $1 billion in free cash flow per month, is definitely not putting its balance sheet at risk while learning about this huge market.

Venturebeat wrote that according to Cisco VP Ned Hooper, Cisco has already returned a profit on its first $400M batch of venture investments in China beginning in 2001. Now Cisco has started investing from a second batch of funds, although it's too early to tell how these investments are doing. In total, Cisco has invested over $700 million into almost 30 Chinese start-ups, including online gaming company Shanda (NASDAQ: SNDA).

Cisco's most recent investment is $50 million in China Communications Services, a new spin-off from China's state-run telecom. For Cisco, $50 million is purely putting a toe in the water before jumping in.

Expect Cisco to keep a low cost approach to this potentially huge market.

Cisco in China: Approaching cautiously originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Dec 2006 09:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>chinaciscoinvestinginvestmentventurebeatventurebeat.comThu, 14 Dec 2006 09:52:00 EST