Flash forward to August 2013:
Facebook’s shares have doubled, rising back to the offering price. While its shares have
not soared to higher levels as many high-flying start-ups have in the past, and marketers
are still not certain that Facebook’s marketing machine really works, investors are
willing to continue holding the shares in the hope that social marketing really will work.
For its part, Facebook is furiously inventing new ways to put targeted ads in front of its
increasingly mobile users. It appears to be succeeding, at least for now.