Facebook is like a party. You either like to chat with people, listen to their stories .. make up a whooper or two .. and enjoy the telling of your tales or you don't. It's that simple.

The chatting and reading people's stories sounds like PaloAltoOnline. We share common neighborhoods and concerns, and discuss current events and governance. Embarcadero Media's mission statement begins with "provide an accessible vehicle for getting the community talking to itself." That seems to be the primary thing Facebook is doing. I spend/waste much more time here, though I do go to Facebook for high school and college alumni news and gatherings. I experience similar targeted ads on either site (PAOnline ads are served by Google). Personal privacy is up for grabs when anyone puts something in writing that will last forever and is easily searchable from any terminal on earth. Dots can be connected, so a prudent person will learn to be careful before doing too much damage. My real privacy concerns regard financial and medical information. HIPAA rules don't leave me with a warm feeling, and we all know how well to trust banks. Won't be long before our cars are tracked everywhere for tax purposes. But I've strayed from the topic, the IPO. There's still time to short FB if one thinks it's headed downhill. I'll probably go long once it stabilizes, just to own a small piece, and to support a local company. I'm certainly not getting rich on HP or Cisco or numerous local pharma start-ups. I'm here because I enjoy reading informed viewpoints. Thanks.