On April 19,2012, popular web-based, photo editing site - Picnik, will be no more.
Picnik was one of those rare websites that you could use, without constantly having to contact customer service re one issue or another.
As promised, they returned the subscription fee to those faithful Picnikers who'd signed up for a year's premium service after May 2011.
And offered a bonus to boot- as although acquired by Google in 2010, users can now use the premium services that the site offered, for free, until its funeral day.
(Google acquired Picnik in March 2010, in order to access it API, which enables user-friendly image editing).
But not to worry, the design and photo (image) editing acumen of the Picnik team has been integrated into Google products old and new...
E.g. they can bee seen in Picasa and the photo editing features of Google+, respectively.
==============
Picnik, it's sad to see you go, but we know you're in a much better place.
Those Google guys had better be taking great care of you! :)
Pssst - website/ecommerce site owners, Internet Marketers...want to know how to delight your customers?
Just go on over to the Picnik site and see how customer service should be done...
Even in death, Picnik has left great clues for new life!
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (one of Europe's premier airlines), has a new service out, that uses the power of social media to help you screen and choose your seating partner, before flights.
KLM Meet & Seat presents you with profiles of persons from LinkedIn or Facebook, who'll be on the same flight with you, in the same seating class (business or first class).
You then select people you'd like to be seated with, based on certain criteria:
E.g.
1) How interesting you find them and/or alignment of interests
2) Background e.g. schools, colleges attended
3) Business background e.g. companies worked/working for/owned
4) Similar events to be attended at your destination.
You can meet them in the business lounge prior to flights, sit beside them and even share a taxi if going in the same direction.
KLM Meet & Seat is a great way to build your business network, whilst ensuring that you/ your business is invigorated by great conversation on your next flight.
You should definitely try it out!
To do so:
1) Book your flight [To get up to 65% off your next flight: Enter your travel preferences in the "Search Best Airfare Deals!" window , choose "Advanced Options" at bottom of that window, go to "Preferred Airlines" enter "KL" (without quotes) as the airline code]
...In fact, the initial filing, to get the proverbial IPO ball a rollin' started yesterday.
But the caveat is that instead of the rumored US $10 billion, the IPO will actually go for US $5 billion.
...what this means is that Facebook is hoping to raise US $5 billion dollars when its shares are first sold on the major US stock exchanges -namely NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange in May 2012.
So the lead underwriters - Morgan Stanley (sorry Goldman Sachs :)), did a pre-IPO filing, aka a S-1 filing yesterday, where they submitted Facebook's corporate information and financials to the US securities regulators - the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Whose main responsibilities are:
Protecting the interests of securities investors.
Developing and maintaining fair, transparent and efficient securities markets.
Ensuring the proper issuance of securities and compliance with securities laws.
Now, Facebook's shares on the private markets went for US $35.50, this week, said to indicate the potential IPO price when shares are eventually offered publicly in May of this year.
(However, Facebook has reportedly stated in its IPO paperwork, that its own internal valuation puts their current value at $29.73 per share.
A pretty cautious valuation if you ask me).
The auction for these private shares ended today, according to leading technology news site, Techcrunch.
So, how this works is that as soon as a company is about to file an IPO, things slow down publicly, they aren't allowed to issue new product announcements and they have to stop trading on the private (secondary) markets.
...not to worry, these guys are making tens of millions from the deal, from legal and other fees...not too bad for 5-7 months of work, eh? :)
Well, I can tell you that besides the underwriters, the other person with an even bigger grin on his face, right now, is Facebook founder and CEO, 27-year old Mark Zuckerberg and soon he'll be smiling all the way to the bank!..
(Mark Zuckerberg is pictured beside the Facebook logo in the inset picture above).
His share in Facebook is said to be worth $16 billion - from the 534 million shares he holds (at the current valuation of $29.73 per share)...but in paper money...
He only gets cash in hand when he sells a few of his shares...(of course when they burgeon up past $45 on day 1 of trading :)).
Which you can bet he will!
Will keep you posted re this and other updates re Facebook.:)
2. Article, "Facebook Role May Win Morgan Stanley IPO Lead for Third Year", by Serena Saitto, Jeffrey McCracken, Carol Hymowitz and Michael Moore in New York and Brian Womack in San Francisco. Editors: Elizabeth Wollman, Jennifer Sondag Bloomberg Businessweek, February 2,2012
Two (2) big-wig IPO underwriters said to involved in the deal are Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Facebook's Initial Public Offering is supposed to fetch 10 billion for the social media giant.
Which would put Facebook's valuation between $75-100 billion, according to the above article. (This is based on previous injections of capital into the social media giant and the value Facebook would fetch, if sold).
Market Opportunities Unlimited is a Jamaican-based Strategic Marketing Consultancy Firm, specializing in generating supernormal profits for companies in the Technology, Telecommunications and Consumer Goods and Services sectors.
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