Tag Archives: MySpace

Evaluating the Risks in Facebook’s IPO: Would You Invest?

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Antone Johnson • 1 Comment

Facebook is forthcoming about the challenges of mobile: No revenue currently generated from mobile advertising; unclear how much mobile use could be monetized; failure to solve this puzzle combined with a dramatic shift toward mobile usage could be a serious problem; and they don’t control the iOS and Android platforms. Frankly, if there were one thing that persuaded me not to invest in FB at current valuations, this would be it.… Continue Reading

Filed Under: digital media, law, liquidity events, social media, startups, Web 2.0

Keep It Under Your Hat: Valuation Caps and the $650 Million Sale of MySpace for $125 Million

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Antone Johnson • 1 Comment

Valuation caps can shape the fundamentals of an exit, redistribute value among stakeholders, or even kill a deal altogether. Never missing an opportunity for a good war story, I’d like to revisit one high-profile transaction, the $650 million acquisition of MySpace by Fox Interactive Media in 2005.… Continue Reading

Filed Under: angel investing, digital media, entrepreneurship, liquidity events, social media, startups, venture capital, Web 2.0

If You Build It, They Will Abuse It

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Antone Johnson • 4 Comments

As a completely made-up statistic, assume that 0.01% of users are sociopaths or predators who cause serious damage to the community and its other members. With 10,000 users, that’s one guy. With a million, it’s a hundred people. With 100 million registered users — the scale at MySpace when I left — it’s ten thousand. That kind of math illustrates why every major consumer Internet company has an abuse team that serves as the first line of defense against all kinds of ugliness.… Continue Reading

Filed Under: digital media, law, social media, startups

Martindale-Hubbell Connects Lawyers, and… More Lawyers

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Antone Johnson • 0 Comments

Martindale-Hubbell is a legendary name in legal circles, synonymous with legal directories dating back more than 140 years. Long before the Internet existed, a ritual among junior associates at law firms was to pull the weighty leatherbound tome off the shelf, find opposing counsel’s M-H profile and hand out copies to everyone on the deal… Continue Reading

Filed Under: law, social media

Resources for Early-Stage Entrepreneurs: A Top 10 List

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Antone Johnson • 6 Comments

Having recently met with quite a few founders of tech startups, I’ve identified several recurring themes and questions. I thought it would be helpful to pull together a quick list of resources to help new entrepreneurs avoid reinventing the wheel.… Continue Reading

Filed Under: entrepreneurship, startups

25 Years of Social Computing: Game Highlights at Halftime

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Antone Johnson • 1 Comment

My goal in publishing Mashtag is to serve as both primary sportscaster and color commentator. As a business lawyer and executive in social media and the broader technology industry, I hope to bring the factual background and analytical tools of the profession to bear to explore some of the most interesting current issues in business, law and public policy. … Continue Reading

Filed Under: social media, startups