social networking

Ah, Facebook: It's where you banter with "friends," share vacation photos and "like" everything from candy bars to political parties -- so why not shop there, too? Now, retailers are making it easier to do just that.

Back in July 2005, the deal seemed so promising. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp bought MySpace parent Intermix Media for $580 million. The social media pioneer was, by some measures, the fifth most-visited website in the U.S. This week, MySpace was sold for a fraction of that amount.

Trefis currently has a $30 price estimate for LinkedIn stock -- about a third of the market price. Why the disparity? Take a look at the prospects for the three businesses that bring in the vast majority of LinkedIn's revenue, and the answer becomes clear.

LinkedIn made its initial public offering Thursday, and soared immediately to more than twice its target price as Wall Street swooned over the stock. But IPOs are happening fairly regularly again after a recessionary lull: Why is there so much fuss over one not-so-major social networking site?

LinkedIn investors strapped in for a rocket ride Thursday, as its newly minted shares more than doubled during intra-day trading for its public debut. The social networking giant, which priced its IPO at $45 a share Wednesday evening, soared over $122 a share during its first day of trading.

When it comes to finding your next employer, online job boards are out and social recruiting is in, says Robert McGovern, CEO of JobFox.com, a free website that enables job seekers to tap into private hiring networks. We chat with McGovern about the new era of online job hunting.

Fueled by strong investor demand, LinkedIn bumped up its IPO pricing range by nearly 30% to between $42 and $45 a share on Tuesday, according to its filing with the SEC. The business-focused social networking giant previously had set its initial pricing range at $32 to $35 a share on May 9.

LinkedIn threw investors a bone on Monday, releasing the initial pricing range for its long-awaited IPO. But the business-focused social networking site is likely to bump up both the price range and the number of shares on offer before it goes public next week.

The world's most populous nation is warming up to social networking, restrictive shackles and all. Chinese social site Renren, with its 117 million users, filed to go public last week, giving stateside investors another shot to cash in on China's online revolution from the inside.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has rejected the IPO rumors and widely reported notion that the popular microblogging site is in talks to sell a 10% stake to JPMorgan Chase for $450 million -- which would have jacked up the site's valuation to $4.5 billion.