Facebook business model: past, current and future
Facebook is becoming a social media conglomerate” by being a “mobile first” company. However will this be a sustainable business model? What do you have to change?

Brief past explanation of the business model.
Higher focus on present and analysis of its potential future survival (most likely not going to survive)

Facebook paper guidelines

1. Objective: Develop an essay about Facebook’s business model

2. Angle: “Facebook is becoming a social media conglomerate” by being a “mobile first” company. However will this be a sustainable business model? What do you have to change?

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-30/facebook-turns-10-the-mark-zuckerberg-interview#p1

http://mashable.com/2013/09/20/facebook-mobile-strategy/

http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-is-almost-mobile-first-2013-10

http://www.businessinsider.com/facebooks-mobile-first-moves-are-paying-off-with-developers-2013-12

Facebook Officially A Mobile Ad Firm With 53% Of Ad Revenue Now Coming From Its 945M Mobile Users

3. Break it down into parts (relate each one on how it adds value to the business model):
A. How did Facebook used to make money with the advertises? (smaller emphasis)
B. Changes in the privacy settings: do they add more value to the business model?
C. Post IPO: Zucherberg realizes he needs the mobile market. After failures by trying to develop its own app the CEO of Facebook decides to acquire . Does Facebook has the right strategy for mobile devices?
i. Instagram: what does this have in common with the recent/post IPO acquisitions? How does Instagram benefits the Facebook business model
ii. Whats app

http://techland.time.com/2014/02/20/facebooks-whatsapp-acquisition-explained/

1. Messages content: could they use/sell the information?
2. Voice calls http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/02/24/us-mobile-world-whatsapp-idINBREA1N0PT20140224
D. Taking Facebook around the globe
iii. Internet.org
iv. Facebook zero https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/fast-and-free-facebook-mobile-access-with-0facebookcom/391295167130
v. Drones

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/523736/around-the-world-net-neutrality-is-not-a-reality/

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/523606/net-neutrality-quashed-new-pricing-schemes-throttling-and-business-models-to-follow/

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/512316/facebook-and-google-create-walled-gardens-for-web-newcomers-overseas/

E. Changes in algorithms:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/benjaminboxer/2013/12/12/what-facebooks-recent-product-changes-tell-us-about-the-future-of-content/

http://nytmarketing.whsites.net/mediakit/pos/

vi. Why people visit facebook
vii. Why do they share content
viii. How does facebook use this in its business model

http://cus.sagepub.com/content/8/1/122.short

http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2378112

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-28897-5_21

http://cdixon.org/2012/05/15/facebooks-business-model/

4.Will the younger generation use Facebook?
A. Alternatives to FB
B. Which are potential acquisitions/new business lines Facebook could do to capture the younger generations
C. Will Facebook still be around in the next five to 10 years? (Most likely not)
5. Conclusion

Obs: those are just some articles to provide an idea on the bullet point. Not necessary a reliable source.