You really think that is a good comparison? I am not an Apple user, but Apple nowhere in my mind competes with MP3 player makers. It is a vast tech company with massive investments in designing and manufacturing of MP3 players to Laptops, phones and developing a host of really large software.
That is not Facebook, it sells nothing other than the network, much like MySpace used to. If yours friends drop off Facebook, you will drop off too. That is not same for Apple. Apple users will continue using the products even if their friends do not. Its a personal device.
If yours friends drop off Facebook, you will drop off too. That is not same for Apple. Apple users will continue using the products even if their friends do not. Its a personal device.
This works both ways. I use Facebook because my friends are there. I use Apple products because I like the products. Switching social networks is has a high friction point - all my friends need to move. Switching phones is my own choice and easy to do.
Look how much easier it is for Google to gain half the smart phone market compared to how (relatively when compared to Facebook) unsuccessful they've been at getting "social network" market share. I think a very good argument can be made that Facebook's position is more defensible then Apples.
> Apple users will continue using the products even if their friends do not.
A lot of the value in Apple's products comes from the ecosystem: iTunes, the App Store, and so on. Don't discount the value of a platform on which a large number of developers are incentivized to build.
To be fair, you'd equate this to Facebook's own integrated ecosystem (groups, events, marketplace) -- not your friends. There's benefits to having my friends and I both on iOS (iMessage, etc.), but the deciding factor for a social network are the people, and if your friends aren't there, it doesn't matter how many party RSVPs I send out.
> It is a vast tech company with massive investments in designing and manufacturing of MP3 players to Laptops, phones and developing a host of really large software.
It is now, but the iPod is a good portion of what made all that possible.
If you want to use directly comparable companies (recent social network IPOs), it's still inconclusive.
ZNGA: sends lots of traffic to facebook, gets users from facebook. Not a great investment for people who bought at the IPO ($10, $8.36 now), but not horrible.
LNKD: ($45 IPO, $114 now) -- social network, but professional vs. personal/social. Small percentage of the company was put on the market, so I'm not sure how valid the market cap really is.
I'm sure they've learned their lesson about investing in "hot" companies.