Tuesday’s Tip: LinkedIn IPO

I am really glad to have (and use) LinkedIn as a networking tool for finding qualified candidates and networking with like-minded individuals. It has been a great tool to accomplish these tasks. And with the price of FREE, it is making the big monster mega job boards run for cover. But, is this another MySpace in the making? Anyone remember (or use) MySpace? That's my point.

My tip of the year is to sell LinkedIn stock short. It would have been a "buy" at $43 (which was going to be it's initial price), but it still would not have been worth that amount monetarily, but it would have been worth it "emotionally". If the greedy people at Morgan Stanley would have offered it at that initial price, the market would have driven it up to $60's or $70's in no time at all... then it would have flat-lined for awhile, and slowly fell to it's death over the next few quarters (if it didn't morph into a new product by then, or get gobbled up by another company). But MS wanted to make their super elite clients rich and doubled the IPO price. The stock rose quickly to $120, and the smart investors sold the stock, driving it back down to $80 a share.

Back to LinkedIn: I do not see the value of paying for the "subscriber" features (since I can accomplish the same tasks and more by going through another "door"). Compare it to the TV Guide. How many of you still get the paper version delivered to you in the mail? Sure, it's nice, but nothing I would pay for when I can get the same information elsewhere (ie. online). People will soon learn about these other "doors" and the keys to use them. And since LinkedIn is not heavily based on advertisements for their revenue, I think it is a great tool, but not a money making corporation.

Lawyer speak goes here claiming I am not a broker and do not know anything about the stock market and this is for fun and entertainment purposes only, blah, blah, blah :)