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Yeah, it's definitely not an easy sell and would require the right presentation, but I think there is a strong undercurrent of fatigue and discontent with Faceb

by gooseus 10y ago

Yeah, it's definitely not an easy sell and would require the right presentation, but I think there is a strong undercurrent of fatigue and discontent with Facebook that can be tapped into with the right message. I think that message could energize and wake up a decent number of people and if this generated momentum then it'd feed into itself. The fact that a measurable decrease in users could create a panic in stock price that can be profited from directly is another selling point. I'm not well-versed in investment instruments, but I do believe that spending $100 on PUT options before even a 10% drop in stock price would pay off quite handsomely. I mean, you may like Facebook... but it's not like you couldn't create a fresh account after you make a little money, right? How much money have they profited from sharing your personal information? Every large company can benefit from a reality check... Dunno if that message would play to more loyal users, but my mental cost/benefit analysis for this idea seems pretty favorable.

RodgerTheGreat 10y ago
I think for the average consumer the idea of purchasing stock on a whim, let alone shorting a stock, is an alien and uninvitingly risky act. A site that asks me to follow some instructions to spend $100 to help bring down big F would send off all kinds of mental alarm bells. There could be money to be made, but I think profiting from Facebook's loss muddies the issue.
- gooseus 10y ago
  True, but like you said, most of the ethical arguments against Facebook are preaching to the choir. Sad as it is, money (even the chance of it) typically motivates more effectively than ethics. I think if there are enough people willing to go through a convoluted process to help a Nigerian prince that it becomes a meme, then there are plenty of people who would be willing to go through the perfectly legitimate process of opening an E-Trade or Charles-Schwabb account and buying PUT options. Everything on the site would be verifiable by any financial advisor, though they may not understand/agree with the overall strategy. And really this is just my personal musings, I have plenty of my own doubts otherwise I would be building this site and not openly sharing and commenting about it on HN. ... Of course, if some people here did think it was viable I wouldn't take much convincing to start putting it together...

by gooseus 10y ago

RodgerTheGreat 10y ago

I think for the average consumer the idea of purchasing stock on a whim, let alone shorting a stock, is an alien and uninvitingly risky act. A site that asks me to follow some instructions to spend $100 to help bring down big F would send off all kinds of mental alarm bells. There could be money to be made, but I think profiting from Facebook's loss muddies the issue.

gooseus 10y ago
True, but like you said, most of the ethical arguments against Facebook are preaching to the choir. Sad as it is, money (even the chance of it) typically motivates more effectively than ethics. I think if there are enough people willing to go through a convoluted process to help a Nigerian prince that it becomes a meme, then there are plenty of people who would be willing to go through the perfectly legitimate process of opening an E-Trade or Charles-Schwabb account and buying PUT options. Everything on the site would be verifiable by any financial advisor, though they may not understand/agree with the overall strategy. And really this is just my personal musings, I have plenty of my own doubts otherwise I would be building this site and not openly sharing and commenting about it on HN. ... Of course, if some people here did think it was viable I wouldn't take much convincing to start putting it together...