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ESPN X Games broadcaster Sal Masekela and “The Buried Life” actor Dave Lingwood joined Shira Lazar and Marc Hustvedt on the coach on Wednesday for the Real Time Conversation involving the most talked about topic of the week: Facebook’s IPO launch.
Despite all the immense buzz generated from Friday’s launch, Masekela appeared skeptical of Facebook’s true value.
“What’s the value?” Masekela asked Shira. “Where’s Friendster, where’s MySpace? I’m sorry, I just don’t think Facebook will be as relevant as we move forward as it has been in the last five years.”
Masekela, whom recently released a documentary based on his father’s freedom fighting in South Africa, said people can survive without the popular social network.
But when Shira noted the value of Facebook as a platform for advertisers—with a potential to access Facebook’s more than 800 million users—he asked her about the last time she actually purchased something advertised on the site, Shira thought for a second before blurting out: “I saw a great cat meme!”
Lingwood said he had success advertising his book, “What Do You Want to do Before you Die?” on the website. The book ended up earning a spot in the New York Times Best Sellers list.
“It was fairly effective for us,” Lingwood said. “There’s a lot of way that you can use it in tangible things.”
