As to the googlers jumping to Facebook, I bet they leave because they can’t stand working for a kid who runs an ungoogle like operation. if you are smart and have been spoiled by working with other smart people in a professionally managed shop, it can be a challenge to work for someone who clearly lacks your experience, the experience you gained growing google.

I think the great thing about the internet industry is precisely this naivete on the part of the media and the investment community. Imagine how many firms can get away with openly admitting that 20% of its 5000 person engineering staff is allocated for them to do whatever they want. This behavior has no history of generating any viable profitable products, so wall street foots a couple hundred million dollars every year on engineers having fun. Or imagine how many firms can get away with loose stock granting practices and no internal financial controls. The practice of providing no guidance to the street is also very strategic because it creates the kind of volatility where the stock can go from 500 to 625 in 2 months and provides its management an opportunity to cash in on the volatility.

As long as the media and investment community continue their blind faith in the industry and continue to turn their inquisitive eyes away from the issues of attrition, financial controls, etc, I think we’ll continue to see great products and aquisitions like Dodgeball and Jaiku

Good luck Facebook.