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Last year, Facebook was worth $100 million. This year, it received a $1 billion buyout offer from Yahoo (YHOO). Well...that is until Yahoo's stock got head-butted in the chest this summer.

MarketWatch's Bambi Francisco has more on the social networking site:

Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg told me last week that the decision is aligned with his long-held mission statement at Facebook. "We're a company trying to help people understand their world," he said, suggesting that the word "people" is broad, comprising more than just those who are in colleges, high school and at work (except for those under 13 years of age, for now).

Such a decision to open up, however, may have unintended negative consequences, much like last week's community uprising over a new service that cast personal information as essentially news bulletins.

If Facebook eases this new service across its 9-million member society without a glitch, it will mark a right of passage into the big leagues, to some extent.

You see, Facebook -- though only two years old -- is on the fast track to being perceived and valued as a grown up. As such, every major decision is a test of its will to fit into such mature billion-dollar shoes.

Here's an unintentionally funny interview Bambi did with the Zuckerberg, the company's 22-year-old CEO. Let's just say that he doesn't lack in self-confidence. Also, he seems completely baffled by the presence of his own hands.

Posted by edelfenbein at September 18, 2006 3:14 PM