FB drops to $28 - Zuckerberg and wife eat McDonald's in Rome

[KurtNYC]

You can't make this stuff up. I'm starting to believe that they are killing their own stock on purpose. If you wanted bad publicity you would be hard pressed to think up stuff worse than this honeymoon so far. It is like this guy sold the company a week ago and quit. Imagine boarding the Titanic and then the captain leaves by helicopter. And he goes to McDonalds in Rome while the ship sinks.

Not tipping? Grant you Rome is "gratuity added" on the check but you're a billionaire now. Have some class ! and a soul.

Seriously, if Zuckerberg is staying at the helm then he should hire a PR firm right away. And get advice from some other celeb on how to conduct yourself when the media is in pursuit. And in the meantime, start dropping some $100 tips. It will be money well spent.

[leveymg]

1. It wouldn't be the first time for a reverse "pump and dump."

The stock is probably grossly overvalued, but so was Google's and Microsoft when it was first IPOed. But, in the long run, it might make sense for large insider share holders (who have to hold onto their stick for a year after a company goes public) to drive down share prices, and have surrogates scoop up shares at a great discount. We'll see where it is in a year.

[unblock]

2. do you really think he'll get better press if he spends more money while investors lose money?

[KurtNYC]

4. yes. he needs to signal some confidence for the long haul

but my point is Zuck is not capable of manipulating the media very well. Doing this stuff and thinking it wouldn't come out or be a factor just shows that either he doesn't get it, or he doesn't care. And the timing is terrible. It is like the end of a fairytale..."he sold his stock, married the princess and lived Happy Meal ever after."

He needs to hire a powerhouse like Shandwick and listen to their advice. The FaceBook brand is him -- just like Apple was Steve Jobs, etc.

He could have gone to Rome and dressed slightly differently (let a local dress you or go to Porta Portese and buy local clothes) but he dressed the way you would dress an actor who was portraying Zuck. Trademark shirt, etc. Why didn't he think that people would recognize him? and Twitter his location ? and the waiters recognized him and even asked to confirm. And the manager asked if "everything was okay?" after he did not tip.

[snooper2]

5. Since when do you tip at McDonalds?

Is there an article or something?

Did you buy the stock at the wrong time

[KurtNYC]

6. Two other restaurants that were sit down

At one the manager came over and asked, after the no tip, "Was everything okay?" and he still declined.

There is a tip on the check in Rome; it's included but he is billionaire and in the spotlight so people are going to talk. That's all I am saying. There was a way to play this honeymoon, a couple. They could have had a truly secluded honeymoon but they went to Rome and it broke on Twitter. So then the spotlight is on.

I'm not usually attracted to these gossipy stories but my interest is more in the business side of this. He runs a $50 billion company. The brand is HIM. PR counts.

Links to 2 stories with pics are down thread.

I don't own the stock but would be shorting it now if I was trading. Don't own any stocks -- "sell in May and go away."

[unblock]

18. i'm not saying he couldn't use some good p.r., but good p.r. advice would include NOT overtipping.

normal, maybe slightly generous tip, sure; but nothing that would attract a headline or appear remotely ostentatious.

[KurtNYC]

19. Maybe the tip thing is a no win. If he tips he may look like a rube. If he doesn't then he gets

the coverage that this got.

Ideally the honeymoon should be a feel good story: guy and girl finally get married and take a well earned break after 8 years of building a great company. Then you fit stuff like the McDonald's meal in -- 'see he isn't changed by the money: Mark is still Mark'

If this IPO was supposed to go up after it opened then this honeymoon would be just part of the good feeling (and that's what FaceBook delivers to its users). Krispy Kreme went that way -- it was 'we're all going to get rich together now, eating donuts' but this post-IPO FaceBook feels very different.

[unblock]

20. exactly -- and therein lies the rub -- the best p.r. for a ceo is a rising stock price.

one of the truisms of p.r. is that it's much, much more needed when things go wrong.

[KurtNYC]

3. Paging Jon Stewart....

Zuck takes wife to $40 lunch in Rome's Jewish Ghetto, no tip:

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/technology-news/zuckerberg-takes-his-new-wife-for-40-lunch--but-fails-to-tip-20120530-1zhx7.html

When in Rome...go to McDonald's:

https://twitter.com/JoeyBoots/status/207471661874819072/photo/1

and the irony of the Rome debacle -- a phone camera shot was uploaded to Twitter and went viral immediately.

[mainer]

7. Sheesh, leave them alone. I eat in McDonald's too sometimes

and I never tip. These people are on their honeymoon. They don't the public anything.

[high density]

8. It was/is a bunch of hype pumped up by the likes of CNBC and CNN

The valuation was a joke but they fooled enough people to get the money away.

[Johonny]

9. If you are investing in facebook based on the Honeymoon McDonald's visit

you probably aren't a very serious investor. I imagine most investors are more interested in the several rumors floating around as to what assets the company is thinking of buying.

[KurtNYC]

13. the Facebook brand is Mark Zuckerberg

HE is supposed to understand how social media works. Personally I could give a hang if the guy wants to eat at McDonald's on his honeymoon in the Eternal City of Seven Hills, the cradle of Western Civilization where the formula of bread and circuses was perfected, Christianity was re-invented and the Spanish empire reached its peak. But he is supposedly now the head of one of the largest advertising businesses in the world so perhaps he could show a little more image savy.

And they have lost 53 Instagrams worth of valuation in 11 days so if they plan to buy anything they better do it soon because they only have 150 Instagrams left.

[sudopod]

16. So, how do 'serious investors' justify a PE ratio of around 100? nt

[Lars39]

10. The McDonald's in Rome is pretty nice from what I hear.

[bbinacan]

11. Not customary

To tip in Italy as it is in the US.

[Ron Obvious]

12. Exactly right

And don't let any waiter tell you otherwise. Also, make sure you get a receipt from them, or else they're trying to fiddle their taxes. It's possible an inspector may ask you for a receipt when you leave, although I've neither had that happen to me nor heard of it happen to anyone else.

If any waiter insists on a tip, tell them: "Here's a tip for you: don't assume all foreigners are idiots!"

[KurtNYC]

15. Yes but the difference is: This the world's newly coined billionaire on his honeymoon

The regular guy rules don't apply. If they are going to go someplace as high profile as Rome then they should expect attention. He runs a media company so he should know how media works.

A billionaire on his honeymoon in Rome eating at McDonald's is going to be a story.

They could have done the whole thing differently: either do the honeymoon low profile OR do your own FaceBook status updates. Make FaceBook the place to get news about the honeymoon and take control of the narrative. (Right now the coverage is breaking on Twitter. )

There is a saying in media: 'The press is like a tiger that comes to your door every day during a big story and the day you don't have any more to feed it, it eats you.'

[flvegan]

14. It's like visiting New York and going to Olive Garden for Italian.

Oh...wait. Nevermind.

[Ken Burch]

17. It's like visiting ANYWHERE and going to Olive Garden for Italian

or Panda Express for Chinese...or Taco Bell for-well, whatever the hell it is they serve there.

[trumad]

21. Uhhh---

I don't get it... if the guy was rubbing it in---he'd eat at a 5-star restaurant.

[KurtNYC]

22. If he did this as a photo op because the stock dropped then he is

phonier than Mitt Romney.

If he didn't think that social media would spot him in Rome then he doesn't understand the business he is in (and perhaps he NEVER looks at Twitter).

Part of my fascination is: the guy who built FaceBook craves secrecy and privacy for himself (?) and seeks it in the most touristy places in Rome (?)