Facebook halts orders before $100bn flotation

Demand for the social network stock has been so strong the company increased the number of shares for sale by 25%, and pushed the price up from $28-$35 (€22-€28) to $34-$38 (€27-€30) per share, pricing the company at between $93bn and $104bn (€73bn to €82bn).

The Nasdaq exchange in New York that will list the Facebook stock has reportedly been running tests on its systems for several days to prepare for the anticipated frenzy.

But as Facebook's fans prepare to try to fight for a share in the company, its critics are already questioning its $100bn price tag.

General Motors has just pulled its $10m (€8m) advertising contract, claiming Facebook's ads had little impact on consumers' decisions to buy cars.

Facebook undoubtedly has extraordinary reach, with more than 900 million users worldwide, transcending race, religious and national boundaries. The challenge now will be turning what is essentially a social network, into a profitable, commercial one.

Critics say that it is hard to see how the company can be worth $100bn as advertisers are not getting a good enough return for the money they are spending and that the adverts themselves are unsophisticated and not as invasive as advertisers require.

However social media evangelists insist Facebook's advertising does work, if in a more subtle, sophististicated way.

Facebook's marketing company Wildfire in Silicon Valley say that Facebook has the ability to turn friend recommendations into advertising content.

Facebook's mission, according to its soon to be multi-billionaire founder, Mark Zuckerberg, is to "make the world more open and connected".

In the company's glossy corporate roadshow video, the 28-year-old says: "We think that people's lives are going to be better and really that the whole world will function better, when there's more information out there about both the big things in the world and the local things - what's going on with your friends and the people around you."

There is little doubt Facebook's flotation on Friday will be huge. The question now is whether that translates into revenue and results for its shareholders in the long term.