May 14th, 2012 Ever wished that you could have owned a stake in Facebook? Dear subscriber With the markets having a bit of a down day I wondered how Facebook's IPO is going to develop the next few days. For those who haven't heard, social media network Facebook is about to go public with a valuation of roughly $100 billion. Unfortunately, only a few dozen insiders are likely to make an absolute ‘killer' return. Many people are saying that facebook's valuation is rather lofty given that growth has been slowing and how many more billions of people can they sign up? Also internet IPOs are not sure fire winners. We all remember the dotcom ‘boom & bust’, over ten years ago, don’t we? Is there an alternative to Facebook? As you well know, Facebook is the largest and most popular social network on the internet, right now. But did you get in owning free shares of Facebook when it was first launched? I didn’t. If you missed out, there is now an alternative . . . “Zurker”. I like the name! Some pundits are already seeing Zurker rivalling Facebook . . . well, perhaps, at some stage. Who knows? Right now Zurker is still very small (especially in comparison to Facebook) – we are talking about several 100.000s of members as we speak globally, so you are unlikely to find (m)any of your friends or family on Zurker. However membership is growing fast. Also, if you want to enjoy some of the control and positives of sharing ownership of your own social media platform then I think it is sure worth trying it and asking some of your friends and family to join you. Why? Zurker has been set up on the principles of shared ownership, democracy and openness. It could 'challenge' Facebook’s domination of the social media world . . . well, one day perhaps. And when that happens wouldn’t you wish that you could have owned a stake in it at its start? At the moment Zurker’s membership, and free ‘Vshares’, is by invitation only. So here’s your invite. By the way 'Vshares' stands for virtual shares. Currently, Zurker is quietly being built behind the scenes, and in doing so, those who are helping to build it by inviting others to join for free, Zurker is giving away two free Vshares in the company for every member you refer who joins up for free within 24 hours of you signing up. Also for the ‘social media’ capitalists out there with some spare cash you can also purchase additional shares for about £1 per share, up to a maximum of £500 in Vshares. I don’t know of any social network that let members be owners in the company, at its start. Just imagine, you could own a ten bagger in just a few years from now, if that, – especially if the free shares you earn are then worth £10 or more per share. Will you make any money? If Zurker grows large enough the Vshares will eventually be converted into real shares. Zurker is still privately held. So you aren't becoming a “millionaire” overnight, but there is a possibility. I am not making any predictions here, but at the same time, when you can join for free, and earn shares just for referring others – you aren’t risking a penny, only a bit of time. So, you have nothing to lose, but everything to gain by inviting others to enjoy all the features and benefits Zurker currently offers, and those that will come in the future. Including, potentially, a big pay-off just like the Facebook early stage investors. Till next time Steven Dotsch Managing editor EMAR Publishers Dividend Income Investor.com Twitter.com @Investoretire Know someone who'd like to receive Dividend Alerts themselves? Simply forward this link to anyone you think could benefit from our publication: https://www.early-retirement-investor.com/dividend-alerts.html Reclaim dividend withholding tax ISA and SIPP investors with foreign stocks and shares are exempt from UK tax but not from foreign dividend withholding tax. 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