Facebook Initial Public Offering: How The Social Network Compared To Hot Tech IPOs Of The Past Year

At this point, there's no question -- Facebook is among the hottest IPOs ever.

With the announcement Thursday that the world's largest social network priced its common stock at $38 per share and will raise $16 billion, it instantly not only became the biggest tech IPO ever, but the third biggest IPO in history, according to the AP.

As Facebook makes its NASDAQ debut, it's a good time to look at some of the other hot -- albeit much smaller -- technology companies that have gone public recently and see how they're faring today.

Click here for complete coverage of Facebook's IPO. And while you're at it, check out "The Facebook IPO Drinking Game" (you must). Finally, for the cooler among us, here are 10 hip alternatives to Facebook that you should try out.

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• Zynga: $1 Billion

  Social gaming company Zynga raised $1 billion in its IPO in December, 2011, the biggest web-related IPO since Google, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/znga-ipo-nasdaq_n_1153518.html?ref=technology" target="_hplink">according to the Associated Press</a>. Zynga had a valuation of $7 billion before it began trading on the Nasdaq on December 16. By May 17, 2012, the social games company <a href="https://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:ZNGA" target="_hplink">was worth $6.09 billion</a>.

• RenRen: $743 Million

  RenRen, the Chinese social networking site, raised $743 million in its IPO in May 2011, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/us-renren-ipo-idUSTRE7433HI20110504" target="_hplink">according to Reuters</a>. At the end of its first day of trading, the company had a market value of $7.4 billion. As of May 17, 2012, RenRen's <a href="https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ARENN" target="_hplink">market capitalization stood at $2.43 billion</a>.

• Groupon: $700 Million

  The daily deals site <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/04/groupon-ipo-biggest-since-google_n_1075374.html" target="_hplink">raised $700 million in its IPO</a> in November 2011, valuing the company at nearly $13 billion. As of December 16, 2011, Groupon's value was $14.4 billion, and by May 17, 2012, the <a href="https://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ%3AGRPN" target="_hplink">daily deals site's market cap had dropped</a> to $7.92 billion.

• LinkedIn: $352 Million

  LinkedIn, the professional social network, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/23/linkedins-linkedin_n_865406.html" target="_hplink">raised $352 million</a> in its IPO in May 2011. According to Reuters, the company was worth $9 billon after its first day of trading on the public market. As of May 17, 2011, <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/quote/nyse/linkedin-corp/lnkd" target="_hplink">LinkedIn's value stood at</a> $10.8 billion.

• Pandora: $234 Million

  Internet radio site Pandora raised $234 million when it went public in June 2011, valuing the company at $2.56 billion, <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/06/14/pandora-ipo-prices-at-16-well-above-range/" target="_hplink">according to <em>The Wall Street Journal</em></a>. In May 17, 2012, <a href="https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AP" target="_hplink">the company had a value of</a> $1.75 billion.

• HomeAway: $216 Million

  HomeAway.com, a vacation home rental site, raised $216 million in its IPO in June 2011, <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/homeaway-ipo-raises-216-million-2011-06-29" target="_hplink">according to MarketWatch</a>. In its first day of trading, <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/29/homeaway-ipo-shares-pop-39-percent-market-cap-reaches-3-billion/" target="_hplink">reports TechCrunch</a>, the company had reached a valuation as high as $3 billion. As of May 2012, <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/quote/nasdaq/homeaway/away" target="_hplink">HomeAway had a market cap</a> of $2.1 billion

• Demand Media: $151 Million

  Demand Media, a web content company, or "content farm," <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/10/2011-ipos-are-underwater_n_976291.html" target="_hplink">raised $151 million</a> in January 2011. <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/01/26/demand-medias-14b-ipo-post-value-ranks-highly/" target="_hplink"><em>The Wall Street Journal</em> reports</a> that the company was worth a whopping $1.78 billion after its first day on the New York Stock Exchange. As of May 17, 2011, <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/quote/nyse/demand-media-inc/dmd" target="_hplink">the company's market cap</a> had fallen to $771.2 million. In the photo above, Richard Rosenblatt, Chairman and CEO of Demand Media, joins Tyra Banks at the New York Stock Exchange on March 15, 2011.

• Angie's List: $130 Million

  Angie's List, a site where members can review doctors, contractors and more, raised $130 million in its November 2011 IPO, <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2011/11/17/angies-list-ipo-performance/" target="_hplink">according to VentureBeat</a>. The AP notes that at the end of the first day of trading, the company was valued at $904 million. As of May 17, 2012, <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/quote/nasdaq/angies-list-inc/angi" target="_hplink">the site had a market cap</a> of $761.7 million.

• Yelp: $106.5 Million

  Yelp, the business review site, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/01/yelp-ipo-priced_n_1315196.html" target="_hplink">raised $106.5 million in its March 2012 IPO</a>, valuing the company at almost $900 million, according to Reuters. As of May 17, 2012, <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/quote/nyse/yelp/yelp" target="_hplink">Yelp had a market value of $1.3 billion</a>.

• Zillow: $69 Million

  <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/20/zillow-soars-200-percent-in-first-trade-with-over-1-billion-valuation/" target="_hplink">According to TechCrunch</a>, the real estate website Zillow raised about $69 million in its July 2011 IPO. The value of the company <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20110720/us-zillow-ipo/" target="_hplink">rose to as high as $1.6 billion</a> on the first day of trading but dropped to $950 million at market close. As of May 17, 2012, <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/quote/nasdaq/zillow-inc/z" target="_hplink">Zillow's market valuation</a> was $1.1 billion.

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