Meet the Newest Member of YouTube’s Billion Views Club: Eminem

Muhammad Saleem is a social media consultant. Follow him on Twitter for more social media commentary.

Eminem is quickly becoming a digital force to be reckoned with. On Presidents Day, the rapper became only the third artist to reach 1 billion views on YouTube.

Last October, when Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber were racing to 1 billion views on YouTube (which Lady Gaga won by a margin of two weeks), third-place competitor Michael Jackson was hovering around 600 million views. Since then, the needle hasn’t moved much for the King of Pop, who now tallies more than 630 million views. Eminem sneaked in and beat Michael Jackson as well as other formidable contenders such as Rihanna, Shakira and Britney Spears to 1 billion views.

This accomplishment shouldn’t come as a surprise to industry watchers. Eminem, along with Nicki Minaj and Rihanna, topped Billboard’s Social 50 in 2010, a ranking of the most active artists on social media platforms. This week, he ranks No. 5. Furthermore, Eminem has more than 3 million Twitter followers and almost 29 million Facebook Fans, and was recently featured in multiple, well-received Super Bowl commercials.

2011 is already off to a good start, but 2010 was a banner year for Eminem both emotionally (he kicked his drug habit) and musically. Marking his return from a string of albums that were commercially successful but largely considered critical flubs, his latest album, Recovery, landed him yet another No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts, selling 741,000 copies in its first week in the U.S. and more than 6 million copies worldwide to date. The album earned 10 Grammy nominations and two Grammy awards.

To celebrate this milestone, let’s take a look at some of the hottest music videos from the Detroit rapper. These three singles from Recovery are not only Eminem’s most viewed, but they also share a thematic element. “Love The Way You Lie” tells the tale of domestic abuse, “Not Afraid” deals with suicidal thoughts and “No Love” discusses bullying in schools (a point that became more topical with the recent incidents of gay-bullying).

Note: Video views are based on official counts and do not include numbers from video sites other than YouTube, or from channels other than the official Eminem YouTube/Vevo channel.

View As Slideshow » 1. Love The Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna)

Topping the list is the second single off Recovery. Produced by Alex da Kid with a catchy chorus written by Skylar Grey (sung by Rihanna), the song has been a blockbuster hit. Not only did it hold the number one position on the Hot 100 charts for 7 weeks in a row, the song has sold over 9 million copies worldwide.

Official View Count: 292,198,077 views (174K Likes)

While the first single off Recovery didn't perform as well, at over 200 million views and nearly 3.5 million downloads in the U.S. alone, it was a great way to start building the hype around his latest album. The single, which makes the necessary apologies for letting the fans down in the past, holds the distinction of being only the second hip hop single ever to debut at number one, after Diddy's "I'll Be Missing You."

Official View Count: 203,290,494 views (10K Likes)

Recorded and filmed before Lil Wayne headed off to serve his prison sentence, the third single from Recovery is the third time the two rappers have collaborated and starred in a music video together. While not commercially as successful as the first two singles, "No Love" gained critical support as its release coincided with a string of bullying-related teen suicides. The message offered hope to struggling youth.

Official View Count 46,712,695 views (147K Likes)

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Would Google or Facebook Pay $10 Billion For Twitter?

We’re hearing chatter about a possible sale of Twitter, and extraordinary valuations are part of the conversation, with various executives talking about numbers upwards of $10 billion.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook and Google executives have engaged in “low-level talks” with Twitter. According to the WSJ’s “people familiar with the matter,” those discussions are estimating the value of the microblogging service “in the neighborhood of $8 billion to $10 billion.”

High, indeed, but there’s a high value placed on attention, and Twitter’s getting that: In fact, the company set an all-time record for tweets during a sporting event during the final minutes of last weekend’s Super Bowl, recording an astonishing 4064 tweets in a single second.

The overall record was set last New Year’s Eve in Japan where revelers sent a total of 6,939 tweets per second just after the clock struck midnight. Now that’s engagement.

What do you think, readers? Is Twitter actually worth somewhere between $8 billion and $10 billion? Please let us know in the comments.

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Facebook Raises $1.5 Billion At $50 Billion Valuation

Facebook has officially announced that it has just raised $1.5 billion in funding at a $50 billion valuation, according to a release issued today (we’ve embedded the release below).

As stated in the release, the investment was broken into two parts. Goldman Sachs participated in the first round (via an offering to its non-U.S. clients in a fund), which totaled $1 billion. In December, DST and Goldman separately invested another $500 million into the social network. Both rounds gave Facebook a $50 billion valuation, says the company. This brings Facebook’s total funding to a staggering $2.336 billion.

It’s interesting to note that Facebook didn’t take the full $1.5 billion from Goldman Sachs in the first part of the investment. As stated in the release:

Under the transaction’s terms, Facebook had the option to accept between $375 million and $1.5 billion from the Goldman Sachs overseas offering, at the discretion of Facebook. While the offering was oversubscribed, Facebook made a business decision to limit the offering to $1 billion.

One has to wonder if the fact that Goldman excluded U.S. investors from the round had to do with Facebook not raising the full $1.5 billion (which would push the total investment to a whopping $2 billion).

Another interesting tidbit from the release is this: Even before the investment from Goldman Sachs, Facebook had expected to pass 500 shareholders at some point in 2011, and therefore expects to start filing public financial reports no later than April 30, 2012.

Clearly, it looks like Facebook plans to IPO no later than April 2012.

So what will Facebook do with this massive amount of cash? The company says it has no set plans but vaguely stated that it will be “investing to build and expand its operations.”

The Goldman investment was first reported by New York Times’ Dealbook.

So much for that slow Friday news day.

Facebook Raises $1.5 Billion

Facebook Receives $1 Billion from Goldman Sachs Overseas Offering; Digital Sky Technologies and Goldman Sachs Also Recently Made $500 Million Direct Investment

Investment Values Facebook at $50 Billion

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Facebook today announced it has raised U.S.$1.5 billion at a valuation of approximately $50 billion.

The transaction consisted of two parts. Today, Goldman Sachs completed an oversubscribed offering to its non-U.S. clients in a fund that invested $1 billion in Facebook Class A common stock. In December, Digital Sky Technologies (DST), The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., and funds managed by Goldman Sachs invested $500 million in Facebook Class A common stock at the same valuation.

“Our business continues to perform well, and we are pleased to be able to bolster our cash position with this new financing,” said David Ebersman, Facebook’s chief financial officer. “With this investment completed, we now have greater financial flexibility to explore whatever opportunities lie ahead.”

The investment generated a significant number of questions from interested parties and Facebook has addressed the most common ones below.

Why did Facebook raise this money?

DST and Goldman Sachs approached Facebook to express their interest in making an investment, and Facebook decided it was an attractive opportunity to bolster its cash reserves and increase its financial flexibility with limited dilution to existing shareholders.

Why did Facebook choose to raise $1 billion in the overseas offering?

Under the transaction’s terms, Facebook had the option to accept between $375 million and $1.5 billion from the Goldman Sachs overseas offering, at the discretion of Facebook. While the offering was oversubscribed, Facebook made a business decision to limit the offering to $1 billion.

What are Facebook’s plans for the proceeds of this transaction?

There are no immediate plans for these funds. Facebook will continue investing to build and expand its operations.

Does this investment mean that Facebook will have more than 500 shareholders?

Even before the investment from Goldman Sachs, Facebook had expected to pass 500 shareholders at some point in 2011, and therefore expects to start filing public financial reports no later than April 30, 2012.

View the original article here

Facebook Raises $1.5 Billion At $50 Billion Valuation

Facebook has officially announced that it has just raised $1.5 billion in funding at a $50 billion valuation, according to a release issued today (we’ve embedded the release below).

As stated in the release, the investment was broken into two parts. Goldman Sachs participated in the first round (via an offering to its non-U.S. clients in a fund), which totaled $1 billion. In December, DST and Goldman separately invested another $500 million into the social network. Both rounds gave Facebook a $50 billion valuation, says the company. This brings Facebook’s total funding to a staggering $2.336 billion.

It’s interesting to note that Facebook didn’t take the full $1.5 billion from Goldman Sachs in the first part of the investment. As stated in the release:

Under the transaction’s terms, Facebook had the option to accept between $375 million and $1.5 billion from the Goldman Sachs overseas offering, at the discretion of Facebook. While the offering was oversubscribed, Facebook made a business decision to limit the offering to $1 billion.

One has to wonder if the fact that Goldman excluded U.S. investors from the round had to do with Facebook not raising the full $1.5 billion (which would push the total investment to a whopping $2 billion).

Another interesting tidbit from the release is this: Even before the investment from Goldman Sachs, Facebook had expected to pass 500 shareholders at some point in 2011, and therefore expects to start filing public financial reports no later than April 30, 2012.

Clearly, it looks like Facebook plans to IPO no later than April 2012.

So what will Facebook do with this massive amount of cash? The company says it has no set plans but vaguely stated that it will be “investing to build and expand its operations.”

The Goldman investment was first reported by New York Times’ Dealbook.

So much for that slow Friday news day.

Facebook Raises $1.5 Billion

Facebook Receives $1 Billion from Goldman Sachs Overseas Offering; Digital Sky Technologies and Goldman Sachs Also Recently Made $500 Million Direct Investment

Investment Values Facebook at $50 Billion

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Facebook today announced it has raised U.S.$1.5 billion at a valuation of approximately $50 billion.

The transaction consisted of two parts. Today, Goldman Sachs completed an oversubscribed offering to its non-U.S. clients in a fund that invested $1 billion in Facebook Class A common stock. In December, Digital Sky Technologies (DST), The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., and funds managed by Goldman Sachs invested $500 million in Facebook Class A common stock at the same valuation.

“Our business continues to perform well, and we are pleased to be able to bolster our cash position with this new financing,” said David Ebersman, Facebook’s chief financial officer. “With this investment completed, we now have greater financial flexibility to explore whatever opportunities lie ahead.”

The investment generated a significant number of questions from interested parties and Facebook has addressed the most common ones below.

Why did Facebook raise this money?

DST and Goldman Sachs approached Facebook to express their interest in making an investment, and Facebook decided it was an attractive opportunity to bolster its cash reserves and increase its financial flexibility with limited dilution to existing shareholders.

Why did Facebook choose to raise $1 billion in the overseas offering?

Under the transaction’s terms, Facebook had the option to accept between $375 million and $1.5 billion from the Goldman Sachs overseas offering, at the discretion of Facebook. While the offering was oversubscribed, Facebook made a business decision to limit the offering to $1 billion.

What are Facebook’s plans for the proceeds of this transaction?

There are no immediate plans for these funds. Facebook will continue investing to build and expand its operations.

Does this investment mean that Facebook will have more than 500 shareholders?

Even before the investment from Goldman Sachs, Facebook had expected to pass 500 shareholders at some point in 2011, and therefore expects to start filing public financial reports no later than April 30, 2012.

View the original article here

HP Beats The Street; Q4 Revenue Up 8 Percent To $33.3 Billion

HP narrowly beat analyst expectations for Q4 earnings today, posting net revenue of $33.3 billion, up $2.5 billion or 8% from a year earlier. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.33, up 17% from $1.14 in the prior-year period.  Analysts expected revenue of $32.75 billion and earnings of $1.27 a share.

For the quarter, non-GAAP operating profit was up 10% to $4.0 billion. For the 2010 fiscal year, net revenue came in at $126 billion, up 10% or $11.5 billion. The company said the yearly increase in revenue was spurred by  growth in the commercial PC Clients and Printers  segments of 20% and 22%, respectively, in the fourth quarter.

HP’s new CEO and President Léo Apotheker stated in a release: “HP proved once again that it is able to execute given its market strengths and technology leadership…I have seen firsthand that we have talented people who are focused on delivering value for our customers. Our market opportunity is vast, and I am confident that we will extend our leadership into the future.”

Enterprise Storage and Servers reported total revenue of $5.3 billion in the fourth quarter, up 25%; and Personal Systems Group (computers, devices) revenue increased 4% to $10.3 billion in the fourth quarter. The Software and Services group didn’t see much growth, with revenue rising by 1% and 0.4% respectively.

In terms of region, revenue was up 10% in the Americas to $15.1 billion. Revenue was up 6% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and up 8% in Asia Pacific to $12.4 billion and $5.8 billion, respectively. Revenue from outside of the United States in the fourth quarter accounted for 64% of total HP revenue, with revenue in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) increasing 12% while accounting for 10% of total HP revenue.

View the original article here