Facebook goes public

A discussion about the future of the Internet giant — Live on the web

WHAT: Florida International University is hosting a panel discussion for journalists covering Facebook’s upcoming initial public offering (IPO) and its implications. FIU experts from a wide array of fields, including business, law, engineering and communication, will discuss what to expect in the coming months and what reporters should look out for as the world’s largest social media site goes public.

The discussion will be streamed live on Facebook and Ustream, where viewers are encouraged to post questions and comments.

After brief remarks from panelists, The Miami Herald Business Editor Jane Wooldridge will moderate a discussion about the future of a publicly-held Facebook and its impact on Wall Street, user privacy, software development, and social media networking and communications, among others.

The discussion is free and open to all journalists. To RSVP, please click here.

WHEN AND WHERE: The panel will take place Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 10 a.m. at the College of Business Complex room 152 on FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus, 11200 SW 8 Street in Southwest Miami-Dade County. A light breakfast will precede the event.

For those unable to attend in person, please click here on the day of the event to tune in. For those who would rather watch it on Ustream, please click here. Viewers can also use #FIUfb on Twitter to interact live with the panel.

WHO: In more than 25 years as a newspaper journalist, Jane Wooldridge has written about and/or edited coverage of business, news, community, travel and lifestyle. She has worked at The Miami Herald, The New York Times, The (Raleigh) News & Observer and The Virginian Pilot. Wooldridge will moderate a panel that includes:

• Bogdan Carbunar, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering and Computing Science, comes to FIU after six years developing software for Motorola and is an expert on social network security and privacy. Among his topics, he will speak on Facebook’s ability to collect personal information from its users.
• Rosanna Fiske, an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is the Immediate Past Chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America. An expert in strategic communications, Fiske can speak on how social media and communications through social networking are a big part of any business’s growth and how companies’ external communications and outreach change once they become publicly-held.
• Raul Reis, dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at FIU, is a veteran journalist and academician, having worked as a newspaper, TV and magazine reporter and editor at several Brazilian and US news organizations. He will speak on the ethical issues surrounding Facebook.
• Helen Simon, director of the State Farm Financial Literacy Lab and senior instructor in the College of Business Administration, is president of Personal Business Management Services, LLC, an investment advisory firm in Fort Lauderdale and has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. She will speak on the next steps for Facebook, and what pitfalls the public should watch for before investing.
• Hannibal Travis, an associate professor in the College of Law, focuses on intellectual property implications of new technologies and user-generated content, as well as antitrust law as applied to broadband and Wi-Fi Internet access markets. He can address intellectual property and individual privacy issues, from a legal standpoint, as Facebook undergoes heightened regulatory scrutiny and challenges from older social media companies.
• UPDATED PANELIST: Dr. Patrick O’Leary will address Facebook’s latest addition of an organ donation feature. Dr. O’Leary is the Executive Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at FIU’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.  An authority in the field of surgical gastroenterology, Dr. O’Leary came to FIU from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, where he had been the Isidore Cohn Jr., M.D., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at LSU Medical Center.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For questions, please email FIU Office of Media Relations Assistant Director Jean-Paul Renaud at jprenaud@fiu.edu or call 305-348-2716.