YouWho? Chinese online video companies merge

Orlando, FL 3/12/12 (StreetBeat) -- Two Chinese online video companies agreed to merge Monday in an all-stock deal that will create a major new player in the rapidly growing market.

Under the terms of the deal, Tudou Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq: TUDO) shareholders will receive 7.2 Class A shares for each Tudou share. Investors who own U.S.-listed shares of Tudou will be offered 1.6 shares of Youku Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), according to a joint statement.

The combined company will be called Youku Tudou Inc., which Youku CEO Victor Koo says will become "one of the largest Internet properties in China."

Tudou's American Depository Shares, which trade on the Nasdaq, surged 156% in early trading. Youku's U.S. shares jumped 24% on the New York Stock Exchange.

The YouTube of China is more than just cat videos

Often referred to as the YouTube of China, Youku is China's leading Internet television company. Tudou was founded in 2005 as the first user-generated content video sharing website in China.

The news also boosted shares of other Chinese Internet companies.

Shares of Renren (NYSE: RENN), a social networking site known as the Facebook of China, rose 8% in early trading.

SINA Corp., (Nasdaq: SINA) the parent company of Weibo -- China's version of Twitter -- also gained. Shares were up 4%.

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Social Networking Stocks Continue Run with Facebook Frenzy; FFN, GRPN, LNKD, RENN

Northern, WI 2/3/12 (StreetBeat) - www.InvestorIdeas.com, a global investor research portal, specializing in sector research including tech stocks issues an investor alert for social networking stocks for the morning of February 3rd as the Facebook IPO frenzy continues to drive the sector. Tech stocks were strong in yesterday’s session, with significant gains in the Social Media/Networking stocks.

Facebook’s pending $5 Billion IPO has investors buying into the sector ahead of its market debut expected in May. Most retail investors know the chance of participating in the IPO are slim and none so they are entering the game with some of the other well known players in the space.

Social Networking stocks Snapshot Trading February 3rd

FriendFinder Networks Inc. (NasdaqGM: FFN ) is becoming a best friend to investors this week, trading up again this morning, at 1.3950, up 0.0650(4.89%) 9:54AM EST with a high of $1.47

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is trading up at $23.79, up 0.71(3.07%)

Linkedin Corporation (NYSE:LNKD) is moving up, trading at $79.93, up 2.95(3.83%)

Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN ) is gaining in morning trading, at $5.66, up 0.24(4.43%) 9:58AM EST

SINA Corporation (NASDAQ:SINA) is trading at$76.26, up 0.96(1.27%)

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is running, trading at$13.24, up 0.85(6.90%)

Read the entire S1IPO filing for Facebook: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000119312512034517/d287954ds1.htm

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Is Social Media Really an Asset Class?

Swan Lake, MS 11/22/2011 (StreetBeat) – It's amazing how quickly Wall Street can throw together an exchange-traded fund. Last week, Global X launched the Social Media Index (SOCL) ETF, which began trading Tuesday, although on very low volume.

That this ETF is coming from a company with "global" in its name is fitting: After all, the index would be sparse if it only comprised U.S.-based social media companies. Only a handful of such operators have gone public over the past year, such as Groupon (GRPN), Pandora (P) and LinkedIn(LNKD).

But more than one-third of the ETF's portfolio includes Chinese-based operators. Some include Tencent Holdings and Sina(SINA).

While social media is a global phenomenon, the Chinese market has seen several IPO disasters, such as Renren(RENN). A big reason has been intense competition, but there also have been questions about accounting.

As other top social media companies come public -- like Twitter, Zynga and Facebook -- Global X will likely include them in the index. But this will be done after the IPO. In other words, investors of the ETF won't get the first-day "pop."

There seems to be little doubt that social media will continue to grow. But is it really an asset class? Probably not. Besides, as seen with implosions of companies like MySpace, the risks are certainly great.

Social media should be a small part of a person's portfolio as an opportunity to juice things up -- but it should be done with lots of caution.

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Social Media ETFs Off to Slow Start

Swan Lake, MS 11/17/2011 (StreetBeat) – This week, Global X, a boutique fund provider, unveiled the first ever ETF designed to provide investors with dedicated exposure to the burgeoning social media industry. While the firm may be hoping for Facebook-like success with this new launch, it is likely going to take some time before the fund becomes anything to tweet home about.

In the same way that many ETF sponsors looking for new ways to target the bond market have opted to launch foreign debt-backed products, niche corners of the technology sector have become a popular theme among those looking to construct equity-tracking ETFs.

First Trust has been leading the push. The brand new Global X Social Media ETF (SOCL) follows the introductions of products such as First Trust NASDAQ CEA Smartphone Index Fund (FONE) and the First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index Fund (SKYY).

So far, the performance of these ETF newcomers has been mixed. While SKYY has managed to gather some respectable interest, the same cannot be said for the smartphone ETF. Despite being available since mid-February, the fund's average daily trading volume has remained weak, failing to surpass the 2000 level. During late Wednesday trading, SOCL's volume stood at over 21,000. However, it will likely take longer to determine where this fund eventually falls on this range.

As I've explained in the past, I see potential in the social media realm. Ultimately, however, I would encourage conservative investors to avoid the lure of SOCL at this time.

Aside from the uncertainty surrounding the fund's ability to gather and sustain interest, in looking at SOCL's breakdown, it is likely that those that have not been closely following the proliferation of social media around the globe may be left scratching their heads here.

Domestic investors may be familiar and well-versed with the services provided by household names like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (LNKD), Google +, and Groupon (GRPN).

Unfortunately, the largest percentage of the fund's index is comprised of firms outside the U.S. Investors will have to understand how individuals from around the globe utilize social media in order to fully understand SOCL.

China, in particular, will be of utmost importance. According to the fund's fact sheet, names including Tencent Holdings, Sina (SINA) and Netease (NTES) are three of the fund's top 10 positions, each accounting for a 10% slice of its assets. In total, Chinese firms account for close to 40% of its index.

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