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Where is Peter Thiel?

Peter Thiel has a responsibility to explain his Facebook sales.

FORTUNE -- Last month I watched Peter Thiel publicly debate Google's (GOOG) Eric Schmidt like an abused pit bull debates a labradoodle. This came on the heels of a much talked-about 60 Minutes appearance, in which Thiel expounded on his libertarian values and why many college diplomas aren't worth the paper they're printed on. In short, he's a guy with lots of MORE

It's our job: Lockups and insider selling

Venture capital isn't about holding public stocks like Facebook.

By Fred Wilson, contributor

There is a lot of sturm und drang out there in the worlds of social media, financial media and just plain media about all the lockups coming off and all the insider selling going on in some big Internet stocks. As someone who has played this game a few times, I thought I'd post some thoughts about this.

First and MORE

Ann Winblad: Too many VCs on Facebook board

Should Zuckerberg make a change?

FORTUNE -- Veteran venture capitalist Ann Winblad appeared on CNBC this afternoon, to comment on Peter Thiel's decision to sell approximately 20.1 million shares of Facebook (FB) stock last week.

Her two main points were:

1. There was nothing wrong with Thiel selling his shares, since the job of a venture capitalist is to generate returns.
2. Facebook should soon consider replacing Thiel as a board member. Not because MORE

One reason to flood the Facebook market

Selling shares before the tax rates rise.

FORTUNE -- Accel Partners yesterday distributed approximately 50 million shares of Facebook (FB) stock, following the expiration of a 90-day lockup. We don't yet know how many of those shares made it to market, but we do know that many limited partners in venture capital funds are effectively required to liquidate upon receipt.

My first thought was to criticize Accel for such a massive distribution. MORE

The Facebook distribution dilemma

Facebook is unlocked. So who held, and who sold?

FORTUNE -- Approximately 271 million shares of Facebook (FB) stock were "unlocked" yesterday, under a provision that had prevented certain investors from selling shares until 90 days after the company went public. And, as happens after most lockup expirations, Facebook took a tumble – down 6.27% to finish trading at $19.87 per share. For context, the IPO price on May 18 had MORE

As Facebook loses value, so does Instagram

Staring way up at $1 billion.

FORTUNE -- "You never know, it could be the next Instagram."

I have heard that line, or some variation thereof, from venture capitalists more than a dozen times since Facebook (FB) agreed to acquire the mobile-sharing site back in April for "$1 billion." It's supposed to mean that overpaying can sometimes pay off, and that big returns aren't always predicated on helping to build large, sustainable businesses.

But MORE

Google's WildFire deal could be worth $400 million

Google pays big to get into the social marketing biz.

FORTUNE -- Google (GOOG) yesterday announced that it had acquired social marketing company Wildfire Interactive, apparently after previously losing out on Buddy Media to Salesforce.com (CRM). A few notes, based on conversations with folks close to the situation:

1. How much? The reported sale price is $250 million, but multiple sources tell me that the total deal is valued at around $400 million MORE

Analyst: Facebook at $66 per share

Could Facebook still be a $150 billion company?

FORTUNE -- Banks that helped Facebook (FB) go public are allowed to begin publishing research on the social network later today, which likely means a slew of "buy" reports about how the company is being undervalued.

But none of them are likely to be as optimistic as a report that came down the pipe today from Arcstone Equity Research, a firm that mostly focuses MORE

About time: Facebook adds Sandberg to board

Facebook gets its first female director.

FORTUNE -- Facebook (FB) this afternoon announced that chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg will join its board of directors.

It's about time. Not just because Facebook went public with an all-male board, but also because Sandberg is widely-viewed to be the business yin to Mark Zuckerberg's vision yang.

"Sheryl has been my partner in running Facebook and has been central to our growth and success over the MORE

Facebook IPO furor reaches Capitol Hill

Congress nears knee-jerk on IPO rules.

FORTUNE -- Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) yesterday sent a letter to SEC chair Mary Shapiro, asking for answers to questions about how to improve the IPO process. Basically, he seems to have decided that Facebook (FB) exposed a systemic IPO fault-line.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Laugh because it's so dumb. Cry because this is what House leaders spend their time on.

So, instead, I just made MORE