Should you buy Facebook shares?

Most of you will be familiar with the crucial concept of appraising business investments. This means taking a cold, hard look at a business proposal (in this case buying Facebook shares) and seeing what kind of return you are likely to get on that investment. With Facebook shares only days away from public sale, analysts are busy trying to piece together the information that’s necessary to advise people one way or another. This seems like a great opportunity to get you thinking. What do you need to know before deciding whether to invest? Here are a few links to get you started…

Firstly, get a notepad ready and jot down some ideas by following this Guardian animation - How Facebook became the world’s biggest social network. The BBC have a video in which the boss of advertising firm WPP assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the platform for advertisers.

Some of the other coverage is pretty downbeat: Facebook IPO: analysts warn investors away as more shares hit the market and the more straightforward Five reasons not to buy Facebook shares.

I think some these voices of caution might be justified. Do you?