Andreessen Joins Facebook Board; Business Model Still M.I.A.

Sam Gustin thinks Facebook's decision to add Marc Andreessen to its board is great and all, but he still wants to know how the company plans to, you know, make money.

Late Monday, Facebook said that Andreessen, one of the original "Golden Geeks" of tech, will join its board of directors, becoming the latest Silicon Valley veteran to climb aboard the long-on-hype, short-on-business-model social networking company.

Interestingly, nowhere in the press release announcing Andreessen's appointment do the words "revenue," "earnings," or "business model," appear. Instead, there are vague references to "scaling," "platforms," and "innovative."

And not surprisingly, there is also no mention of what appears to be a rather bald conflict of interest, given the fact that Andreessen runs Ning, a rival social networking website, as my colleague Kevin Maney points out.

The decision to bring Andreessen into the Facebook fold, which was first reported by Kara Swisher last month, represents another herky-jerky step in Facebook's growing pains as it tries to make the jump from "flavor of the month" website to profitable business.

In recent months, several members of founder Mark Zuckerberg's original twenty-something crew have departed, while experienced Silicon Valley hands have joined up, including former Google executives Sheryl Sandberg and Elliot Schrage.

Although Andreessen, a marquee Valley figure, adds a welcome dollop of credibility to the company, it's unclear how -- if at all -- the appointment moves Facebook closer to its most pressing goal: developing a sustainable business model.

There have been indications that Facebook's own executives and investors value the company at far less than the $15 billion valuation implied by Microsoft's purchase of a 1.6 percent stake for $240 million last fall.

At a minimum, Andreessen, who is said to be a mentor to Zuckerberg, may be able to help prevent missteps such as last year's Beacon social advertising debacle.

Andreessen joins current Facebook board members Jim Breyer of Accel Partners and Peter Thiel of Clarium Capital, in addition to Zuckerberg, who controls the remaining open board seat.

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