????本周一，F(xiàn)acebook以10億美元的價格收購照片分享應(yīng)用Instagram一舉為社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)界開創(chuàng)了先河。由于即將上市，F(xiàn)acebook目標(biāo)遠(yuǎn)大，錢袋鼓鼓，因此它的收購之旅可能不會就此罷手。那么私密社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)Path是否值得考慮？畢竟這家小型社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)公司的創(chuàng)辦者是Facebook的前高管。

????Facebook首席執(zhí)行官馬克?扎克伯格想讓大家看到的是，通過收購來實現(xiàn)增長不是Facebook的路數(shù)。他在自己的Facebook記事本上寫道：“如果還要收購，我們也并不打算再大買特買。”不過其實Facebook對收購并不陌生。在公司的發(fā)展史上，它已收購過幾家公司，包括文件托管服務(wù)公司drop.io和位于阿姆斯特丹的軟件設(shè)計公司Sofa——這是Facebook收購Instagram之前的最近一樁收購。這些交易多數(shù)都是所謂的“人才并購”（acq-hires），也就是收購的動力既來自對產(chǎn)品的垂涎，也有對人才的垂青。

????不過扎克伯格的這番表態(tài)并不意味著Facebook不會繼續(xù)展開幾次高調(diào)的收購。位于愛爾蘭的博彩網(wǎng)站Paddy Power已經(jīng)開出了賭盤，項目是Facebook的下一個收購目標(biāo)是誰（簽到服務(wù)公司FourSquare是最受青睞的對象，賠率是4比1）。但是，硅谷著名預(yù)言家、金融分析公司Discern Analytics預(yù)測部門負(fù)責(zé)人保羅?薩弗卻表示，那些規(guī)模稍大的公司，比如主打照片分享的網(wǎng)站Pinterest“可能會打心眼里覺得，它們（憑自己的力量已經(jīng)實現(xiàn)了增長），自己才是Facebook垂青的對象”。而市場研究公司Second Shares中專攻社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)公司的金融分析師盧?肯納則表示，如果Facebook打算加強視頻領(lǐng)域的特色功能，其他候選對象可能包括了視頻服務(wù)公司Tout或Machinima。

????而與此同時，假設(shè)Facebook與Path聯(lián)手，那就意味著Path的首席執(zhí)行官戴夫?莫林將和自己的前老板再次聚首。2010年離開Facebook創(chuàng)辦自己的企業(yè)之前，莫林一直主導(dǎo)Facebook的大型項目開發(fā)。他在Facebook時的主要任務(wù)是不斷擴大Facebook的疆土——因此他率領(lǐng)開發(fā)了Facebook Connect和Facebook Platform這樣的應(yīng)用，它們?yōu)楦嘤脩艉蛻?yīng)用開發(fā)者打開了閘門。而在Path，他的目標(biāo)則是讓人際互動更親密，因此將用戶的好友數(shù)限制在150名。Path公司沒有立即回應(yīng)采訪要求。

????Path在很短的時間里實現(xiàn)了穩(wěn)步增長。這款應(yīng)用的最新動態(tài)包括，與耐克公司（Nike）的產(chǎn)品實現(xiàn)整合，幫助監(jiān)測鍛煉的各種數(shù)據(jù)并與朋友分享。Path公司宣稱，這一整合運用擁有200萬位客戶，并稱他們中70%的人每周都會繼續(xù)使用。業(yè)內(nèi)人士向“商業(yè)內(nèi)幕”網(wǎng)站（BusinessInsider）透露，扎克伯格和他的團隊對Path“深感恐懼”。這種說法真假難辨，但是，和Instagram一樣，Path擁有很多Facebook的特性，但它一開始就是為移動設(shè)備開發(fā)的，而不是在移動大潮蔚然成風(fēng)后再努力適應(yīng)。

????Facebook's acquisition of photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion on Monday set a new precedent for the social network. With lofty goals and gobs of cash in the wings thanks to its impending initial public offering, Facebook may not be done shopping. What about Path, the small-scale social network started by one of Facebook's own?

????CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave the impression that growth by acquisition would not be the company's modus operandi, writing on his Facebook timeline, "We don't plan on doing many more of these, if any at all." But the company is no stranger to buyouts, having acquired several properties in its history already, including file hosting service drop.io and Amsterdam-based software design company Sofa -- one of Facebook's latest acquisitions before yesterday. Many of these deals have been so-called acq-hires, motivated as much by the personnel as the products involved.

????That doesn't mean there aren't a few more high-profile deals ahead. Ireland-based gambling website Paddy Power is already taking bets on Facebook's next buyout. (Check-in service Foursquare is the favorite at 4 to 1.) But Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley futurist and managing director of foresight for Discern Analytics, says those slightly bigger companies, like the runway hit photo-sharing site Pinterest, "might be too attached to the idea that they've got a shot [at growing on their own]." Other options might be video services Tout or Machinima, if Facebook wanted to bolster its features in that category, says Lou Kerner, a financial analyst focusing on social web companies at Second Shares.

????A hypothetical tie-up with Path, meanwhile, would be a reunion for CEO Dave Morin and his former employer. Morin led major projects at Facebook until he left in 2010 to launch his own startup. While Morin worked at Facebook to expand its reach -- heading such developments as Facebook Connect and Facebook Platform, which opened the floodgates to more users and app developers -- his goal at Path has been to make interaction more intimate, restricting users to 150 friends. Path did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

????Path has grown steadily in a short period. The app's latest update includes integration with Nike+ (NKE) products, which help monitor and share workout information with friends. The company says it has 2 million users and claims 70% of them return every week. Sources have told BusinessInsider that Zuckerberg and his team are "afraid" of Path. That may or may not be true, but like Instagram, Path shares many of Facebook's features but was developed for mobile devices, rather than adapted to them after the fact.