After an initial price of $45, popular social media site LinkedIn closed trading yesterday at $94.25, placing its worth at $8.9 billion and placing it in the top 500 biggest companies in the USA. LinkedIn has also become the first social networking company to sell stock on the public market, setting the precedence for other social networking companies to do the same.</p> <p>However, experts are concerned; according to them, the exuberance surrounding social media as a whole is knocking the company?s offering out of perspective.</p> <p>"It really is the sign of an irrational exuberance associated with anything that has social in it," said Forrester Research Senior VP and social media analyst Josh Bernoff. "What you're seeing here is enthusiasm that goes way beyond what the prospects are for the company itself."</p> <p>The day?s events are reminiscent of the 1990s, when it was common to see new internet companies hit stock prices that seemed far out of proportion. Consider Yahoo!, who in 1996 rose 154 per cent on its first day in trading and VA Software Corporation, whose first day stock offering went up 700 per cent in 1999.</p> <p>Could this be the start of a new technology bubble as some analysts fear? Matt Brischetto, Pacific Crest Securities VP for internet and digital media investment banking does not think so.</p> <p>"The difference in this from 2000 and 2001 is that these are real companies that are making money," Brischetto said. He also says the performance may not last, "IPOs over the past year or two generally perform very well on the first day, but you have to wait a few weeks or even a quarter in order to really see where the fair market value is.?<br />