Facebook stock experiences a volatile first day on the market

Facebook stock opened as high as expected this morning as the company made its public debut, however it did not stay that way for long.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook made modest initial gains, before quickly falling below its original IPO asking price.

Perhaps the Facebook stock price was helped this morning by an appearance by Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg had the honor of ringing the opening bell from Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.

According to Forbes.com, Facebook stock did not begin selling until 30 minutes past its initial public time of 11am. Apparently traders were having difficultly changing or updating orders.

More than 200 million shares traded within the first hour.

More from GlobalPost: Facebook IPO expected to increase by 25 percent

While Facebook may be experiencing a sloppy first day on Wall Street, USA Today noted the demand is still there. "Facebook did raise $16 billion in the IPO," said USA Today, "and the share price and the number of shares being offered for sale was increased this week because of strong investor demand."

The Wall Street Journal also has faith in the social media giant calling Facebook a cultural touchstone that has redefined the way the world shares everything from photos, to their deep thoughts.

In order to make solid gains in the market, Zuckerberg and Facebook will have to prove viability in their product. With over 900 million members, there really isn't much more room for growth of users.

Facebook currently makes the majority of its money from advertising. It also takes a cut from the money people spend on virtual items for games like "Farmville."

However, if Facebook can prove they can somehow monetize their users through data mining or some other means, odds are the stock will continue to grow. If they can't, perhaps Facebook will go the way of Groupon.

More from GlobalPost.com: Facebook raises $16 billion in IPO, valued at $104 billion