2012 endings: What we won't miss at all

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"Jersey Shore" the TV show"Legitimate rape"Facebook's IPOOlympic silver medalist McKayla Maroney's sore-loser scowl memeMayan calendar babbleRick Perry's hair"John Carter" the movieThe Costa Concordia's captainCher and Donald Trump's Twitter warThe Romney-Ryan face tattoo

Stupendous! Colossal! P.T. Barnum could not have delivered a bigger buildup than the one the Wall Street sachems wound up for the public -- stock that was sure to rival Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, shares so desirable they were fabled to be beyond the reach of the ordinary Joe, and therefore all the more coveted. It wasn't quite a bust, but Facebook's launch into the world of the publicly traded didn't live up to its billing, partly because of -- oh irony -- a NASDAQ computer glitch, and because of messy miscues that left it $3.82 below its opening-bell value. Don't cry for Mark Zuckerberg; he can still corner the world's sweatshirt market any old time.<br><br>

Above: A Facebook User Operations Safety Team worker looks at reviews at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.<br><br>

<strong>ALSO:</strong> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-social-media-hits-and-misses-in-2012-20121219,0,371853.photogallery">Social media hits and misses in 2012</a>

Facebook's IPO

( Paul Sakuma / Associated Press )

Stupendous! Colossal! P.T. Barnum could not have delivered a bigger buildup than the one the Wall Street sachems wound up for the public -- stock that was sure to rival Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, shares so desirable they were fabled to be beyond the reach of the ordinary Joe, and therefore all the more coveted. It wasn't quite a bust, but Facebook's launch into the world of the publicly traded didn't live up to its billing, partly because of -- oh irony -- a NASDAQ computer glitch, and because of messy miscues that left it $3.82 below its opening-bell value. Don't cry for Mark Zuckerberg; he can still corner the world's sweatshirt market any old time.

Above: A Facebook User Operations Safety Team worker looks at reviews at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.

ALSO: Social media hits and misses in 2012

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