With well over 200 million members globally, Facebook is now the number one social networking site worldwide. What began as a sensation on college campuses has now become a place where individuals can keep their family and friends updated about their personal lives online. This is because, unlike the MySpace environment, Facebook members for the most part share their actual information online with their family and trusted friends. One could even venture to say that this might be the reason for its rapid growth and success.When invited by a friend or family member to join the site, the user quickly learns that the information being given is genuine. This provides the incentive for the user to do the same and post their very own factual data. Not only does the individual have the ability to connect with family and friends, but Facebook also allows the user to join other networks to meet and converse with others who share like interests.
Despite the fact that for many people the primary concern regarding putting their personal information online is security, the steps that Facebook has taken to ensure the privacy of each individual user helps to put their minds at ease. A user is able to set, through the various options on the privacy page, just how much of their information can be seen and by whom. Everything from a daily posting to individual pictures can be set separately by taking a few minutes to read the instructions on the privacy page.
An outstanding highlight of the Facebook program is the ease of with which a user is able to find old friends online. It is thrilling to be able to find someone you have lost contact with over the years and be able to catch up with their personal life as though you were never separated. So while MySpace and other social networks may continue to have a large membership base, the beauty of Facebook is its “real-world” effect.
Although those of college-age continue to account for the largest user group, there has been an upswing in all demographics over the past few years. This was never more evident as when the site was expanded in 2007, and nearly two-thirds of the city of Toronto, Canada joined in a very short span of time. Facebook further enhanced it appeal to other countries by developing the network in more than 40 languages from around the world.
And, finally, a feature that is becoming more widespread on Facebook is that of a growing environment for social network advertising. The sheer number of members alone gives any company or individual merchant a greater chance at gaining financial wealth by advertising its products on Facebook to take advantage of its large global user base. So, whether you are looking to keep up with family, friends, or wish to market a product to a large group, the Facebook social network can be a very worthwhile community to be a part of.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Facebook usage has been dropping over the last year or so, and despite its popularity it doesn’t have a valid business model.
Unless some other company buys it, or they get more investors, expect this one to fail! (Along with Twitter!).
July 11th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I agree with you Chinaren that Twitter does not have a good business model at the time. You can only exist for so long on venture capital they need to learn to generate revenue somewhere.
With Facebook they do have methods of generating revenue. If i had to pick which one of those two would last longer I would say it would be Facebook as things stand right now.