Facebook has baffled everyone from the very beginning, no-one quite estimating how big this social network would become. After reaching 200 million users last week, there is cause for celebration in the Facebook office.
From presidents to students, to civil servants to window cleaners, Facebook has changed the way we communicate with our friends, partners, siblings, our family and work colleagues. If Facebook were a country, it would be the fifth biggest country in the world, according to a video posted by the Facebook team.
To celebrate the milestone, Facebook has teamed up with over a dozen organisations and charities to help raise funds for their causes, including the American Red Cross, World Wildlife Fund and the Women for Women International group. By sending a gift to a friend on the social network helps raise vital funds for these charities to support and help others.
So what is the next step for Facebook?
The problem is, is that I don’t know. I cannot foresee anything for the near future that Facebook could possibly do which could make any more of a difference than it already has done. The site already allows ordinary users to make decisions as a democracy as to how any major changes should be played, and after turning five year old only a couple of months ago, have they already done all they can do?
Facebook will continue growing until either the company cannot handle the amount of users anymore or a third-party company takes away the power. As a student, I can see no more potential in Facebook than what we have already seen, experienced and felt; the good, the bad and the downright ugly.
Maybe I am starting to go soft, and worry about the influence this social network has on every day people. The fact of the matter is this; with 200 million people in an online community, sharing and living, breathing and contributing, does Facebook need its own government? Can a team of three-hundred strong employees in a privately owned company really cope with the amount of users which rely on the site for so many aspects of their lives?
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Users criticise Facebook update By Dan Freedman Newsbeat reporter
More than a million people have now voted against changes to the social networking site Facebook.
The new look site puts more focus on status updates and has been likened to one of its rivals Twitter.
Users have voted overwhelmingly against the new format in an online poll on the site with 94% disliking the changes.
Twitter usage has grown 1,689% in the last year but is dwarfed by Facebook which has more than 175 million users compared to Twitter's 1.78m.
Speaking to Newsbeat earlier this month, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg defended the changes.
He said: "It doesn't change that frequently and that's the kind of thing you want to have an open dialogue about with users.
"We trust that with an open dialogue our users will get us to the right place."
Users 'unhappy'
Radio 1 listeners have been commenting on the story since the changes were made and most are not happy.
Pink Kerry in Plymouth said: "I hate the new Facebook layout. It's complete rubbish.
"What was wrong with the way it was before and why weren't we given the option to choose whether we wanted the new layout or not?"
Jenny in Maidenhead agrees. She said: "If I'd wanted to sign up for a Twitter style networking site then I'd have signed up for Twitter."
But Jonathan in Cumbria reckons we'll grow to love it. He said: "The new Facebook is like anything, people just don't like change.
"After the last time they changed it there was an uproar like this, but everyone grew to accept it."
The new site relegates photos and videos into the background, mixing them with adverts.
Users receive status updates from all their friends on their homepage in a continuous stream.
'Listening carefully'
In a statement to Newsbeat, a Facebook spokesperson said: "The new Facebook home page is one step in the continued evolution of the site, designed to give people more ways to share and filter all types of content, such as status updates, photos, videos, notes and more.
"We are grateful to have 175 million people worldwide using Facebook to connect with the people and things they care about most, and we take their feedback very seriously.
"We are listening carefully to what people are saying about the new home page through a variety of channels — including through a popular application, built by outside developers on our platform, that allows users to vote and express their opinion.
"Also helpful have been the many comments we're reading on industry blogs, the Facebook company blog, Mark Zuckerberg's public profile, Facebook user groups, and through the link on the Facebook new home page tutorial.
"We encourage people to send us constructive, detailed feedback and are committed to using it to inform how we build and improve the site for everyone."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_7957000/7957764.stm
Published: 2009/03/22 11:09:05 GMT
The new look site puts more focus on status updates and has been likened to one of its rivals Twitter.
Users have voted overwhelmingly against the new format in an online poll on the site with 94% disliking the changes.
Twitter usage has grown 1,689% in the last year but is dwarfed by Facebook which has more than 175 million users compared to Twitter's 1.78m.
Speaking to Newsbeat earlier this month, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg defended the changes.
He said: "It doesn't change that frequently and that's the kind of thing you want to have an open dialogue about with users.
"We trust that with an open dialogue our users will get us to the right place."
Users 'unhappy'
Radio 1 listeners have been commenting on the story since the changes were made and most are not happy.
Pink Kerry in Plymouth said: "I hate the new Facebook layout. It's complete rubbish.
"What was wrong with the way it was before and why weren't we given the option to choose whether we wanted the new layout or not?"
Jenny in Maidenhead agrees. She said: "If I'd wanted to sign up for a Twitter style networking site then I'd have signed up for Twitter."
But Jonathan in Cumbria reckons we'll grow to love it. He said: "The new Facebook is like anything, people just don't like change.
"After the last time they changed it there was an uproar like this, but everyone grew to accept it."
The new site relegates photos and videos into the background, mixing them with adverts.
Users receive status updates from all their friends on their homepage in a continuous stream.
'Listening carefully'
In a statement to Newsbeat, a Facebook spokesperson said: "The new Facebook home page is one step in the continued evolution of the site, designed to give people more ways to share and filter all types of content, such as status updates, photos, videos, notes and more.
"We are grateful to have 175 million people worldwide using Facebook to connect with the people and things they care about most, and we take their feedback very seriously.
"We are listening carefully to what people are saying about the new home page through a variety of channels — including through a popular application, built by outside developers on our platform, that allows users to vote and express their opinion.
"Also helpful have been the many comments we're reading on industry blogs, the Facebook company blog, Mark Zuckerberg's public profile, Facebook user groups, and through the link on the Facebook new home page tutorial.
"We encourage people to send us constructive, detailed feedback and are committed to using it to inform how we build and improve the site for everyone."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_7957000/7957764.stm
Published: 2009/03/22 11:09:05 GMT
Monday, February 16, 2009
Facebook hits 175 million user mark
A little more than a month after announcing it had 150 million active users, Facebook has reached 175 million active users--the statistic the social-networking site prefers to use, rather than registered accounts overall.
Dave Morin, who runs Facebook's application platform team, announced the milestone Friday evening on his Twitter/FriendFeed. Facebook reached 150 million just more than two months after reaching 120 million and about four months after reaching 100 million.
While Facebook got its start at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. in 2004, most of this recent growth is coming from outside the U.."This includes people in every continent--even Antarctica," CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post last month. "If Facebook were a country, it would be the eighth most populated in the world, just ahead of Japan, Russia, and Nigeria."
However, as we have pointed out before, server power is expensive, especially overseas. Facebook has raised a ton of venture capital, isreportedly hunting for more, and says it's in good financial shape. That comes back into question, however, if it's growing faster than it ever expected to.
Courtesy: cnet.com
February 15, 2009 10:30 AM PST
by Steven Musil
Dave Morin, who runs Facebook's application platform team, announced the milestone Friday evening on his Twitter/FriendFeed. Facebook reached 150 million just more than two months after reaching 120 million and about four months after reaching 100 million.
While Facebook got its start at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. in 2004, most of this recent growth is coming from outside the U.."This includes people in every continent--even Antarctica," CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post last month. "If Facebook were a country, it would be the eighth most populated in the world, just ahead of Japan, Russia, and Nigeria."
However, as we have pointed out before, server power is expensive, especially overseas. Facebook has raised a ton of venture capital, isreportedly hunting for more, and says it's in good financial shape. That comes back into question, however, if it's growing faster than it ever expected to.
Courtesy: cnet.com
February 15, 2009 10:30 AM PST
by Steven Musil
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
