Thursday, February 05, 2009

Happy Birthday Facebook


Most 5 year olds have a birthday party and invite their friends around to share cake, games and fun. Facebook is no different and for its 5th birthday is giving its 150 million users a mystery virtual gift to celebrate.

Facebook wasn’t the first social network but has clearly established itself as the market leader and biggest social network with 150 million active users, some 20 million more than MySpace and its and the fastest growing demographic is 30 years old and above.

Facebook help break the mould offering a safe and trusted environment where people could share their real identities and interact online. It enabled people to feel comfortable in being able to express more about themselves.

Within 24 hours of launch, 1,200 Harvard students had signed up and soon after that the network was quickly extended to other colleges and universities. By 2005, around 85% of students in the network had a Facebook account. At the end of 2005, Facebook hit the UK and today the site is translated across 35 languages with another 60 in development.

The perennial question for Facebook has been how to make money on the site and cash in on its 150 million users who critically spend more than two hours each day on-site.

Within 24 hours of launch, 1,200 Harvard students had signed up and soon after that the network was quickly extended to other colleges and universities. By 2005, around 85% of students in the network had a Facebook account. At the end of 2005, Facebook hit the UK and today the site is translated across 35 languages with another 60 in development.

The perennial question for Facebook has been how to make money on the site and cash in on its 150 million users who critically spend more than two hours each day on-site.

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