A quarter of a billion users on Facebook!

The Facebook phenomena continues, with 50 million people signing up on to Facebook in the last three months, bringing the grand total to over 250 Million active users!

The means that approximately 4 percent of the world’s population (Around 6.70 billion) is now registered on Facebook. If Facebook were a country, it would be the fourth most populous after China, India and the United States.

Back in April, Facebook announced that it had crossed 200 million active users.
It also took around three months to grow from 150 million to 200 million before. So, it seems growth remains consistent.

Supporting Facebook’s massive growth, which is yet to yield profits, has been a major issue for Facebook management. But, a Russian-based investor came to the rescue. Digital Sky Technologies invested $200 million and the social network now has the funds to keep going, and to serve this massive online population.

Facebook is experimenting with various services that could generate revenue. For example, Facebook Connect lets external sites use Facebook login credentials and some profile data. It has been a success, and Facebook now plans to build a powerful advertising network around it.

Also, Facebook is considering launching a “virtual currency system” which could be a very lucrative product. There are more ideas, but for now all the focus is on acquiring and serving users.

Founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, sums it up saying, “For us, growing to 250 million users isn't just an impressive number; it is a mark of how many personal connections all of you have made, and how far we at Facebook have to go to extend the power of connection to the billions of people around the world.”

It’s clear he’s not done yet, and is planning for the next quarter billion Facebook-ers. Millions of them will probably come from our region, now that Facebook offers an Arabic interface. Already, the majority of ‘online Arabs’ are aware of Facebook, and other social networks.

Social networking is a global revolution, and it spans all age groups, breaking communication boundaries of the past, and some cultural norms. The Arab World will never be the same.

zanasser@gmail.com