Facebook.com
The Facebook
Originally conceptualized as a website for university students in 2004, Facebook expanded its scope in recent years to include high school students, corporate professionals, geographic communities, and others. It now has over 17 million members across 47,000 regional, work-related, collegiate, and high school networks.
Facebook earns profits from advertising such as banner ads and sponsored groups. It does not charge its users any membership fees.
Facebook became an open network site on September 26, 2006. It now directly competes with the likes of MySpace and other social networking sites. New members may validate their membership through a security test or via mobile phone.
How it Works
Users can register on Facebook for free. They create their own personal profile, reveal their interests and preferences, upload photographs, correspond with other members through private or public messages and join Facebook groups that have members with similar interests.
Only users from the same network or a member’s confirmed friends can view a member’s profile data.
In a nutshell, Facebook provides a good way to meet new people, keep in touch with old friends, display your most recent photos and express your thoughts and feelings in your very own blog. Facebook also has an excellent search and browse function that allows members to find others using just about anything as their search string.
Usage and Popularity
In terms of actual usage, TechCrunch said in a recent report that 60% of all Facebook members log on daily, 85% at least once a week and 93% at least once a month. Members spend about 18 minutes a day on Facebook, according to website spokesman Chris Hughes.
In a 2006 study conducted by Student Monitor, a New Jersey-based limited liability company specializing in research concerning the college student market, Facebook was named as the second most "in" thing among undergraduates, tied with beer and losing only to the iPod.
Other Facebook Purposes
On occasion, police authorities, colleges and universities use Facebook for investigating students based on the information they upload into the website. For instance, many colleges and universities detect violations of underage drinking and dry campus policies by sifting through photos of illicit drinking behavior at parties or on campus. Some reports say employers also examine the Facebook profiles of prospective new hires.
Such practices have earned the ire of members who argue that police and college administrators violate Facebook’s Terms of Use that states: "the website is available for your personal, noncommercial use only". In a special security option for members, Facebook provides settings that allow a member to classify his/her profile as "private", allowing only approved individuals to view his/her profile.
Address
- Palo Alto, CA
Relevant Facebook pages/groups
- Become a fan of AboutUs on our Facebook page
- AboutUs group
- Mahalo group
Related Domains
External Links
- Alexa: FaceBook.com
Influence Us
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KristinaWeis's Comments on Facebook.com
- KristinaWeis (delighted) : I've been a huge fan of Facebook and have loved every new feature that has been added along the way. I use it for just about everything to connect with my friends online. I love being able to tag friends in photo albums, invite people to events, have pages for non-people entities like this one for AboutUs, keep up with Twitter-like updates, and customize my privacy and who I want to connect with. My only frustration is with the various unwanted application invitations. 14:52, 23 May 2008 (PDT)