The website that gave the term “six degrees of separation” new meaning is celebrating its sixth birthday! Yes, on February 04th 2004, Facebook was launched by a group of students at Harvard University and last week on February 04th 2010, Facebook completed 6 years of its journey. Today, it is the world’s largest social network, having outstripped rival MySpace some time in 2008. Most experts agree that 2009 was a breakthrough year for the social networking site: not only did it hit 150 million active users in January 2009 (the number is 350 million today), but found a much wider base than the usual suspects of college students and young professionals.
And across the world, people are discovering that Facebook is just not a cool tool to help you stay in touch with friends, as you have no time to meet for a cup of coffee or to get back in touch with people you left behind in high school. Facebook’s potential as a powerful networking tool, and not just of the social kind, as a platform for marketing your company, product or yourself as an employee and for building PR bridges were released fully in the last one year of its existence.
“As somebody who works in the PR industry, I have found Facebook invaluable,” says Saina Jayapal, a PR professional. “Initially, I used it to connect with friends, but I realized that it could be a very helpful professional tool.” Facebook helped Jayapal touch base with clients and media professionals and create a network of mutually beneficial relationships. It also bagged her a job offer – all because someone was impressed with her friends’ list.
Debarshi Das, who runs his own HR company, has also found Facebook to be a huge human resource database. “Facebook helps you expand small businesses in unprecedented ways,” says Das, who feels it is a “pretty good for promoting your brand as well.” His words find an echo in the various small business organizations as well as not-for-profit ones from the NGO sector that create awareness about themselves through Facebook groups and fan pages.
Yet, the overwhelming number of Facebook users continue to be the ones who turn to it to find friends or air their views. “I moved to the US last fall for undergrad studies and the only way I have been able to stay connected with my friends back home is through Facebook,” says 17-year-old Advait Shah, who has a suggestion for Facebook. “I would like Facebook to have an age limit, because my mum just got on to it and sent me a friend request! says a bemused Shah. “They could perhaps have special privacy settings that will block certain info for some of your Facebook friends,” he adds, clearly unwilling to let his mum know exactly what he was up to last night.
Rummana Ahmed, who works for an international web portal, says the best thing about Facebook is its ability to connect you with your past. “My best experience with Facebook was finding my childhood crush 10 years after I had last seen him,” she says, adding that the notifications on Facebook keep you updated even when you have not had a chance to personally connect with your friends. She does have a small gripe through: “The quizzes and some applications, especially the Farmville updates, are annoying,” she says, and wishes there was a way to personalize one’s Twitter background. Something for the social network giant to look in the next year?