You can't think of social media without thinking about Facebook, one of the most tenured and popular of the social media sites available. It was an obvious choice to highlight in this second installment of the Giants of Social Media series not only for it's size but for it's continued evolution and relevance in this new medium. (Missed week one? Click here and catch up!)

A bit of history:
Facebook was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz while they attended Harvard U. The first of it's kind, Facebook (originally referred to as "The Facebook") connected Harvard students much like it's namesake, the paper facebooks, did when passed around high schools and colleges. First the digital phenom spread to other Ivy League schools, then to other universities and high schools, and ultimately to anyone over the age of 13.

Up until now, Facebook has been a private venture. Beginning November 1, 2008, employees will be allowed to sell limited stock.

Facebook is the leading social networking site on the web, officially more popular than rival MySpace as of April 2008 (source: ComScore)


Main objective: Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.


What you won't find here:
Honestly, there's not much you won't find on Facebook, if you know where to look. That's the beauty of this site, the infrastructure is loose enough that it is what you make it to be. Each person's experience is different depending on how they use their home site.

Vital stats:
Launched: February, 2004
Founder: Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz
CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
Revenues: $300 million, although their net income is -$50 million (both '08 projected)


From personal experience, here is how Facebook has changed my world:


I had no idea what 99% of my friends and acquaintances from high school were doing these days until I joined Facebook. It was amazing to reconnect with individuals, some whom I barely knew in grade school, on a new level through this application.
I have a growing community of bloggers that I have grown into via Facebook. While it's nice to "friend" this helpful and dynamic set on other sites, on Facebook I get to share pictures, stories and stupid trivia games with them. As a newer blogger I have much to learn and now have an outlet - I can ask my Facebook friends and tap into their experience! As a social media rule of thumb, I ALWAYS reciprocate with a visit, comment, Stumble, or all 3. Pay it forward, it all adds up to a deeper connection.


Why it's better than *the other* social networking sites:
Facebook is flexible and intuitive. I never had to struggle to make my profile look the way I wanted it to look like.


What I wish they'd do next:

If I had a Facebook wishlist, it would be as follows:

(1) Facebook for -13's.

I recently had an online friend share that her 11 year old wants a Facebook profile, so she can keep up with her 11 year old friends who lied and said they were 13 and got online. Scary!

I'd love to see Facebook promote a site for the under 13 crowd. There's certainly a market in these young Millenials, and I bet the site could turn a profit pretty quickly. But I also don't want to see these young people exposed to content and conversation not meant for them. There's an unmet need here, Facebook! Pay attention, and have parents everywhere breathe a sigh of relief.

(2) Integration into other social media hubs.

If you were to let me update my other social media profiles from Facebook, I may never leave. I'm starting to see promise of this via various applications, now make it easy for me!

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Want to know more?

Related Posts:

Series: Giants of Social Media: LinkedIn (the first in this series!)



Google Zeitgeist '08 - Trends in Social Media and Business

Is the Traditional Resume Dead?

Around the Web:

Blog: Inside Facebook

Fast Company interviews Mark Zuckerberg