Facebook Hits 500 Million

This is probably no big surprise to anyone, but it still amazes me. Facebook can claim 1/12 of the world's population as users. No doubt, a percentage of these accounts are no longer active, or the users have died (Take a look at the New York Times on July 17 titled Ghosts in the Machine for reference). Still, it's just mind boggling.

The social networking phenomenon is expecting to grab its 500 millionth user this week, according to Andrew Noyes, a Facebook spokesman. With just about a half-billion users, Facebook has become a social networking powerhouse that has helped to transform the way people use the Internet and connect with one another.

"Half a billion users is quite a milestone no matter how you look at it," said Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group Inc. "This obviously makes Facebook the numero uno social network, which is a quite an accomplishment. However, they can't rest on their pixel laurels. Their position guarantees them additional scrutiny in terms of user security, appropriate content and stability."

Rumors have been circulating online that Facebook has some big plans to celebrate its 500 millionth user, but Noyes declined to say what they might be.