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 No doubt, a percentage of these accounts are no longer active, or the users have died (Take a look at the New York Times on July 17 titled Ghosts in the Machine for reference).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.

Cool LinkedIn Feature

If you use LinkedIn -- and I recommend that you do -- there is a handly little feature that I just discovered. It's called Company Buzz, and you can get to it by clicking edit on the Your Profile section. By signing up for this, you can pick up the Tweets on any company or organization. For example, I picked up conversations for the company that I work for, Altus Agency, as well as posts for a number of clients.

One thing to keep in mind, choose your keywords carefully. For example, I am on the Board of the Public Relations Society of America, Philadelphia Chapter. If I put in PRSA, I get hundreds of tweets from every chapter across the country. By narrowing it down to PRSA, Philadelphia, I was able to cut it to more relevant postings. It's easy enough to create another keyword, say, PRSA, Washington, if I want information from that area.

Why should I care, you ask? Well, it's important to keep an eye on what people are saying about your company if you want to be an effective advocate. Read twice as much as you write, I always say.

Check it out.