Remember life before Facebook? That’s okay, neither does anyone else. The Facebook phenomenon is suddenly such a critical part of daily global communications it’s hard to remember a time — all of six years ago — when it didn’t exist.
There’s no doubt about it, Facebook represents a radicalization of social communication. Its use has skyrocketed from its beginnings in 2005. In 2008 it overtook the once highly popular Myspace as the world’s most popular social networking site. By July 2010, Facebook boasted 500 million users.
Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard University, started Facebook way back in 2004. Initially the site was limited to students at Harvard, and then expanded to other universities. By 2005 the site became available to general Internet users over the age of 13. Its use and revenue quickly grew, and then in 2009 it exploded.
What’s interesting about Facebook as a social networking tool is that it attracts multigenerational users, from teenagers to senior citizens. It allows users to get in touch with just about anyone, anywhere, without using up all their AT&T wireless coverage, as long as they have a free Facebook account.
As its use has increased, more and more people have utilized it to renew relationships from long ago. High school sweethearts long separated have found each other. Children given up for adoption decades ago have reunited with their birth parents. In this way Facebook is a kind of miracle. It’s enabled friends, lovers and families, to reconnect, something almost impossible to accomplish just a few years ago.
Where will Facebook and the social media revolution take us? Are we becoming too connected? Will we lose every vestige of our privacy? No one knows. For now, all we can do is hold on tight, surf the web and keep connecting. We’ll find out where we’ve gone to when we get there.
