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by Jamison Cush
1/30/2009 7:01:00 AM
150 million social butterflies flutter about on Facebook, friending others, posting status updates, and uploading pics featuring friends holding various alcoholic beverages. As CEO Mark Zuckerberg brags on the company's blog (via Slate), "If Facebook were a country, it would be the eighth most populated in the world, just ahead of Japan, Russia and Nigeria."
Still, I'm sure everyone knows at least one or two caterpillars still in their cocoon, stubborn sorts unwillingly to break out, spread their wings, and fully embrace Facebook and the 2.0 world.
Slate's Farhad Manjoo examines the reasoning behind Facebook skepticism in You Have No Friends.His conclusion: there is no good reason not to be on Facebook, and anyone who isn't connected at this point is just posturing. He is reminded of an old Onion headline, "Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own a Television."
He then makes a great comparison; Facebook is the new cell phone. Not too long ago, only pretentious jerks and self-important louses had cell phones. Though over time, as cell phone penetration grew, cell phones became a necessity. Social lives revolved around being able to instantly get in touch and plan. Businesses needed constant contact between clients, bosses, and employees. Cell phones became the norm.
The same is true of Facebook. As Manjoo points out, it obeys the network-effects law: As it grows bigger with more users, the faster it will grow still. Its usefulness depends on users. With more users, it becomes more useful... more necessary.
Of course, the same could have been said four or five years ago about MySpace, which has many obits pending:
Is MySpace Over?
Is MySpace Dead?
Bank On It: Facebook Will Pass MySpace in US Popularity
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