The last part of this read follows facebook's overall success in the recent year. Companies could use facebook as a platform for advertising, sponsorships and business building. Zuckerberg's idea as Facebook as a platform was unarguably successful. "Activity on applications, he argued, would generate more activity in Facebook," (221). And so it did...These applications allowed for politics, non-profit organizations and music-sharing apps such as iLike, etc. to be publicized and user-generated. These examples were just some of the social applications that "brought offline behavior into this new online world," (228). Global advertising was also an opportunity that allowed for growth on Facebook. Half of Facebook's users were international, therefore Facebook had to start advertising globally with Microsoft as a partner in order to create more world-wide usage and growth. This critical step in the process of expanding Facebook was all about timing. Zuckerberg never rushed into accepting advertising company's offers and for this reason alone, Facebook came into a lot of advertising money at the right time. During this financially successful growth, Zuckerberg also hired a new COO, Sheryl Sandberg, who became his "#2."
Facebook generates ads based on user info, age and location, which greatly increases sales revenue and allows for Facebook to make a huge profit. Zuckerberg's key state-of-mind is that what really matters in this process is the growth of the user base. Facebook, therefore, got really big, really fast. This was because of a simple user-interface and a "friend-only" nature. Also, by maintaining a language that people around the globe speak online and offline made Facebook the ultimate social tool for everyone. Facebook is also used as political tool, as we see in the FARC event at the very beginning of this book. "Facebook has been embraced by many governments as a tool to communicate more efficiently with citizens and employees, in situations both large and small," (294). Zuckerberg called his Facebook community the "gift economy." "I create some news for you, you create some news for me," (295). This type of giving and receiving is what drives Facebook. People will soon be able to go anywhere with Facebook in their pocket. It's becoming available on most phones and hand-held devices, which allows for people to constantly be connected. Yet throughout all the possibilities, Zuckerberg's ultimate main concern is about who controls your information. This is essential to people's social availability and growth.
Facebook is a constant connection to the people in your social world. Since there are less and and less people everyday who DON'T have Facebook, it is obvious that updating your status and posting on someone's wall is becoming the number one form of communication between people all over the globe. No longer are we forced to meet people at the mall or in a coffee shop. No longer are people's lives kept private and isolated. It's now easier than ever to send a message or post an event and have hunderds and thousands of people respond or comment on what you are doing and what you have to say. Even the most anti-social person can communicate with others effectively through Facebook. It is the ultimate social tool. Everything you post or say is read by your "friends," which links you to hundreds or thousands of people with a click of a mouse. Our thoughts are now exposed and it's amazing how freely people express their opinions, what they are doing and/or how they are feeling to everyone they know in an instant. Is this good or bad? Well, on one hand, it is the simplest thing to express a feeling of joy, happiness or content to those you love and care about. People are connected through these comments and most people feel appreciated because they can now know what their loved ones, friends and family feel on a daily basis about whatever is going on in their life. On the other hand, Facebook has exposed people's personal information for almost anyone to see and has generated this feeling of "I have to post this thought to share with others" within pretty much everyone who uses it. I myself am hesitant to post things because when I truly sit back and think about what I am doing, I don't really want people to know what I am doing and/or how I'm feeling. Like, who cares? But...people do. That's what keeps Facebook going and it amazing to see how it has effected our daily lives and the world around us.
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