With my last post, I kinda left you all hanging, cause I didn't really explain 'what' I had in mind when I said this year was going to be different, even tho I said this year is going to be different. This is what I had in mind, Facebook. What better may to start and demonstrate enthusiasm for 2011 with news that 500 million dollars has been invested by Goldman Sachs and Co. into what was in early 2005 the extension of a doom-room project. Facebook, is now an Internet giant, with over 550 million users, [valued at $50 billion] and having grown through the recession [lets face it, Facebook is a bit like beer, it makes for good depression relief] and weathered it without a scratch, it would seem Facebook has done more growing than anyone anticipated [except for some very intelligent investors and particulars, like Microsoft] who are riding this boat that doesn't seem to want to take a break [expected to hit a billion users 2012]. That's right, Facebook isn't going away despite a recent group on Facebook suggesting that is it shutting down next month [pst, as if, Goldman has stopped selling shares of the company because they are going like hot cakes] but in any case, I wanted to talk a little bit about Facebook, and its growing enemy Google, who is really dominating the Internet?
Facebook, apparently. According a traffic tally for 2010, Facebook is now the most viewed website on the Internet, trumping the search engine Google. But when it comes to Internet companies, or any company for that matter, traffic is one thing, profit is another. Facebook recently had it leaked by someone [Facebook doesn't have to report its revenue or profit, except to its small amount of investors, only companies registered on the exchange with shares that anyone can own have to do that] of apparently $500 million in revenue, which isn't bad, but still doesn't beat Google, which has its revenue in the billions. Part of this comes down to the quantity of ads that Google owns, where all this revenue gets made, any of these ads can easily be put up on a site [if you take a look to your right, you might have noticed that Amazon, and Google are paying the bills, not that I suspect I am going to make much [I'm not about to buy a condo in the Caribbean]. I have read estimates that suggest that over 60 to 70 percent of all Internet ads are Google. And when you take into mind all the websites we all regularly go to that Google owns, like Youtube, and others like Double Click and Admob, not to mention Google's own pet projects like Gmail and Google maps and its search engine, when you consider all the ads that come with it, this adds up [ching, ching]. Profits are an important thing that makes Google ahead [money talks, you know, enough said, its nice to know someone is going to get a condo in the Caribbean]. And with all Google is doing it certainly isn't just a search engine anymore, but isn't Facebook just a social network?
"Dear Facebook, Just wait, one day they'll abandon you as well. Sincerely, Myspace" is another page I've noticed on Facebook not just for its message, but also for its popularity, with over 200 thousand fans. Which raises an important question for all those who keep talking about Facebook like they are the next big thing, we have ditched a social network before, why not again? I remember good old Bebo, which I had for a while [till viruses took it over] and I remember Myspace too, until I realized it was just all about the music [kinda like that awkwardness, when you attempt to pick up a girl by dissing a band, to find out its her favourite]. Some other social networks didn't get off the ground [or at least not in the way the wanted] like Friendster that got so full of 'fakesters' that everyone got over it [not to mention it being incredibly slow just when it was getting off the ground] or Orkut [Google's pet] which got dominated by Brazilians and some Indians, and no American wanted to touch. But really, there are reasons why Facebook will survive, even though everyone says they would 'drop their Facebook tommorow' we all know that you love your friends, and your pictures [every time someone de-activates their Facebook, you all know you go 'hey, where are my pictures?'] so admit it, you're not going anywhere in a hurry [unless you have a reason]. This is where it all comes down to the logic that Facebook has been beating into investors and anyone else who will listen for a while, Facebook isn't just cool, its a utility to be used, that people cannot stop using [my dad has a Facebook, and he is old as, so yeah I think we can rule out Facebook being just cool. Who cares, besides, who really knows who is joining, you only get to see your selected friends]. Facebook also cares about your privacy [come on, they know they don't have 9 lives when it comes to our data and potentially doing stuff we don't like with it].
Growth is a key reason for why Facebook isn't going down the toilet in a new 'Internet bust' and as long as Facebook can maintain those it has, it will grow and even take over the role that other social networks play, even in those parts of the world that currently have their own social networks. The more people are on Facebook, the more it will take hold, cause people will always have a friend who isn't to motivate to take up a profile [and come on, Goldman Sachs must know something to want to invest so much, right?]. But whether Facebook can make enough revenue to keep investors happy, remains to be seen. I mean, Facebook clearly has ads, but clicked on any recently? Its easy to be on Facebook and not notice they are even there [its what makes Facebook so great, and why everyone thought they were serious when a rumour went around that they were going to start charging for the service, remember that?]. Growth is however the backbone behind who will dominate [and continue to dominate the Internet] because both Facebook and Google have their waves: Facebook it's popularity and members, and Google its venture companies and successful sites it continues to buy [and ching ching]. As long as we don't see the two combined [Faceboogled? try saying that one ten times really fast] it really comes down to who's wave is bigger, the companies owned by Google or the people joining and marketing with Facebook [face-pooed-on, face-pooed-on, face-pooed-on]. Because Facebook might just be a social network, but when your the next big thing, that's all you need to be.
