Why Facebook Will Never Die as the Largest Social Network

Facebook is the website that everyone loves to hate. We all use it, but that doesn’t mean we like it. Many people hate it even though they find themselves checking it numerous times throughout the day. Sometimes people announce they are quitting Facebook, but they almost always come back. This is the Facebook addiction and it’s the reason they will always be the number one social network.

Mark Zuckerberg. We all know him, or think we know him. He’s the whiz kid who literally changed the world. Oh, and he became a billionaire (many times over) before the age of 30. He makes the Google founders look like old guys. Even as Facebook grew into a global force, he’s remained steadily in control of Facebook.

Seven years ago, most people had never heard of Facebook. It was mostly college students using it and there were very few people over the age of 30. Now it’s worldwide and even grandparents (and some great-grandparents) are using it. There are currently more than 1.2 billion users and it is growing rapidly each and every day.

Almost everybody has seen the movie “The Social Network”, which gives a Hollywood version of Facebook’s history. It’s mostly true, though some of the most interesting parts of it are probably made up. As for Zuckerberg, he could not have asked for a better marketing tool. Sure, the movie doesn’t portray him in the best light, but it was a hit all over the world. And that is the key. The movie was a hit and so is Facebook.

Keeps family and friends close

One of the great things about Facebook is how it has brought families who are geographically separated much closer than before. Before Facebook, it was difficult to keep track of cousins, aunts, and uncles. But now it is easy. You log into Facebook and the latest news about your aunt’s dog pops up on your newsfeed. Even though you’re on different sides of the country, the distance feels much less when you are regularly updated on their daily lives.

Facebook at work is bittersweet for many workers. It’s cool to be friends with some of your coworkers, but what about that crazy guy in the Sales department? What do you do if he sends you a friend request? It’s a delicate situation because you have to see your coworkers every day even though some of them will never be actual friends of yours. This situation is even more difficult when your boss sends you a friend request!

And then there are the numerous stories of people getting fired for something they put on Facebook. Some of the scenarios include calling in sick, but then posting pictures of a trip to the mountains or the beach. An even more dangerous example is writing something bad about your boss or company. Even though you’re not friends (thankfully!) with your boss, he or she will probably find out about it. In the world of social networking, there really is no such thing as privacy.

Students were the ones that originally made Facebook popular, but recently the media portrays them as fleeing to different networks. They haven’t actually fled, but they are a lot more adapt at using multiple social network services than most adults. They still use Facebook to chat with friends and gossip, but they also use services like Snapchat when they want something to stay private.

Different ways to use Facebook

For a lot of people, keeping in touch with family and friends is the only reason they use Facebook. It’s so easy when almost everybody you know is on Facebook. Ten years ago, we knew the phone numbers and email addresses of most of our friends. Nowadays, a lot of people only know the Facebook information for many of their friends.

One of the most useful things about Facebook is the ability to make an announcement about something important in your life. It is useful for wishing a friend Happy Birthday, telling the world that you are getting married, or announcing the birth of your child. Facebook helps keep us connected to our friends and family.

We all have a few Facebook friends who seem to only complain on Facebook or try to get people’s attention with strange postings. Sometimes it surprises us because their online personality is completely different than how they are in real life. Some people feel more free in a virtual environment such as Facebook and their true personality is portrayed.

Reconnecting with old friends is one of the great things about Facebook. Almost everybody has received a friend request from an old friend they had lost touch with. The years have flown by, but some people never change. But some people change for the worse and you wish it was okay to unfriend old friends.

The sense of community on Facebook is one of the things that many people love. Seeing a Facebook friend of yours post a picture that you like makes you feel good and reaffirms why they are friends with you. If you like beer and they post a picture of a microbrew they are drinking, then it makes you like them even more. Another common scenario is runners posting pictures of races they are doing. With Facebook, it’s easy to cheer your friends on even when they are in a different country.

It’s quite common for people to ask for a recommendation on Facebook. “Do you know of a good plumber who works on Saturdays?” Almost every day there is such a message. And the great thing about it is people actually offer advice. Even casual acquaintances will often chime in with an answer. Facebook really has become like a real-life community where we help each other.

Innovation

There was a time when Facebook users all used English. But now it is available in numerous languages and countries, some of which have additional features not found in the US version of Facebook. In some Asian countries, you can have your name in both Latin characters and the characters for your language. Friends from other countries can easily know who you are and friends from your own country can recognize you by your native name.

One additional feature that is included in certain parts of the world is the ability to include your blood type in your profile. Many Americans don’t even know their blood type, but for some parts of the world, this is a very important part of your personality. It is often a question asked when meeting someone for the first time in many Asian countries. Because of their quest to understand each market, Facebook has successfully localized itself for many different languages and cultures.

Facebook will never die

There will be lots of different social networks in the future, but Facebook will continue to be the one that everybody uses. They have built a community that includes all of your friends and family. They know you can’t contact many of them without using their service. They have us addicted and they know it. And that is why Facebook will never die as the largest social network.

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