Although Facebook's IPO may not have taken off as successfully as Mark Zuckerberg and his team would perhaps have liked, there's little doubting the work ethic of Facebook in 2012. The mobile app finally seems to have been taken care of, and among a continual stream of new features and performance enhancements, the News Feed now supports the use of emoticons in comments.
With the world's number one social network having "languished" on 900 million+ active users for a good while now, it was only a matter of time before Mark Zuckerberg's creation passed the landmark billion, and as revealed today by an official note, that impressive feat was surpassed last month. Having only reached 100 million monthly active users in 2008, the growth has been nothing short of incredible, and although the well-documented IPO earlier this year didn't pass without hiccup, the web's newest stock market company continues to go from strength to strength.
If Angry Birds is the iconic representation of mobile gaming of the modern day, then FarmVille has to epitomize the social gaming made possible by the likes of Facebook. Having witnessed grown men discussing their virtual farms in Starbucks, it's a tad comedic to see just how gripped many folk were by the title, and for those who've just finished weaning themselves from the original edition of FarmVille, you'll be pleased to know FarmVille 2 has just arrived!
Social networking sites have become such an integral part of our every day lives that I actually struggle to clearly remember a time when they weren't around. The need to be social has, and always will be, a part of our genetic make-up as human beings, but that has been accelerated to a whole new level thanks to the likes of Facebook and Twitter which allow us to easily connect and interact with people all over the globe. Facebook is by far the largest of the world’s online social portals, boasting over 900 million registered members, connecting people from all over the world together through common friends and interests.
The pressure on Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook to continue updating and improving the social network has perhaps never been so fierce, and as well as placing a lot of emphasis on monetizing and enhancing its mobile ventures, Zuck's team has just revealed some significant changes to the site's photo viewing capabilities.
Do you live your life on Facebook but happen to be unfortunate enough to be forced to use either Windows Vista or XP? Maybe you've got some bespoke hardware or software that needs one of Microsoft's older operating systems in order to function, but still need to be able to keep in touch with everyone via the modern wonder that is Facebook. Well, you're in luck.
The Like button was introduced to Facebook quite a few years ago, and although a few users believed a Dislike button would be the natural next-step, that never actually materialized. Still, following a similar ethos, it turns out Mark Zuckerberg's company could be planning to add a Want button, which would be aimed towards products, and improve the social network's advertising prowess.
The social network behemoth, Facebook, is undeniably the company of the moment after hitting the headlines in recent weeks for not only snapping up the popular Instagram mobile app in a one billion cash plus stock deal, but for also becoming a public company with its initial public offering. Mark Zuckerberg has built up what appears to be a substantial social networking empire that is always looking to acquire new companies as well as introducing new technologies and features to the already impressive network.
Having recently become a fully-fledged company, Facebook is now obligated to make a statement of intent by diving head-first into the acquisition pool, and with Instagram secured and Opera also thought to be on the cards, the hotly-rumored coup of Face.com has now become official.
Although Facebook is undoubtedly the world’s largest social network with the rest of the offerings paling into insignificance by comparison, the recent public attention that has been lavished on the company in the last few months is enough to make even Mark Zuckerberg and his team feel a little pressure. The acquisition of Instagram and the company's initial public offering have made sure that all eyes are firmly fixed on Palo Alto.
