How Facebook Has Transformed Our Culture over The Past 10 Years

Ten years ago, Mark Zuckerberg introduced “The Facebook” to the world.
In the decade since the site launched from a Harvard University accommodation, it has grown into a prominent force on the web, evolving from a platform that served as a virtual meeting space for university students, to a global networking power house, by passing geographical and cultural divides

Its influence and reach has grown to 1.23 billion monthly users globally, roughly one-sixth of the world’s population. Those are staggering numbers considering that at the end of the first year the platform had just over 1 million members.

The usage numbers are astounding, with 81 percent of its users residing outside of the United States and Canada.  There are currently around 240,000 Facebook users in the Malta. 57% of the Maltese population.  82% of all Maltese internet users, are on Facebook. There are 51% male users and 49% female users.

According to the Pew Research Center, the average number of friends that an adult has on Facebook is 338. Those friends flock to the site in masses to submit their tacit approval of stories and events shared on their newsfeed, having clicked the “like” button more than 3.4 trillion times since the feature was first introduced on the website in 2009.

After a decade of unprecedented growth, Facebook has become one of the most valuable companies in the world, worth $135 billion with revenues of $7.87 billion in 2013, while amassing $1.5 billion in profits. Its evolution from a social novelty to an integral feature of daily life continues to propel its financial success.
Facebook has evolved, so, too, has our culture.

What’s Next?
In 2013, social media continued to take over the world. Facebook continued its constant growth and new social media platforms like Vine, Tumblr and Instagram became increasing popular. It seems obvious that social media platforms are here to stay, but many are now asking, “What’s next?”

Predictions are endless and, for certain, one cannot know what the future holds. But, the industry does seem to agree on several core elements, many of which touch on the monetization of social platforms. Now that Twitter and Facebook are public entities, the revenue stream can no longer be ignored. Whether you’re an industry insider or a casual and occasional user, 2014 will concentrate one main aspect.

Real time, targeted marketing
Social networks like Facebook and Twitter provide a means for interacting with consumers in real time. By comparison, radio and television advertisements are ancient by the time they hit consumers. Since people are spend more and more time online, it’s easy for marketers to take advantage in real time as well.
There’s every reason to believe that businesses will try to adopt this approach with greater regularity moving forward.

Gianluaca Fino is a Business Development Executive at Alert eBusiness - www.alert.com.mt