Facebook Hits a Major Milestone

Facbook.com, the bane and crutch of nearly every college student (as well as high school students and adults) now has 500 million users. While this is clearly a big step for the company, as well as a success story for the rest of to marvel at (Facebook was started by a couple of students out of a dorm room at Harvard) I'm not sure I really see the big deal. After all, we've all known Facebook was a big deal since it gained a following at other schools in 2006. This is sort of like when McDonald's sold their one billionth hamburger.

I won't lie, I suspect that this, coupled with the "Facebook Stories" is a bit of a marketing ploy to get attention and raise the value of their ads. Afterall, Facebook has been dealing with some negative press lately. Users were pretty upset over the changes in the privacy settings and rumors have been going around the site (although likely unfounded) that Facebook is going to start charging. Also, some hate sites have been showing up, although none of them seen as a huge threat. I suspect this is leading to some people the site and others boycotting it. And, while this is not a huge issue, people are finding that Facebook is no longer what it once was; the layout is changing every couple of months, and applications are continuing to take over. Not to mention the companies' and their ads are filling up the feeds.

This leads me to another suggestion about why Facebook is celebrating such a landmark. While it is a marketing tool, it is more noble than what I have implied. Facebook wants to return to its roots, hence the "Facebook Stories" showing Facebook in a positive light. Maybe Facebook wants to show that it is a way to connect with friends rather than a way for companies to bug their markets easier.

What you think? Is this milestone something to celebrate or just ignore? Leave your answers in the comments section.

More about Facebook's milestone.
Clcik here for information about Facebook's founding.
A Facebook movie?