Facebook Celebrates 10 Years Of Connections
By Melony Roy
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Facebook is used by over one billion people around the world. It's been 10 years since the start of the social network that has become a part of our daily lives.
"I think the biggest way Facebook has changed the way we communicate is that it puts us in contact with more people more often," says Drexel University culture and communication professor Devon Powers, who says Facebook has formalized even the relationships that used to be merely acquaintances.
"So, we end up going though life having collected this baggage, if you will, of people throughout our lives. So maybe that woman you met at a party and exchanged cards with, you don't want to know what she had for lunch today."
Facebook has also changed the way we use words such as "like," "tag," "poke," and "friend."
"It's turned 'friend' into a verb, so 'friending' somebody or 'de-friending' somebody is an act of basically saying 'I know you', 'you're in my social circle' or 'I don't want to you in my social circle.'"
Powers also says the real genius of Facebook is getting into what it means to share and be a human being.
What's next for the social network? CNET Senior editor, Bridget Carey says Facebook is evolving by focusing on mobile and evolving from just a place to make connections.
"Before it used to be about your connections, but now we're getting into a time where the reason we want to go on apps is a little bit more than that. We want to make sure we're getting all the news we want. Content is just as important as connections."
Why do we keep coming back?
"It's become addictive in the sense that I want to know what's going on with everything. I don't want to be left out, let me quickly check Facebook. The advancement of things like the iPhone have really helped Facebook."
To stick around another 10 years, Carey says Facebook needs to make sure it remains a utility to keep up with the world.
