Facebook Hits a Billion Users, But Still Has Plenty of Work To Do

Five or so years ago when i first joined Facebook, i was not expecting to get much out of it. I thought it was just an upstart website trying to ripoff MySpace. Just a few years later, Facebook ran MySpace to the ground and became the most popular website and social network in the world. Today, the site hit a very significant milestone: 1 Billion Users!

Who would have thought that in less than 10 years this company would become one of the biggest in the world? A lot of people over the years have told me that Facebook is stupid and a waste of time. But Facebook proved how powerful social media is and it created an entirely new marketing strategy for companies.

Despite the milestone,Facebook does have some issues to work on. When the company made itself public and open to the stock market in May, the value of the stock was slashed in half because of how much it struggled. Investors have become very wary of the company and CEO Mark Zuckerburg has to rebuild confidence in the company he created in a Harvard dorm room.

The struggle with the stock market has led to Facebook making its first true advertising campaign. The company created an advertisement involving chairs and their similarity to social networks. This is the first time Facebook has had to fight negative views of their company. Zuckerburg hasn't confirmed whether or not the advertisements will be put on television. I think that this should be considered carefully because the company might come off as desperate if they do put out TV ads.

Another goal of Zuckerburg and Facebook is to break through the walls of China's Internet. China accounts for the most Internet users in the world, but the government has very strict control of the Internet and does not allow citizens to use Facebook. Zuckerburg's wife has relatives in China, and is learning to speak Chinese. If Facebook is ever able to make itself available in China it could be another significant moment in the company's history. It could also help open up China to more Internet freedom and would let Chinese citizens connect with the world, something many of us may take for granted.