Hello There, Mr. Tree! Are You On Facebook?

As of this date, we're in a world which wouldn't do without the internet... Okay, so let me give it straight. Without Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and more. These websites, or rather 'social networking sites' as they crave being called, has hit us hard; and for a while, it's hard to decide if it's worth it.

If you're a Facebook addict and you have that compelling urge to kill me, I'm talking about you. If you're not, it's all a matter of time. Well, it wouldn't take many Einsteins to figure that I belong to the former, but wait, when and why did it all begin?

Seems familiar? Okay, before you go worrying over your sanity (perhaps the way I did), this is what Facebook used to look like on 12th of February 2004. Seems different, given the first time I remember logging in was in the late 2006s. Indeed, things were a world different. I remember that 'Network' page, along with a multitude of 'application boxes' and a 'Mini-feed'. Well, that was when I was your age. Provided you're thirteen.

Like I need to tell, but the changes don't let my eyeballs roll. Mini feed to News and Live Feed, all worthless boxes kicked aside in one cobwebbed tab, dedicated tab for personal information, media enabled wall, localized filters, and heaps more. One of my favorite things is how flexible the 'tabs' are. You can have any number of 'em (I presume), with 6 on active display.

Of the more annoying things, wall post appear on your feed. Wall posts by someone on someone else's wall, which is. So yiphee, more ways to poke noses in. And Facebook mobile seems to be the epicenter: it's officially impossible to tell between wall posts (again, by someone on someone else's wall) and status updates. Sigh.

As per a report by Reuters, Facebook may 'lock in' its internet dominance. In juicy words, it has the caliber to beat any or every other networking site(s) on the internet, hands down.

"I think Facebook is the most valuable Internet commodity in existence, more so than Google, because they are positioning themselves to be our online identity via Facebook connect,” says Alyssa Ravasio, an UCLA student studying the internet's impact on modern society.

Well, I wont always be the one to compare Facebook's utility to that of Wikipedia or Google, but not many hesitate taking this bold leap ahead. Statistics show there are 350 million users world wide, 100 million from the United States alone. As in Dubai, Facebook demonstrates a holistic prominence; but in India, it still has a long way to beat Orkut (which kicks on a straight 38.5% of Orkut's 100 million visitors).

There are indeed more reasons for Facebook's enhanced popularity world wide, apart from keeping up with friends. On the first note, it might sound more like Picasa (photos; with perhaps unlimited storage), Twitter (status updates and wall), Youtube (videos) and Blogger (notes): all in one. Combined, it'll certainly be worth a consideration. However, each have their own utilities and functions. For instance there's not much one can do with the Facebook photos, whilst Picasa provides a whole dedicated application (with loads of eye candy) for photography amateurs, who feel Photoshop is a bit too complicated. And it's hardly as open to developers as twitter is. Youtube is, again far more dedicated than Facebook Videos is, and so is Blogger. So, what exactly keeps people motivated? Integrated applications. Farmville (by Zynga, on facebook) boasts 74.5 million active users, which is more than 20% of the Facebook fort. (I'm certainly glad to be a part of the 80%). Mafia Wars kicks high aswell, with 25.9 million users on Facebook. Then there hundreds of other applications. This sure reminds me of the iPhone's story.

At first, I was tricked to believe that there's nothing new, in particular, with twitter. I mean, status updates? Okay, but then what? Don't we already have it on Facebook? Well ofcourse, it had been immature: twitter certainly is a lot more flexible than Facebook is with status updates. It's more like a colossal 'shoutbox' or as they call, a 'microblogging' utility; and a great way to keep up with things up and around. Warning, if you're a privacy freak, twitter is not for you. Whatever may it be, twitter is growing. And it's growing fast: a jaw dropping 1382% every month, compared to 228% of Facebook. [wiki] At this rate, twitter sure is catching up.

So what's the whole point? Well, Facebook sure is versatile, but not as efficient. On the side note, wat-da-heq!