For a site that just a few years ago was exclusively the domain of college students, Facebook has experienced phenomenal growth to the point where it now counts 300 million users as members – roughly the population of the United States. Even better for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, investors, and potential future shareholders, the world’s largest social networking site is making enough money to cover its costs and keep up with growth.
Analysts said this shows the financial viability of Facebook, which has faced questions about its underlying business model, despite its popularity, and was a good sign for a potential initial public offering.
“It’s certainly meaningful to show that this is absolutely the real deal,” said Broadpoint Amtech analyst Ben Schachter. “They are executing. People are spending money on the site.”
Since its creation in a Harvard dorm room five years ago, Facebook has emerged as one of the Internet’s most popular destinations and is increasingly challenging the Web’s established powerhouses like Yahoo Inc and Google Inc.
Facebook unveiled a revamped search engine last month and is currently testing an online payment system. Facebook users have tripled from about 100 million a year ago.
In related Facebook news, yesterday the company announced “Facebook Prototypes,” which has been described as its version of Google Labs, where developers can test out beta versions of various applications that may still have “some kinks to work out.” Nonetheless, if you’re interested to see how Facebook expects to stay ahead of its competitors, it’s a good way to see what they’ve got up their sleeves.
Interesting post. Initially, I intended to avoid Facebook since I didn’t appear to fit the demographic. Really, a 30-something male using Facebook? Seemed inappropriate. A couple years ago, I took a chance and I’m now a regular user. I’m even encouraging my co-workers to look at the business development opportunities that might arise.
In Facebook terms, you’re young! I think the largest demo is females 18-25, but 26-34 is second. The fast growing demo is females over the age of 55!
I actually graduated about a year too late to join FB while I was still in college, so had to wait until they rolled it out to everyone. While I don’t spend too much time on FB, I do get use out of it, and it’s a good way to keep in touch with friends.
I’m also beginning to use FB for work projects since it’s such a good way to engage people.