Amazing Factoids About Facebook

The current issue of Time magazine has a cover article on Facebook, plus coverage of several other social media. Here are some facts about the size, scope and influence of these innovations:


- Began 6 years ago in dorm room of Harvard undergraduate Mark Zuckenberg as a way for Ivy League students to keep tabs on one another

- Will officially log its 500 millionth active citizen in next few weeks.

- If the website were granted terra firma, it would be the world’s third largest country by population.

- The site had 117 million unique visitors in the U.S. in March, since some 70% of its users are in other countries (the Facebook site has been translated into 70 languages so far)

- More than 1 in 4 people who browse the Internet not only have a Facebook account but also have returned to the site within the past 30 days.

- It’s fastest growing demographic is users over 34, who now represent 28%.

- Users share more than 25 billion pieces of information with Facebook each month

- Through the photos people share, Facebook collects nearly 1 billion unique images a week.

- With 48 billion unique images, Facebook houses the world’s largest photo collection.

- Facebook is free to users, making money through its robust ad system flashing 176 billion banner ads at users in the first 3 months of this year, more than any other website

- In first month of its new Open Graph feature (enabling users to flag content on web pages), Facebook almost reached the point where it will process 100 million unique clicks of a Like button each day.

- Searches for “how to delete Facebook” on Google have nearly doubled in volume since the start of this year.

- “What people want isn’t complete privacy. It isn’t that they want secrecy. It’s that they want control over what they share and what they don’t.” – Mark Zuckenberg, Facebook CEO and billionaire, age 26 today.



Social Media Comparisons

- Facebook had 117 million visitors in March in the United States

- MySpace had 42 million

- Twitter had 20 million

- LinkedIn had 14 million


YouTube:

- Only five years old: the beta launch occurred May 2005 (featuring a 19-second shot of co-founder at San Diego zoo).

- The world’s third most visited website after Google and Facebook.

- Users now clock more than 2 billion views every single day.

- Today more video is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than all three U.S. television networks have created in 60 years.

Addicted to Technology

“Hi, my name is Micah Warren and I'm addicted to technology.” I feel like I need to join a support group. I'm willing to admit it. I'm addicted to technology. Whether it be my cell phone, I-pod, Facebook, Twitter, Instant Messaging, Texting, Emails, or my Blackberry Messenger I am just plain addicted to all this stuff! How did I ever get along without it? I’d rather text than talk. I'd rather read an an email from you than listening to one of your voice mail messages. I send text messages while driving, and I never turn off my phone. When I'm with others, I pull my phone out as soon as the conversation hits a lull, and I send text messages just to pass the time. This morning, I found myself checking my phone to see what emails, texts, Twitter, and Facebook notices I received before I had even rolled out the bed.

I don't think I am alone in this addiction. I know there are more of us out there. How do I know this? Because you are the people that are sending me all these messages! And because some of you will have read this within an hour of the time that it hits the Internet! It's kinda crazy and kinda awesome at the same time.

Technology is playing a greater role in our life than ever before. I can send and receive emails from anywhere, surf the web, listen to music/podcast, and even watch a movie. Never before has it been possible for me to be so productive or so entertained regardless of where I am.

Thousands of people are constantly typing away at their blackberries Hundreds of thousands are using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. And there is no telling who all is texting these days. Listen to this, according to a recent study by Nationwide Insurance, “1 in 5 people send text messages while driving.” I must admit, this stat was not at all surprising to me because I do this myself (despite constant objections from my wife). The study goes on to say that “the percentage of users between the ages of 18-34 is even more at 1 in 3 people who will send a text while driving.” It is just insane that some of us (and yes, I am included in the “us” category) are so addicted that we cannot even drive down the road and enjoy ten minutes of solitude without pulling out some sort of device so that we may connect to our friends, listen to music, or post a status. Yet, I am guilty.

I like all these tools at our disposal, I think they are a tremendous asset. I have found them to be a great source of encouragement and a lot of good things have happened as a result. I love the fact that information is constantly at our fingertips. I really do. I think this information age in which we live is simply incredible. However, there are some draw backs to said technology.

Unlike face-to-face communication, electronic forms of communication often force us to make more assumptions about the sender’s intent, since messages must be interpreted with limited knowledge. Not to mention that an email or message or status sent at midnight can violate various unspoken boundaries than that of a face-to-face meeting. Furthermore, without the accompaniment of body language and facial expressions, electronic communication leaves the door open for many misinterpretations.

Now, I hope you do not get the idea that I am against all this technology. I love it. You should see my blog post from June 10, 2009 entitled, “Taking the Plunge.” I have no problem with this technology; but I would like to pose a question.

What about God?

I must admit to you that in my devotions this morning, I was interrupted (so to speak) by eight different messages, and I became convicted about my addiction. I had to force myself to put my phone on silent just so I could have a private moment with the Lord. The crazy thing is – it was difficult to even do. It's like my blackberry had become my crackberry!!!

If we are not careful, our prayer life and walk with the Lord can suffer because of all this technology. We must make sure that we do not find ourselves trying to multi-task our time with God believing that God understands. After all, we are extremely busy. God understands if I only take time to pray to Him during the commercials of my television show, right? I think not. By only giving God the brief moments or leftovers in our life, we exchange our intimate times with God for a quick email devotional and trade study and meditation for something we can grab on our way out the door. And just as our messages and posts can be misperceived, we can misinterpret God’s voice when we don’t allow ourselves to wait and hear what He has to say. Why do we not hear His voice? Because every moment of our day is spent with our mind constantly being pushed from one direction to another without any time to meditate on God.

Yes, it's true. Emails, texts, instant messaging, and other such technologies make it all too easy to fill in the dead parts of our day by cranking out another email or responding to someone's question or turning to my device for my next instruction. I think we need to heed the psalmist instruction when he said, “Be still and know that I am God.” When was the last time that you took time out of your hectic schedule just to “be still”?

Technology makes our lives much easier, but we must be careful not to let time with technology take the place of a daily private time with God. We need to seek direction from God, not from the email in the inbox. We need to take the time to worship Jesus Christ, and not the latest technology. We need to give Christ what is right and not what is left.In a world that calls us to be “on,” let us take time to turn off. Turn off the phone to spend time in prayer. Turn off the computer in order to study the Bible. Today, let us forsake the addiction to technology in an effort to pursue a direct and personal relationship with God!

Taking The Plunge...

Okay, here I go. I am officially beginning to do something that I never thought I would do. This is officially my first blog post. I do not know if anyone actually cares very much about what I have to say or not. If not, that is okay, I have decided to start this process in an effort to help me summarize my thoughts and my ideas into something that I hope I can use to be a help to myself in the future (as I can refer to a bit of history) and I hope that I can perhaps, one day, be a help to someone else’s future as they read. Who knows? Someone might just see a way of NOT to do something! So, I am taking the plunge and I hope this post explains why.

About six months ago I began a Face Book account. Thus my addiction to internet social networking began. I was amazed at the friends of mine that existed in the cyber space world. I established some new friendships and built some bridges to some old ones. It has been a wonderful experience. In addition to this, I have seen the benefits of the internet “social networking” experience not only in the personal realm, but also in ministry.

For several years, I must be honest, I didn’t get it. Why in the world would someone want to post pictures of themselves, post comments, and tell everyone when they were going to the bathroom? Is there a point to all this nonsense? Is it about ego? Why would I want to do something so worthless? I mean, is there really a point to all this social networking? Is it really worth all the trouble?.

So, here are some reasons as to why I am involved in this “worthless” endeavor:

First of all, obviously, I do not see it as a “worthless” endeavor as I once did – it serves a wonderful purpose of connecting me to others and them to me. And come to find out, it is really no trouble at all and is not a huge waster of time (that is, unless you get hooked on all those Face Book games!). Just a few short weeks after I started my Face Book account, I was amazed at the personal connection that I felt to others, and many of them are people that I would not have otherwise been in contact. It seemed to me that apparently this “social networking” was not near as shallow as it once appeared.

Secondly, I have engaged in this “worthless” venture because I believe it is necessary for us (adults and leaders) to learn technology with the sole purpose of being an influence throughout the “social networking” society. What is that scripture states? Matthew chapter five teaches us that we are to be the “light of the world.” This means that I must take my light to as many as I have the opportunity to influence. So, obviously, I must share my testimony and my faith with others around me such as my neighbors and co-workers and friends and family; however, I am doing a great disservice to the Christ when I ignore one of the greatest avenues to reach out to others – and just think, I can do all of this right from my laptop!

As a former youth pastor, I know the effects that internet can have on the mind. I have seen some devastating results of various types of internet addictions. It seems as if every time I turned around that a teenager was being sucked into this World Wide Web by way of Instant Messenger, My Space, Face Book, web cams, etc. Are these things inherently evil? I submit to you that these tools are no more evil than the car you drive or the television that you own. Can they be used for evil? Of course they can; however, these tools can be used as a mighty vehicle for good as well. No longer can we just pretend that this world does not exist and that these “tools” are not apart of society. For far too long, spiritual leaders (especially those in my particular background) have feared technology, made rules against said technology, and then pretend like it is not there. Well, it is there, and it’s not going anywhere! We need for our leaders, pastors and teachers to learn how to use this technology in a way that honors Christ, teaches others, influences others, and in a way that is appropriate.

Thirdly, I have found that this “social networking” is not a worthless undertaking because it has helped to make me more efficient with my time. Every time I am about to type something on my “status,” I ask myself: “Is this the most efficient use of my time?” It has challenged me to make the most of every moment. Is what I am doing even worth sharing? Am I accomplishing God’s purpose for my life in this moment? In Ephesians chapter five, Paul teaches us that we should be “redeeming the time because the days are evil.” Many times I have found myself scratching something off of my “to-do” list because upon thinking about it, I found it to be an effective use of my time or a waste of time altogether!

In addition to these three main reasons for “social networking,” I have found it to be a tremendous tool of prayer, support, encouragement, and instruction. It is also a lot of fun! (I mean, there is a reason that millions of people are addicted – IT’S FUN!) Moreover, I have found it to be a great way to stay connected with friends and family. It is extremely nice in the middle of the day to keep track of certain people, and through this process I feel much more connected and a part of their life, even at a distance.

As I conclude, let me throw a caveat at the end of this discussion, these networking blogs and posts and such can be a tremendous asset and a lot of fun; however, (you would think that this would go without saying) these things should not be the main focus of your life. If our entire lives are centered on a computer and we live in a cyber space reality, we are delusional at best. Everything in life must come in moderation. Ecclesiastes chapter three teaches us of the importance of balance – “To everything there is a season.” These things should be secondary, and at the end of the day nonessential when it comes to your relationship with Christ, your spouse, your children, and your job (in that order). It is simply a tool that we can use to be a better influence, encouragement, to teach and to learn alike. May you use these tools to spread your influence, learn, teach and be a testimony in a world that desperately needs the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, those are just some of main reasons why I have started the “social networking” scene and why I think it is important for us all to do so. Thanks for reading! Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts.