My friend Stephen Riley sent me a link to a post on Adam Singer’s remarkable blog “The Future Buzz.” This particular post listed a remarkable string of numbers quantifying the impact and pervasiveness of some of the biggest social networks. A few posts back, I posted about whether or not we may someday look back with a bit of nostalgic horror at how this particular community captured our collective fancy in much the same way the Members Only satin jackets seemed to rule the 80’s.
Frankly, that may still be true. But right now, Facebook deserves the attention. Consider these numbers:
150,000,000 – number of active Facebook users
170 – number of countries/territories using Facebook
35 – number of different languages used on Facebook
2,600,000,000 – total number of minutes global users spend on Facebook daily
100 – average number of friends per user
700,000,000 – number of photos added to Facebook monthly
52,000 – number of Facebook applications currently available
140 – number of new applications added per day
About six years ago, I began following NASCAR because a few clients and the sheer number of racefans demanded I do. I did it gladly and felt more informed as I cheered Jimmie Johnson and Team 48 to three Championships.
Interestingly, the total purported number of fans that comprise the NASCAR Nation equals about seventy-five million.
That’s only half the number of Facebook’s active community. One half.
What’s another name for something twice as big as a nation?