The Explosive Growth of Facebook

Although MySpace got a lot of attention (and a lot of members) in a relatively short time, the big money and attention is now going to Facebook:

PALO ALTO -- -- Google Inc. is used to being the center of attention, the giant that executives at other Internet companies wish Silicon Valley would shut up about already.

For the moment, they've got their wish. People here can't stop talking about Facebook Inc.

Commanding their attention: the social networking site's rocketing growth, cheeky business strategies and staggering valuation.

Microsoft Corp. last month took a small stake in Facebook that valued the company at $15 billion. The deal may have positioned Facebook's 23-year-old co-founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, to one day supplant Google co-founder Sergey Brin as the technology industry's youngest self-made billionaire. ...

Started in a Harvard University dorm room less than four years ago, Facebook spread like wildfire among college students. Last year, it opened membership to the world, and the wildfire is still raging. Facebook now has more than 54 million users, second among social networking sites behind only Beverly Hills-based MySpace. And it's sucking up Web traffic and Silicon Valley engineering talent.

Presidential hopefuls and entertainment heavyweights seek out Facebook's executives. Venture capitalists and software developers stalk its employees in coffee shops and on the site itself. Users post love songs about it on YouTube. Programmers and marketers pack conferences devoted to understanding the site better. Stanford University even offers a course in creating free software for Facebook.

I joined Facebook during the summer shortly after my daughter did and we often communicate through it. You can post pictures, links, videos, send messages to each other, and network with others in any number of ways. There's all kinds of interesting and fun software add-ons that you can include in your Facebook profile. She has made all kinds of friend around the world who have similar interests as hers.

Since I joined a couple of my Facebook friends are exploring different ways to use the networking capabilities. Patrick Ruffini is trying to get Facebook members involved in various political causes and Andrew Jackson has set up a couple of networks for Christian bloggers and local networks for pastors. There are a lot of things you can do with it.

I can be found in the Orange County, CA network among others.