April 8, 2009
Facebook Hits 200M Users, Looks To Charity
"Facebook For Good" Will Let Users Share Philanthropic Experiences, Make Micro-Donations
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We knew Facebook was about to hit 200 million active users, but now it's official, per a post by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the company's official blog.
"We will welcome our 200 millionth user to Facebook some time today," wrote Zuckerberg, who's just over a month away from his 25th birthday. "Growing rapidly to 200 million users is a really good start, but we've always known that in order for Facebook to help people represent everything that is happening in their world, everyone needs to have a voice."
To commemorate the occasion, Facebook has launched a page called Facebook for Good, a page for members to share stories and experiences about how the social site has helped them give back.
It has also partnered with 16 charities and advocacy groups that have created virtual "gifts" that members can buy for one anothers' profiles. Most of the proceeds of the sale will go to the charity. The rest will go to administrative costs, not to Facebook, Zuckerberg wrote.
The partner organizations include a few longstanding names in charity like the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association, as well as newer tech-industry favorites like micro-loan start-up Kiva, shoe retailer
The campaign also puts Facebook's virtual-gift platform and "credits" system back in the spotlight at a time when, after much anticipation, the company is finally starting to make some moves in the micropayment space.
Slightly over a year ago, at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, Zuckerberg was asked about Facebook's plans in the philanthropic space. His response was that the company wasn't yet at that point.
"I think at this point, because we're not incredibly profitable, we're not at that stage of the company - hopefully we get there - that's not really something that we can do a lot of," he said to CNET News last March. "But I'd like to think that just what the company is trying to do in general, just helping people communicate, is actually making the world better."
A year later, Facebook's revenues are up, but not as much as some critics say they ought to be. This kind of growth isn't cheap, and with 200 million users, Facebook still has a lot of work to do on the business side, not just in the feel-good, change-the-world department.
By Caroline McCarthy
Copyright ©2008 CNET Networks, Inc., a CBS Company. All rights reserved.
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- Not all Facebook users log in every minute or every day. I usually log on when I'm bored or not busy with what life happens to bring me that day. I find the site very useful to keep my friends updated on important events in my life or if I feel I have something funny or useful to share. The only ones who log on constantly are mostly teens and young adults. The others like me who are older only log on when we feel a need to. Some of you folks who gripe about Facebook are sounding like the same ones who when asked about that new fangled invention, the car, would remark, get a horse. Now it's get a life. Well I use Facebook, I'm 56, and I have a very full life even though I'm battling stage 3 cancer. Facebook is just one aspect of my life and I find it very useful.
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- sly_64, I'm one of those old fashioned types who call people on the phone to tell them about my bowel movements. Why do some people seem to find that annoying?
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- Love the people on facebook that must comments on every detail of their life, like their latest bowel movements.
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- Thank you horse3farm:
I really did get the feeling i was talking to my self.
It is most reassuring I am not alone.
I would advise that if they won't let you get your details of the site you should alter the characters with something !"£$%^&*(()))(&*^%$£"!
Just to make sure your safe. - Reply to this comment
- I joined Facebook when a friend invited me. Was on for about a month, and I just don't see the appeal. Who has time to log in everyday to tell everyone you went to the movies tonight? I find the site incredibly confusing anyway. So I de-activated my account. They won't let you remove your name completely from the site, which is scary all by itself.
Chris_Butler....thought your comment was hilarious. - Reply to this comment
- OK, I clearly did not expect 200 Million complaints about my comment, which I thought was humorous.
Maybe Facebook users are too busy with Facebook to be on this website and argue with me.
I think I should start a new Social Network. "The Friends of CBS". By the looks of things I would be all on my lonesome. Maybe not such a good idea. - Reply to this comment
- 200 Million people with nothing else to do.
WoW.
Oh I am an old sour puss (Non Facebook User). - Reply to this comment
