Facebook phenomenon keeps on growing

Facebook is becoming ever more popular Reuters

Social networking website Facebook, which is highly popular in Switzerland, reached a milestone this month – 500 million users worldwide.

In Switzerland it has around 2.2 million users, which is 29 per cent of the population. But not everyone wants to join and some companies have blocked access to it.

The number of global Facebook members has risen to the equivalent of the combined populations of the United States, Germany and Japan.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who started the site six years ago, hopes to take it to one billion users in the future. But just how far can the site go?

“Nobody can answer that question with any certainty, even if the phenomenon is an anomaly compared with other social networks, which have registered a peak in members, followed by a drop after around two years,” said Paolo Attivissimo, an information technology journalist and author of a popular blog.

Facebook on the other hand has been growing constantly since its launch. “The site has probably reached such a critical mass of users that, given its size, it pushes those who are not part of it to sign up,” Attivissimo told swissinfo.ch.

Simplicity, effectiveness

Facebook’s simplicity is key, especially for the younger generation. In very little time users can create a profile and share content, like photographs.

Companies have also discovered it. “In English-speaking countries especially, Facebook is a highly exploited communication channel because it allows for visibility and direct dialogue with those who are following a certain product or topic. For example, the BBC and very many other media outlets have links to Facebook,” said Attivissimo.

Non-English-speaking countries are also getting up to speed, with Germany’s Der Spiegel and Italy’s La Repubblica showing strong numbers of fans. Even Arabic is picking up, as swissinfo’s experiment in this language is showing – swissinfo being the leading Swiss media on Facebook thanks to its global audience.

Other Swiss firms on the platform include Swiss Post’s banking arm Postfinance, telecoms giant Swisscom and watch company Swatch. They often use competitions and product presentations to attract young people, normally less receptive to traditional advertising.

The platform is most popular among younger people. A recent survey showed that more than half of Swiss users were aged 18-35, but the number fell to 16 per cent among 35-44 year olds and three per cent for the over 55s.

Data concerns

But there is a downside. Concerns have been raised by the Swiss data protection watchdog over possible data abuse.

Attivissimo warns that publishing material is almost too easy and that people do not always realise what will be accessible. “Consequently, sometimes information that should have been restricted to only a few users gets shared.”

In addition, “many people don’t think about how, for example, a potential employer, could read some of their Facebook comments or view some of their photographs. In the end, it’s a question of personal responsibility and being familiar with a new way of communicating.”

Facebook has also hit the headlines over groups using it controversially – there was an outcry in Britain recently when a page appeared in support of the gunman Raoul Moat.

“Many people are pushed by the desire to get themselves noticed, to be talked about, and emerge from this huge Facebook universe. Even here, people have to learn to use this new instrument correctly and to respect the rules,” said Attivissimo.

Anti-Facebook

However some people, like Sara Contini, who is 35 years old and works in communications, reject Facebook altogether.

“I have not yet come up with a reason to sign up. Don’t misunderstand me: I’m not a technophobe. I followed the internet’s development right from the beginning and got myself an email address straightaway because I could see the use,” she told swissinfo.ch.

But for Facebook it’s different. “The same thing can be said about the latest mobile phones which offer loads of gadgets but few really useful applications. So it ends up using you rather than you actually using it yourself.”

Some might counter that this is a strange opinion for somebody working in communications but Contini says she can find information through blogs, forums and sharing sites.

The other reason she is against Facebook is the same one that has driven some companies and most of the federal administration to block employees’ access to the service – time.

“A day only has 24 hours. If you dedicate even just one hour talking to someone 10,000 kilometres away, that’s less time for important things like my family,” she said.

“You couldn’t do without the internet, but you can do without Facebook – there’s a life away from the computer and it would be a shame not to have time to live it.”

Andrea Clementi, swissinfo.ch (Adapted from Italian by Isobel Leybold-Johnson)

Not at work

The entire federal administration, with the exception of the foreign ministry, barred their employees from accessing Facebook on September 15, 2009.

A study had earlier revealed that Facebook was the second-most visited website by federal employees.

But appeals for moderation went unheeded, hence the ban. But employees may be exempted if Facebook is needed for professional reasons.

Banks UBS and Credit Suisse and the Swiss Post and Federal Railways are among the Swiss companies who have also imposed a stop.

Facebook

The social networking site, which was launched in 2004, took nearly four years to add its first 100 million users. In comparison, it has gained around 100 million new users in the past six months.

Announcing the 500 millionth user on July 21, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said in a blog post he could, “have never imagined all of the ways people would use Facebook when we were getting started 6 years ago”.

70 per cent of users now come from outside the United States. The Middle East, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India and Brazil are some of the fastest growing regions.

According to figures quoted in the Swiss media there are around 2.2 million Facebook users in Switzerland. That’s under 0.5 per cent of the total global users.