In case you missed it

It’s been another busy week in the fast-changing social networking world. Here are a few updates from The GH Spin’s “In case you missed it” file.

• Time Magazine’s Person of the Year: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was named 2010 Person of the Year by Time Magazine. Time credits Zuckerberg with wiring together a “twelfth of humanity into a single network.” It is clear that Zuckerberg has made an enormous impact on the way we communicate, and Facebook’s popularity is not expected to wane soon – more than 250 million people (or half of Facebook’s members) use the social networking site daily.

• Mobile phone use increases: While this may come as no surprise due to the increasing popularity of smartphones, a recent eMarketer survey found that people spend as much time on their mobile phones as they do reading a newspaper and a magazine combined. The average user spends 50 minutes a day using his or her mobile phone, 30 minutes reading a newspaper, and 20 minutes reading a magazine.

• Myspace integrates with Facebook: Myspace is now letting users log into their Facebook accounts through their Myspace pages. Myspace will import users’ likes and interests listed on their Facebook walls and stream entertainment content based on these interests. According to Myspace, this move will deliver an “even richer entertainment experience” to its users. Learn more here.

The end of e-mail as we know it? Facebook says yes, the GH Spin is not so sure.

In 1972, Ray Tomlinson transformed the way we communicate when he invented e-mail. Tomlinson used the “@” symbol to send information from one computer to another, and communication has never been the same. Now, 38 years later, 26-year-old Mark Zuckerberg wants to change e-mail as we know it.

The Facebook founder announced yesterday yet another new feature for his ever-expanding social media empire – a comprehensive message system that would consolidate e-mail, texts, and instant messaging in one social inbox. In less than a month, each of Facebook’s 500 million users will receive an e-mail address (@facebook.com).

You will then be able to choose how you prefer to receive messages – text, e-mail, or Facebook account – and messages will automatically be forwarded to you in your preferred format.

Zuckerberg says that Facebook’s messaging system is not e-mail. In fact, he said in a news conference that he doesn’t think e-mail is going to be a modern messaging system, partly because it is too formal. For many, he’s right. Younger people are forgoing e-mail in favor of more casual instant messaging and texts.

There is also an important business reason behind this. The messaging system creates more chances to reach the more-than half of a billion Facebook users via ads. Some are positioning this new service as Facebook’s way to better compete with Gmail and other e-mail services.

Despite the rise of informal texts, tweets, and Facebook wall posts, The GH Spin believes there will always – and should always – be a time and place for formal communications, namely in the workplace. While your in-laws might not care if you send them a quick message via Facebook, a potential client, employer, or colleague might not be impressed with your knowledge of Internet abbreviations.

Additionally, domain names associated with e-mail addresses subliminally inform recipients about the sender. Will an e-mail from an @facebook.com account have the same clout as one from more acceptable e-mail domains, like Gmail or a company domain?

As with all technology developments, we will have to wait to see whether or not the Facebook messaging system is successful. Google recently tried to take on Twitter with Google Buzz. But the buzz faded quickly, and Google is ending the service.

Nevertheless, this new development shows how Facebook is evolving to serve the needs of those who want quick, informal communications. How we communicate and the options available continue to evolve, especially as the social network strives to be an even bigger part of our lives.

Count on The GH Spin to keep you up to date.

Will you ‘friend’ the Facebook movie?

The Social Network opens in theaters today. While the GH Spin does not condone comparisons of this film to Citizen Kane, we can’t help but recognize the significance of a movie that attempts to dissect an empire that has caused a global shift in how we socialize.

In this work of art by Aaron Sorkin and slighted Facebook founder Ben Mezrich, the lead actor looks like Mark Zuckerberg’s twin but many say the similarities don’t carry through the plot. There are squabbles over details such as whether or not Zuckerberg ever really rowed crew or not (who cares?) and when and where a Facebook groupie was arrested for cocaine use (the arrest itself is not disputed.) But, we hope the movie does somehow capture what went on in the early days of the creation of this social media mega-player.

Zuckerberg says he won’t even see it (though there are rumors he sneaked into a preview). Will you?

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

500 million like Facebook

Facebook gained its 500 millionth member this week – only six years after its inception. With a membership contingent greater than the population of the United States, Facebook has quickly grown to be one of the most – if not the most – powerful social networking website in the world.

• Facebook surpassed Google as the most visited website in the world in 2010.
• 100 million new users joined the site in the past six months alone.
• The fastest-growing demographic of users is women older than 55.
• The average user spends 55 minutes per day and views 661.8 pages each month.
• More than 25 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared each month.
(Sources: Facebook, Inside Facebook, and Business Insider)

Even Hollywood is paying attention. This fall, Columbia Pictures will release The Social Network, a movie about the creation of Facebook, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will make an appearance on The Simpsons.

Facebook’s success has come with a price recently. The social networking giant has been criticized by everyone from users to U.S. Senators for its changes to its privacy settings. Facebook is even being sued by a man who claims to own 84% of the company.

But Facebook’s popularity seems solid, especially if users continue to spend more than 500 billion minutes per month on the site.

For more information, watch Diane Sawyer’s interview with Zuckerberg.