2009- The Year of the Facebook and Twitter

In 2009, Facebook and Twitter has emerged as gaints of the internet. The total number of Facebook users tripled within the last year and managed to eclipse MySpace as the world's leading social network. Twitter meanwhile, grew from 2 million users to nearly 40 million, more than 20 times during the year.



What makes both websites so successful is the convenience of usage. If you have something bugging you, whether it is your unreasonable boss or you won at poker and would like to share it with the people you love, all you have to do is to reach out for your keyboard and type the few magic words and the whole world would know what is going on. Plus, both websites are available on the mobile for easy access. Talk about innovation in the new decade.

With 350 million users on Facebook, it would form the 4th largest country if their users were calculated that way. That is more than Brazil, Germany and Australia. And this figure is expected to rise throughout the next year. With figures like these, it is no wonder that Google made an approach for a takeover but their attempts were resisted.

Facebook and Twitter are popular because they provide real value to people in their personal and work lives. Suddenly they can keep up with thousands of people anywhere by just having a Facebook account or being active on Twitter.

Besides that, both websites serve as useful marketing tools. See that annoying advertisement on the right of your screen? Even major companies like AIG, Nokia and Western Digital have a Facebook page to reach out to its clients. In fact, even our beloved Prime Minister has a Facebook page. Do you know he is a fan of Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo? This is what Facebook can do for you.

In terms of Gaming, Facebook introduced a few user friendly games such as Restaurant City and Mafia Wars. They provide hours of fun and are highly addictive, and allows users of all ages to get involved.

In a nutshell, Facebook and Twitter has affected our lives directly or indirectly whether we have an account in either website or not. Expect both to grow strong within the next year. Or Google to launch another takeover bid.