Facebook marketing guru Randi Zuckerberg estimates that the social-networking site will reach the half-billion user mark sometime next week. Barring duplicate accounts, that’s 1/13th of the planet’s population, and it means that there will be more Facebook users worldwide than there are Buddhists. (sources: 1, 2, 3)
 Though we had an official photographer, one of my favorite pictures from our wedding came from my friend and former radio co-host Matt Williams |
To commemorate this milestone, the site will launch “Facebook Stories,” a collection of short, user-submitted blurbs about how Facebook has changed our lives.
According to Zuckerberg (sister of CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg), a “Facebook Stories” Web page will list selected tales by location and themes such as “finding love,” “coping with grief” and “natural disasters.” Each story will be limited to just 420 characters, or the maximum length of a status update.
You can submit your own story via a simple form. And, if your story becomes popular and gets more “likes” than most stories, it could be featured on the site for all to see.
Here’s the story I submitted:
FB turned my wedding into a social-networking event! When we got married, we had a full “wedding week,” typical of my Indian people. Several of our friends photographed everything–sangeet, chura, various parties, our two (Hindu and Lutheran) weddings, our reception, etc.–and promptly uploaded their pics. One of the best gifts I received was an inbox full of loving comments from those who couldn’t attend.
What kinds of stories would you submit?
July 21, 2010 Update: Be sure to hit up http://stories.facebook.com and vote for your favorite stories! You can “like” mine here–that is, if you really do like it.
Rima Chaddha Mycynek is a writer, reporter, editor, photographer, videographer, former talk show host, and all-around journalism nerd. She currently teaches multimedia journalism at Boston University. [
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rima Chaddha Mycynek, Rima Chaddha Mycynek. Rima Chaddha Mycynek said: There are now more Facebook users worldwide than there are Buddhists. To celebrate, we're all invited to share our… http://fb.me/DcIYIHSL [...]
More Facebookers than buddhists! Now that puts things into perspective!
The 420 char. limit is smart because it forces people to not be so long-winded and to type like they normally would on the site anyway.
Shannon
It took me a while, but I think I actually do have a story worth submitting. FB helped me get back in touch with an old friend from high school. It turns out that we live in the same city. Now, we hang out a lot and have really reconnected. Until Facebook came along I never thought I’d see or hear from most people from my school again. I was really introverted back then and wasn’t really close to anyone including the people I called “friends.” Now it’s like I have a second chance.
OK, the fact that there are more FB users than Buddhists is…insane. Wow.
My story? When I was editor at The DM, I wrote a column about dating. A guy sent me a letter to the editor through Facebook, playfully debating my column. A few months later we started dating. Though we broke up in just six months, he’s now one of my best friends in the world.
The Buddhism figure is even more staggering if you take into account that, according to several sources, the religion is the 4th most popular faith in the world, following Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. There are more Buddhists than there are Sikhs and Jews combined.
So it’s just fascinating to me that there will soon be 1/2 billion Facebook users on the planet!
If you’ve ever wondered why I write so much about social networking (and why I ever posted this: http://www.news-geek.com/blog/my-social-media-blackout-confessions-of-an-addict/ ), there you have it!
Thanks for sharing, Dave and Sheena. Those are both great stories!
I love the story and I love that you have the picture to illustrate it. BTW, I love that picture too.
Aw shucks *toe kick*
Thanks, Zaranie!
To celebrate itll launch Facebook Stories a visual memorial to all the ways the social network has changed peoples lives. All Things Digitals BoomTown blog in an interview with Facebook marketing guru Randi Zuckerberg last week.
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