It is impossible to discuss social media these days without the mention of Facebook. And why not, given their recent deal with Microsoft that values them at over 15 billion, Facebook is worth talking about. I clearly see the excitement from a marketing perspective. Over 40 billion users that provide an estimated 15 billion page views a month is more than a popular site, it’s a cultural phenomenon.

I have a Facebook account and it seems that in the past 3 months I have received more “requests” from other Facebook users than I did in the 12 months prior. Is that because I have been spending more time trying to figure out what exactly Facebook is good for? Probably. I have requested connections with people I used to work with and went to college with and I have accepted them in return, but other than that, what have I really accomplished? Nothing as far as I can tell. Once I make the connection and we are “friends” again but other than that, not much else happens.

Don’t get me wrong, it is fun and it is a cool place to surf around, it has a nice interface (much nicer than MySpace), but I feel that in the long run, Facebook will prove to be more valuable as a testing ground for technologies that resonate with users and ones that don’t.

By no means have I given up on Facebook and I plan to keep using it, but I am still trying to figure out if I will ever use it if for more locating old friends and colleagues and becoming “friends” again.

Labels: facebook, microsoft, myspace, social media optimization, social networking