back to article World+bitch flocking to expose self on Facebook

Facebook is on track to reach 500 million users by June, despite a backlash over a series of recent anti-privacy changes that mean more and more users' information is exposed to all and sundry. The unofficial but generally reliable All Facebook blog reports that the social network is planning a significant celebration once the …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Er

    >500 million users

    Accounts != Users

    1. Kevin 43

      Farmville Alts...

      A huge proportion of these must be from people creating alternate accounts with which to gift themselves farmville crap!

    2. Kevin 43
      Grenade

      Farmville Alts...

      A huge proportion of these must be from people creating alternate accounts with which to gift themselves farmville crap!

  2. John Robson Silver badge
    FAIL

    Maths?

    "The blog adds that Facebook is on track to reach 600 million users and $1bn in revenue by the end of 2010. The social networking site had less than a third that number of users - around 15 million - just 12 months ago."

    600m /3 != 15m

    1. Richard Morris
      Grenade

      Nope.

      Whilst it still may be a typo, it isn't a mathmatical one.

      Last time I checked, 15 million was less than a third of 600 million (by quite a large margin).

    2. Gordon is not a Moron
      Headmaster

      Pedant ahoy!

      Well as 15 million is less than a third of 600 million, or 200 million if you prefer, there's nothing wrong with the original statement.

      1. Code Monkey

        True

        It's like saying Jupiter's bigger than an elephant. There are better comparisons but the statement is correct.

        My 2p: I reckon it's a typo and shame on us all for our pedantry!

      2. J 3
        Joke

        Well...

        I don't know about you guys defending that garbled sentence from the article, but humans usually say "less than 1/X of Y: Z" in a context like that when 1/X is close to Z. So, according to the sentence Facebook might grow 40 times in a year or so, and not 3 times? The author might just as well have written "The social networking site had less than 100 TIMES that number of users - around 15 million - just 12 months ago." and still be right.

        So while technically the sentence is right... You've been working on computers for too long, I'm afraid.

        And you forgot the joke icon.

  3. Estariel

    typo?

    third that number of users - around 15 million

    did you mean 150 million?

  4. shade82000
    Alert

    Statistical moulding?

    Considering 'delete facebook account' is a popular search term and the fact that they just 'deactivate' your account instead of deleting it completely, I wonder if the deleted accounts are also included in their count and whether one of the reasons they dont delete your account is so that they can appear to still be popular after people leave?

    1. Uncle Slacky Silver badge
      Headmaster

      Allow two weeks...

      ...but you *can* (eventually) delete your account completely:

      http://www.groovypost.com/howto/security/permanently-delete-your-facebook-profile-account/

  5. Estariel

    Lots of new users?

    The extra users are the sockpuppets, pseudonyms, and the ones that russian lad was selling?

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Facebook's great

    I don't know what all the moaning is about, only idiots provide any real life information to any of these services.

    As for networks: My Facebook friends tend to be people I used to know, it's the modern equivalent of the Christmas card list. It's the idea of recruitment agencies correlating info from CVs that freaks me out.

    1. Katt
      Coffee/keyboard

      idiots?

      "Only Idiots..."

      That would be anyone non-tech savvy then...children, the elderly, my mum (honestly, the woman thinks she can wave at me on google street view). The innocent should be protected, and the stupid, the ill informed, and yes, the careless who don't even think about it.

      The protection of people has to be done by those holding the data... in the grand scheme of things, people are stupid, and Facebook are turning over a billion quid... they should sort it.

      1. Doshu
        Grenade

        well... maybe not *all* the stupid

        Stupid + arrogant = cruisin' for a personal info bruisin'.

        And i, for one, won't get in the way of that.

        Some only learn the hard way.

    2. Cameron Colley

      Then how do you use it and why?

      If you don't use your real name then how does anyone find you?

      If you don't post about what you're up to then how do your "friends" know?

      If you don't put up pictures how does anyone see them?

      If you don't join groups of friends, family, or colleagues then how do you get to know about new members of the group?

      Finally, if you don't do any of the above then why are you on facepalm?

      The very point of using facebook is to pass information on to groups of people -- and that information is what is being exposed.

      1. N2

        Wonderful

        "The very point of using facebook is to pass information on to groups of people"

        Thats very charitable of them,

        I suspect if there was an option to submit bank account & sort code theres people out there that would fill that in as well.

        1. Xander Dent
          Flame

          Account and Sort Code?

          I'd post it too tbh, that's practically free info, with which you could *deposit* money into my account. Thanks very much, very charitable of you.

          I suspect if the clue was biting a chunk out of some people's arse, they still couldn't find it.

  7. Dave Murray
    Big Brother

    dumb

    Just proves what I've always thought, most people are stupid.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Hmm...how many???

    How many of these "half a billion" accounts are REAL ACTUAL users, and not companies using these accounts to spam. Also, how many aren't fake accounts looking to farm your information.

    You know the ones, with the studio quality pics of some chick you've never met in a bikini?

    (Sure, I save the pic for later, but c'mon.) :D

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Studio pics

      Professional photo studio sessions as this year big "gift" for women.

      You buy them like those trackday and baloon ride vouchers you could buy people

      I think tescos offer them.

      About half the women I know have had one done.

      1. Code Monkey

        "About half the women I know have had one done."

        Is that know for real or half your female Facebook friends?

        1. Pascal Monett Silver badge
          Joke

          half your female Facebook friends

          90% of which are actually grown men living in their mother's basement.

  9. LinkOfHyrule

    Didn't Yahoo....

    Didn't Yahoo once have 600 million users? And then loose a lot of them? I might be wrong here but if i'm nearish to the mark it shows that even giants fall from grace at some point. Calling your users dumb fucks is a start.

  10. Commentator

    Prawn sandwich, anyone?

    Older readers will remember:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Ratner

  11. MinionZero
    Stop

    Facebook vs World Population

    Current World Population = 6821600000

    Facebook Accounts = 500000000

    Therefore 7.33% of world Population have Facebook accounts.

    BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY 92.67% OF POPULATION ARE NOT ON FACEBOOK!

    Also around 3% of people are classified as having a Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) (i.e. they are attention seekers).

    Plus add in younger adults who are very likely to be influenced by the core group of HPDs to become part of the superficial "in crowd" so to speak. After all HPD people want to be the centre of attention so they want followers. That's what all the superficial friend lists are all about. Its to feed that superficial need for attention from large numbers of people they don't really know. Plus HPD people will try very hard to convince others that everyone must be like them and so to follow them (and anyone not like them is to be laughed at and put down to humiliate them into following the HPD).

    Plus add in the people who are not fully HPD, but still have a mild leaning towards a Histrionic pattern of behaviour. So we are talking about more than 3% who have aspects of a Histrionic pattern of behaviour.

    So is it any wonder this superficial Facebook website gets so many superficial followers and also their gullible followers wanting to be part of the "in crowd" as they say.

    After all, humans are pack animals and so HPD behaviour can be thought of as an extreme over emphasised version of pack behaviour found in all of us. HPD behaviour is the result of a child growing up deprived of parental attention (mild patterns of this behaviour are due to for example divorce and/or sibling rivalry where children feel they have to compete for attention, whereas in extreme cases of HPD behaviour, its the result of parental neglect).

    This is Facebook's target market! After all the Narcissists running Facebook so often try to exploit Histrionic people (because they are easy to exploit) and (because Narcissists try to exploit everyone) and the Histrionic people are very vocal in trying to convince everyone else its a good thing, because they always want to be at the centre of attention.

    Its easy to understand why we have HPD people because put simply, to any creature parental attention is effectively the same thing as parental protection. When children are being watched over by a parent, the child feels safe. When they are deprived of parental attention, they are fearful and so the next safest place for a pack animal is to seek the attention of the wider pack, when their most immediate pack is not watching them, i.e. their family. After all the safest place in a pack is at the centre of attention in that pack.

    Its all part of that superficial attention based way of behaving and Facebook is totally designed to appeal to that high profile segment of the population and they are high profile because HPD's want attention! ... so they are a small percentage of the population, but they relentlessly try to influence us all to follow them. All because they want attention.

    The problem with HPD people is that just as they seek attention they also seek to deprive others of attention and it is here where they can be extremely cruel to others, as they endlessly fight to regain the centre of attention (and so deprive others of attention by loudly seeking to humiliate others). That is why they behave the way they do and make such a big show of it. Their whole life can often be an act to gain them attention. Its why they are so good for industries such as acting, singing, fashion etc..

    That same pattern of behaviour also explains all Reality TV. So is it any wonder a technology like TV would end up getting infested with people obsessed with their own need for attention and then over time they get into enough high positions of power that they can start making programs that appeal to them. So we get endless shows based on people wanting their instant 15 minutes of fame and giving us relentlessly boring superficial drivel. Which is exactly like the vast majority of Facebook, because that is the same target audience as Facebook. :(

    1. bothwell

      this again

      Why are you so obsessed with "histrionic" and "narcissistic" personalities using Facebook, and why do you keep posting these enormous comments ranting - hysterically - about them? Is there something about yourself that you'd like to share with the group, perhaps?

      1. MinionZero
        Stop

        @Bothwell and the fools who follow him

        What I said wasn't hysterical, that's you playing a straw man argument, trying to belittle what I was saying by trying to misrepresent what I was saying. Discussing HPD behaviour is totally relevant to Facebook as it Psychology in general. We are talking about 500 million user accounts here!. That's what this news was all about ... potentially 500 million users is a lot of people. So I was just trying to put that figure into perspective. That is totally relevant.

        So it is you Bothwell, with your very obvious need to suppress what I was saying, who is revealing something about yourself because you tried to misrepresent the importance and relevance of Psychology to this news. Cluster B disorders are central to the way our world is going and that influence is growing on the Internet all the time and it will, if unchecked, totally change the Internet from a dream of a future utopia into a growing nightmare as it is now. So its totally relevant to technology. Cluster B disorders are central to why we are all sliding towards a totalitarian society which is extremely relevant to the Internet and all of technology, because technology is being subverted to the wishes of the Cluster B disorders (make not mistake a lot of NPDs are in political power). They will not rest until technology gives them ever more extreme power over people, which is exactly what they are doing now. Psychology is about people's behaviour, so its totally relevant to directions in how technology is used!

        Cluster B disorders are also central to our main stream media's obsession with 15 minutes of fame attention seeking people showing such superficial vacuous banality that its suffocating sickening to watch and make no mistake, media is utterly centrally important to the Internet. The Internet is the biggest growth in media in history, so any strong influence on media is totally relevant to the direction technology is going.

        So Bothwell your attempt to suppress what I say just shows more of your attitude. (After all a need to suppress is one of the profile warning signs of someone with a Cluster B disorder, because they try to hide their behaviour from others). NPD's in particular don't want a world where people understand why they do the things they do to others. They don't want a spotlight on them highlighting the harm they cause because as people learn they learn to avoid and protect themselves from the NPD's manipulative games.

        Education is vital and its ultimately the only long term way we as a society will ever stop the harm Cluster B disorders cause people and the whole of society and if we don't stop them they will cause a nightmare society for everyone the way they have done repeatedly throughout history. Without Education we will sadly repeat the mistakes of the past which is, the Narcissists gain increasing power over the people, then the people fight back and reset the levels of control, then the levels of Narcissistic control continue to grow ever worse again. So countries oscillate between the levels of power the Narcissists in charge have over the majority of people. So look at the suffering caused to society and people and now look that the remorseless abuse of technology to subvert it into ever more Orwellian ways to gain power over people. We have to fight against that and Education is the key.

        Psychology is vitally relevant to the way technology is being influenced. After all the way humans behave is totally relevant to the way technology is used. Its therefore interesting how Bothwell tried to behave as though he totally failed to notice this, in his attempt to misrepresent what I was saying, because he couldn't miss an influence this big, so instead he choose to misrepresent me in an attempt to suppress a conversation he doesn't want people to discuss or understand.

        Psychology is vitally relevant to the direction technology is taking and so vitally relevant to our future.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          WTF?

          RE: @Bothwell and the fools who follow him

          What the f**k are you on about?

          The start of your first post contained statistics that were fatally flawed as they did not take into account the %age of the worlds population that could not access the internet.

          Then you said 3% of the population had some kind of attention disorder. Another %age which you then ignored for the rest of your pointless post.

          Now you're bringing psychology into it. Wow.

          Don't know what it has to do with the actual number of people who use Facebook. Once again, you went so off-topic as to be on another planet, never mind another topic...

          So, to recap - if you had something to say, we all missed it!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Troll

      TLDR

      And looks to much like trick cyclist stuff.

    3. Galidron
      Joke

      TLDR

      Is that used here?

    4. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      RE: Facebook vs World Population

      "Current World Population = 6821600000

      Facebook Accounts = 500000000

      Therefore 7.33% of world Population have Facebook accounts."

      How many people are unable to connect to the internet?

      They maybe don't have a computer or a phone line.

      Even if they have both, it might be so slow as to be unusable.

      Didn't take that into account, did you? Not that you then go on to do anything at all with the numbers...

      "Also around 3% of people are classified as having a Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) (i.e. they are attention seekers)."

      Yeah, they tend to make long posts in their own name on The Register.

      You'll find them on Facebook too - about 3% of the users (by your figures)

  12. Grubby
    WTF?

    Ranting to rant

    I like all the people having a rant whenever facebook is mentioned, it's bad, it's evil, it takes your data and sends it to binladen... So. I took time to write it, let people read it. If you're stupid enough to tell everyone where you live and that you leave your door open when you're out you deserve to be robbed, if you're desperate enough to add random people who you don't know then you deserve to be tied up in the boot of a mondeo.

    The rules of the world are no different for the internet, if you're thick you will die, if you're smart you will live.

  13. Rodders27

    Leaving.......

    The reason most people don't leave Facebook?

    1. They are scared of missing out. Simple. If all their friends stay on there, they don't want to miss out on some important bit of important information that may alter their life forever.

    2. They have no idea what privacy is or do not care if the world knows they like purple cats, red hair or pigeons.

    Or most likely:

    3. Vain - dictionary meaning: excessively proud of or concerned about one's own appearance, qualities, achievements, etc.; conceited: a vain dandy.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    garbage in, garbage out

    The real solutuion to the problem is to create so many fake accounts with fake info that facebook can't sort it out and advertisers realize they are wasting their money. Lob a data grenade right into the source.

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      fake accounts with fake info ?

      Already done, guv.

      Waiting for the consequences.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Badgers

    Dodgy Numbers

    For example, everyone I know (literally I think, I am pretty sad) has a facebook account. Everyone. If we estimate that at about 200 people I know well enough to have discussed this with and take that as a starting figure.

    Of those 200 people only 1 has updated his farcebook pages this *year* (although he is a regular user), the rest have dormant accounts they never check and probably no longer remember the log in details to.

    Does this count as 200 users or 1 user? Even if this is very unrepresentative (which it may well be as its a self-selected study group) I think there is easily in the region of 50% of facebook accounts that are dead. Does this mean that there are <300m people who have accounts and use them (then we have to consider how many accounts each person has...)

    Web 2.0 things are great, you can just make numbers up and everyone assumes they are true. I bet the reality is that there are only 10 facebook users, they just have lots and lots of accounts....

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Zuckerberg

    ...should be forced to spend the rest of his life being interviewed by Sarah Lacy.

    And all those who work for him should be forced to sit and watch - and forced to stand up every 30 minutes and applaud.

  17. marky_boi
    Paris Hilton

    I'm that dog hahahaha!!!

    It's always been said you could be a dog on the Internet and no-one would know.. well, I am that dog. In other words fake name, fake email, no real personal info at all.... suck that Zuckerberg....

    Paris cos at least she lives in the real world, not La La land...

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    DUH!

    Of the 600 million 'accounts' 550 million are bots.

    If NOT bots then Facebook is greatly exaggerating their numbers... They lie a lot so who really knows, they even believe their own lies by this time.

    DUH!

    Obvious.

  19. Steven 8
    Grenade

    What about the API?

    Would it be possible usin the API to create fake acounts and have then autoupdate status, random pictures, look and accept firends? Fill the datamart with crap, make real people impossible to find, no end of fun...

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Love it, Hate it, just be Sensible

    After the initial shock of finding the World + Dog on Facebook, it's become an integral part of my life. I've connected with friends I haven't seen in over 20 years, and a lost love I thought I'd never see again.

    It's great for that, but do I also vent my spleen and indulge in the dirty jokes and tales of the wild-n-crazy stuff of youth? Well, in my case there wasn't much to tell, but I still am discreet, and behave as if every post I make could be read my boss and neighbors. I also don't list my whole resume, political, or religious views.

    It's common sense today, and if I start a job search I'll likely close my account to everything but my friends and open a separate "real" account for the recruiters to see.

    As for Zuckerberg, he's the new Bill Gates.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Bad publicity

    "Brendan Behan's maxim that the only bad publicity is an obituary"

    For some people, even an obituary isn't bad publicity (think Elvis and MJ for a start)

  22. Kanhef

    active accounts

    Leaving aside the question of how many accounts are fake or group/company pages, how many have even been accessed in the last year? They're counting the number of accounts that have been created, which is far greater than the number of people actually using the site.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If you have nothing to hide...

    ...why don't you have a facebook account? Or that seems to be the way it's heading.

    If you have one, you appear 'normal' to prospective and current employers, but run the risk of being caught short by your own or others postings suggesting your idea of night time entertainment may not be sitting around singing the company anthem and reading its sales literature.

    On the other hand, if you haven't signed off your life's little details to the data hoovering phenomenon that is Facebook, you look at best like a bit of a saddo or holdout who won't 'move with the times', at worst someone who has some distinctly iffy private habits or a past they don't want catching up with them. To an HR department of the modern ilk, either looks like the sort of 'risk' they are distinctly averse to, particularly at the less skilled and of the market. Given the moronic hoops they already want applicants to jump through, they must be revelling in another tool to play dog with.

    Peer pressure was fine when it was a dozen of your teenage mates egging you on to the latest fad, but another game entirely when it's close to half the country exerting their collective tyrannical might and scrutiny. At a guess the net effect if likely to be an extremely dull and compliant generation who are taught from the age of two to worry about their social networking profile and its potential effect on their distant future employability.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      RE: If you have nothing to hide...

      "...why don't you have a facebook account? Or that seems to be the way it's heading.

      If you have one, you appear 'normal' to prospective and current employers"

      Yep, you appear "normal" to perspective employers who try to Facebook you, find 100 people with the same name and then realise that you're probably one of those whose profile they can't see unless you let them...

      "On the other hand, if you haven't signed off your life's little details to the data hoovering phenomenon that is Facebook, you look at best like a bit of a saddo or holdout who won't 'move with the times', at worst someone who has some distinctly iffy private habits or a past they don't want catching up with them."

      If you did have any "iffy private habits" you would make your account details viewable only by people you had accepted as friends. Problem solved.

      I'm guessing you've never used Facebook - either that or are too stupid to have worked out how to use the privacy settings...

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Zuckerberg really is laughing all the way to the bank. At your expense.

    Only person I care about that uses face book joined because the rest of her friends missed her off a party list, because she wasn't on facebook. If a friend thinks so little of you that you don't figure in their mind without the use of facebook, then they are the kind of friend you don't really need.

    ...and why can' that person send you an email, instead of letting facebook send you an email to notify you that you have been sent an email.

    Either way 500 million people just shows that there are 500 million losers out there who can't form a stable and meaning relationship, friend or otherwise with people. That doesn't at any time include the fairly constant support of an internet web page.

    Lol.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I have 2 unused accounts

    that I set up over the years and immediately forgot about., my partner has 3 she no longer uses.

    Thats 5 you can take off the stats to begin with

    Were not addicted teenagers either, I bet lots of them have loads of accounts that they just got bored with.

    Also as soon as I saw that you could only deactivate accounts I knew they were massaging the user figures to drive up advertising revenue.

  26. Anonymous Hero
    Stop

    It's all about Data Quality

    As some else said earlier, FB is just like a xmas card list and I find it handy for keeping track of far flung mates around the world.

    Whilst I use my real name on FB, the quality of the rest of the data I provide (DOB, location etc) is totally inaccurate, crap or not at all. I also don't allow any apps access to my profile either nor do I play any of those daft Farmville type games.

    Communication between mates that is anything more than a "Hey dude, fancy a pint" is quickly moved to MSN or regular email.

    It's all about common sense. It's a bit of fun and a handy friend tracker, but don't store anything of any worth on the site.

  27. John I'm only dancing
    Stop

    Arsebook

    Because only arses use it.

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