Hmmm, is there any technological frontier that Facebook is not charging toward?
Did I hear correctly? Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announcing that Facebook is building airplanes? It seems an oxymoron – a virtual company manufacturing anything let alone a giant hunk of flying metal.
Apparently, it is true. And even more startling, Facebook will bean a satellite into space within the next few months. It is all part of Zuckerberg’s plan to bring internet service to every corner of the planet and to establish world domination.
Oops, sorry. The world domination part was supposed to be implied only. But it is difficult not to think in those terms when you attempt to digest some of the mind boggling statistics involved.
- Over 1.65 billion monthly active Facebook users worldwide
- 4.5 billion likes generated daily
- Over 1 billion people log onto Facebook daily
- Five new profiles are created every second.
- Every 60 seconds on Facebook: 510 comments are posted, 293,000 statuses are updated, and 136,000 photos are uploaded
There are a least a dozen more equally dizzying statistics. Suffice to say, Facebook is the very definition of a juggernaut. Not convinced? Consider a few of the pillars in Facebook’s 10 year plan for world domination. (Sorry, it slipped out again.)
Social media meets virtual reality. Zuckerberg revealed revealed that his company is developing touch controllers to complement virtual reality headsets. Facebook, it seems, already owns one called Oculus Rift. Wait – wasn’t he the villain in a Spiderman move?
Aside: The techies who shelled out $595 to attend Zuckerberg’s F8 Developers Conference walked away with a free Samsung Gear VR virtual reality headset and a Samsung Smartphone to power it. Not quite up to Academy Award grab-bag standards, but still impressive.
Ever dreamed of having eyes in the back of your head? Dream no more. Facebook will introduce Facebook Surround – a high-end, open-source video camera employing a 17-camera setup and web-based software to get pictures in 360 degrees.
Yearning for the next generation of TV? Facebook is working to create light-weight apps which just might make television obsolete.
All of this is just the tip of the virtual iceberg. We often use the term The Sky is the Limit to describe people or things with boundless potential. We may have to rephrase the metaphor to make it work for Facebook: The Sky is Only the Beginning.
Facebook is leading the charge into the internet-dominated world of the future. It is no longer a question of whether Facebook’s explosive growth is a good thing or a bad thing. The only question remaining is: Are you tech savvy enough to scramble on board the new age bandwagon or will you be left behind spinning in the virtual vapour trail?
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
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Tags: Facebook · Facebook Surround · Likes · Mark Zuckerberg · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Oculus Rift · virtual realityNo Comments