Friday | February 10, 2012
Facebook is World’s Third Largest Country
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By
Benjamin P. Levy
19 May 2010
Its official: Facebook is the world’s third largest country. Recently, Facebook announced that it has reached the 500 million registered user mark. 500 MILLION! In the world of membership organizations that’s a knee rattling, earth shaking, just staggering amount of people. It is now roughly equal to the largest mobile phone carrier in the world, China Mobile. As a point of reference, the largest US carrier is Verizon with a measly 90 million subscribers. Facebook is by far the largest website in terms of user base.
China and India own the largest populations in the world with over one billion people in each country. Facebook is number three. Almost double the size of the US, or at least headed there. As recently as February 4th Facebook was at 400 million which means that it is on pace to be the largest country in the world in just a few years. If Facebook had an army it might be unstoppable.
What does all this mean? It means that Facebook potentially wields a lot of influence and it has a major responsibility to protect us. It has tons of personal data. Recently, it has experienced serious concerns regarding privacy. Going so far as to know when you’re about to break up with your boyfriend. But to me, the biggest issue is hackers. Think about all of the information that Facebook has on you: full name, birth date, city, family members, friends, work place, sex, etc. Its not difficult to steal an identity with all of that information. Piecing together an address with that data is a snap. Identify theft is a big area of concern for Facebook users. Consider the goal of hackers. If you’re going to take the time to hack into a system are you going to waste your time with a small fry? Or go after a company where there is tons and tons of data on people? I think its clear that Facebook is getting hacked more frequently. Anectdotaly, I’ve noticed it personally with multiple friends’ accounts being hacked of late. Fortunately, Facebook is beefing up security. That said, you still need to protect yourself. Make sure you review your own privacy settings.
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I can empathize with your new client. As a child, as for many years as an adult, I had no real confidence in myself, regardless of accomplishments. When I was a child, my parents tried to teach me the lesson of the ‘Little Engine That Could.’ As you recall, it could because it though it could. Whenever they told me that, I say: “but I don’t think I can”, as that was a far as it ever went.
When I was in college I read a science fiction novel in which the main character (if I recall, I don’t really remember the details) was consumed by fear. So he learned this small poem, which I memorized and said it over and over to myself:
“I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.”
Recently I looked it up. It is from a book by Frank Herbert in the Dune series. Regardless of its origins, it really helped me; it helped that I memorized it and repeated it to myself a million times a day.
Well, there are other things that helped my in conquering fear and in ability to be confident, but that was one of the first steps.