Facebook cracks 500m users

Facebook confirmed its dominance of the social networking sphere yesterday, announcing it has cracked the half-billion user mark.
 
User numbers have doubled in the past 12 months, despite a US consumer satisfaction index ranking it in the bottom 5% and a raft of recent problems concerning its privacy settings, the New York Times reported.
 
Members rack up around 700 billion minutes on the site each month, sharing 30 billion photos and Web links, the paper said.
 
The site is commemorating the 500-million mark by launching a new stories application, which allows users to report on how the site has benefitted them, and posting a picture board thanking members for their continued usage, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed in a blog.
 
“I could have never imagined all of the ways people would use Facebook when we were getting started 6 years ago,” Zuckerberg said.
 
Users recently blasted the site for a complex privacy policy, forcing it to introduce simpler controls to prevent a mass-exodus of members.