...And I thought I was cool using Facebook. It actually turns out that "anyone can join"--and they are. The fastest growing demographic in Facebook's ever-growing 175-million-user population is 30-years-old and up. This explains why all my friends' parents and my parents' friends have been friend requesting the heck out of me lately. I oblige, because who wants to tick off their mom's best friend from high school? 

Facebook has gone so mainstream that time.com recently published an article titled, "Why Facebook Is For Old Fogies." While this has certainly cooled off Facebook's coolness factor, it's actually been a stroke of business genius for Facebook. By expanding beyond just college students, Facebook has been able to grow into the social networking market leader.

It's a classic case of an entrepreneurial business adapting to market factors. By recognizing that people outside the original college-restricted market would want and use their services, Facebook was willing to diversify in 2006 despite initial protest by their college student users. By reaching a broader market, the gamble has paid off. Here are some stats:  

• $3.7 billion: estimated worth of Facebook.
• $150 million in annual sales.
• $1.5 billion: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's net worth.
• 100: number of global markets and languages Facebook is in.
• 70% of Facebook users are outside the U.S.    

Outstanding growth, however, doesn't mean that Facebook can afford to ignore its users. In early February, Facebook changed its Terms of Use, which prompted concerns over user privacy and rights. Due to the intense protest against these changes, Facebook switched its Terms of Use back to the old version.

Facebook's interaction with its users shows that calculated risk can pay off in huge profits, but that businesses also need to respect the input of their users/customers. There is a fine line between pushing boundaries and falling off the edge of the cliff.

A helpful lesson for businesses and entrepreneurs everywhere.

--Jens

Picture taken from this photostream and used with permission of a Creative Commons license.