Then, Now, and the Future

When I watch The Social Network I can't help but laugh when I see where Facebook started and what it looked like then and now. There have been so many advancements and changes in the design of the site that it's kind of funny to think about. When the site was launched in 2004 it was a lot different than the facebook we are accustomed to today. The layout was completely different and there weren't nearly as many applications.

Now, facebook users can upload and be tagged in thousands of pictures (yes I know people with that many photos). They can write every single detail of their life if they so choose as well. Some of the recent additions to facebook that were not present when it was first released are "facebook chat" and games such as Farmville that many people love. There are so many ways that each and every user is connected that wasn't even dreamed of when facebook first started.

As I write this I wonder if one day, as more and more people in so many countries of all ages are using facebook, we will be able to tell how accurate the idea of "six degrees of separation" actually is. I know very little about writing code, but I am sure a skilled programmer could come up with some way to determine how close we are to everyone in the world. It would be so simple with facebook when on everyone's page we see who our "mutual friends" are. It seems that through a few steps we could see how close we are to someone on the other side of the world. It will be interesting to see how we could possibly become more connected with everyone in the future. I'm sure Mark Zuckerberg and the developers at Facebook will think of something.