If the eyes are the window into the soul, Facebook could be seen as the mirror at the haunted house, the contortionist’s dream. A click of the button and, depending on privacy settings, anyone can see someone else’s political inclinations, favourite books, sexual preferences. The piece de resistance are the photo libraries. You can be who you want to be. Wild and carefree as shown by your party-animal profile picture? Interested in reading, as your lengthly and literate ‘favourite books’ list proves? However, more often than not, perhaps, people are who they don’t want to be, since without diligent observation, other people can impact quite significantly on your page. From photo tags to wall posts, the possibilities to make someone look mad, bad, fat, ugly, or boring are endless.

Founded by Harvard Grad Mark Zuckerberg in early 2004, the social networking site was initially aimed at students in America. The premise was very simple: build a personal profile and make friends. Cashing in on the insatiable human appetite for nosying into other people’s lives, the site became a success overnight, and quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. Hundred of uses became thousands, thousands millions. Current figures sit at 64 million active users worldwide. It is worthwhile comparing this to Bebo, which claims 22 million, and MySpace 110 million.
In March 2006, it was reported in Business Week that Facebook’s asking price could be as much as £1 billion. That figure is now significantly higher. Microsoft recently bought a 1.6% stake in the company for £120 million, and investor Lee Ka-Shing paid £30 million for 0.4%. There is little doubt that the site, which is free to join, has enormous earning potential. Advertising opportunities are endless. Last year is announced a range of big-range collaborations, linking with Coca-Cola, Blockbuster, Sony, and Conde Nast, among others.

However, are the glory days coming to an end? There is increasing anxiety within the workplace, with the issue of ‘improper conduct’, and relationships are hitting the rocks after facebook flirtation or implicating photos. Just a few weeks ago a Moroccan Court sentenced a 26 year old computer engineer to three years in prison after setting up a profile in the name of King Mohammed’s brother. Fouad Mourtada was found guilty of falsifying data, and imitating the prince without his consent. ‘It was just a joke, a gag’, he is quoted to have said. The judge in Morocco clearly disagreed. Another recent case involved a senior police officer, who was refused promotion after a background check revealed that he had once received a warning about his facebook content. Last year, Argos employee Tom Beech was allegedly fired for setting up a Facebook thread ‘I work at Argos and can’t wait to leave because it’s shit.’

Reports are increasingly suggesting that marketers, employers, teachers, and colleagues are using Facebook to monitor what the rest of us are up to in our spare time. One survey found that 62% of British employers now check the Facebook pages of their job applications, and that a quarter had rejected candidates as a result.

So, you want to get out? Users who have had enough have a long way to go. The onus is entirely on the individual to diligently delete any information about them on the site. While it is possible to strip back your profile entirely from view, even once deactivated your information remains on the servers. In any case, the Facebook phenomenon is not going away. Some economic experts have suggested that there could be anything up to 200 million users by next year.

The Facts:

• Facebook has around 64 million active users.
• There are more than 8 million users in the UK
• Half of the users are outside of college, and the largest growing demographic is the over 25s.
• Half of the active users visit the site daily.
• More than 14 million photos are uploaded daily
• Facebook employs more than 450 people.
• Facebook registers 65 billion page views a month
• The average user devotes 20 minutes a day to the site.
• Traffic is 366% since the start of 2007
• There are 55,000 regional, work-related, collegiate, and high-school networks.