It is no surprise that giant companies like Microsoft and Google have to put Facebook into consideration in making decisions of their future business plans. Over 200 million active users is certainly great and the growth rate does not seem to start slowing yet. The number could be even as high as 280 million as explained by Nick O’Neill of All Facebook.
It is now impossible to mention 5 leading companies on the web Ecosystem without mentioning Facebook. I predict that in the near future it will become a necessity that almost everyone has to jump on the wagon just as the email service. It has succeeded in bringing value to everyone by diversifying its services and not limiting to just a network for entertainment and media. As an IT company, it has also added value to the industry as a major contributor in defining the future of the web and also providing tools such as the Scribe and Thrift freely available as open source.
The impact of Facebook keeps increasing in the Nigerian scene as more people join the platform. The number has increased by 32.9% since last month bringing it to 340,560 today. Does this mean anything to the Nigerian government?
The minister of Information, Prof. Dora Nkem Akunyili, launched a campaign of re-branding Nigeria to improve its image and reputation abroad last month. Currently, the country has gained fame as a major scam player on the Internet and there have been signs on Facebook as well. The campaign should therefore take this into consideration.
Facebook platform can be used to cheaply create awareness of the campaign to over 200 million people which is going to save a lot of cost as there are speculations already on the funds that would be spent.
The intelligent units in the anti-crime bodies such as EFCC must also be aware of the impact of Facebook and setup actions in order to nail down Nigerian cyber crimes. Presently it appears there is none as signalled by the EFCC boss. She defined Facebook as being a Social Networking site where children interact and share with friends when she was explaining a controversy issue that happened last year which involves a photograph that depicted her as a mammoth shopping spree for high-end designer goods.
Update: 573,780 Nigerians on Facebook
This is the fourth post in the series “Nigeria and Facebook”. Check the previous posts for more details:
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August 24, 2009 at 4:14 am
I’m curious to know what part of Nigeria the name DU-RU or DU-RAL (spelled as it sounds) comes from. Does it originate in the East, West, South, or North? Hopefully the sounding out of the name gives you aenough information. I am not totally sure of the accurate spelling. My long lost father is from Nigeria, and I am curious to learn moreabout where I come from; my roots.