It was recently reported that social networking giant Facebook presently has roughly 901 million active users. As the company files its IPO today, Nasdaq has asked some users how Facebook has better connected their world and altered their daily lives. The high level of social connectivity is an obvious function of the social network, as users can be accessed by all sorts of strange people they knew in grade school they hadn’t seen in decades. It can be akin to the ultimate class reunion, for those personality types who live fro that sort of thing. Though, the platform is also good for reconnecting with long-lost family members, friends one can’t pick: Facebook also helps with everyday productivity: Or maybe the user meant that Facebook had kept her from doing housework. Damodar Reddy of Kurnool calls the platform a role model for youth, and Giganto Machai half thanks Al Gore for the social network: This user thanks Facebook for his wife, who he plans to move to his country sometime next year: I met one of my ex-wives on Myspace, and am still kicking myself for not having met her on Facebook instead. More of Facebook’s IPO can be found here.

Earlier today, we shared with you the staggering statistic of Facebook users in different countries around the world. For some of those countries, like New Zealand and Brazil, people are so over the moon with the social networking site that the word “internet” might as well be spelled F-A-C-E-B-O-O-K. Now, lend us your ear for the second chart-busting hit of the day: a detailed graph by way of comScore that depicts Facebook’s unstoppable conquest of various social sites throughout the world. No region of the world was off limits and no social network was invulnerable to Facebook’s thundering march to 1 billion users worldwide (which is well within reach for the indigo colossus). Although the graph doesn’t include the milestone, the first sign that Facebook could become the shining blue monolith around which we all banged our drums all day and all night was in January 2009 when the site overtook MySpace to become the most visited social networking site in the United States. comScore fills in the gaps: Over the past 27 months, or roughly 800 days, Facebook has overtaken local competitors in 8 additional markets and is now the most popular social networking site in 39 out of the 44 countries on which comScore reports individually. Only China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and Vietnam have different market leaders in terms of audience size. Interestingly, 3 out of these 5 countries rank among the fastest growing global markets for Facebook. In Vietnam, Facebook increased its user base by 270 percent over the past year, while it grew 84 percent in Japan and 78 percent in South Korea. comScore also points out the continued popularity and growth of Facebook’s mobile app on both iOS and Android platforms, which is something of a sensitive issue recently in regard to Facebook’s relationship with companies that may advertise on the site. And hey, did you heard this news that Facebook’s making an initial public offer?

Myspace, the dominant social network before Facebook took over, has just settled with the Federal Trade Commission over user privacy issues, much like Facebook had in November. The FTC contended that Myspace was too vague in its explanation of user privacy, and the network is now prohibited from further instances of this sort of misrepresentation. Myspace also has submitted to 20 years worth of privacy policy checkups in the deal. Interestingly, Myspace is still a relevant social platform, and was reported to be garnering roughly 40K new users per day as of February, and was still beating out Linkedin and Google+ in regards to unique monthly users. The site saw a boost upon the launch of its new music player, in a bid to become a sort of Hulu for audio, and said player can also be linked to Facebook. Though, the Myspace player doesn’t seem to track song plays accurately, the interface is addled with rampant Flash ads that tend to bring the site to a crawl, and the whole thing at times resembles an overlapping trash heap of content designed by a toddler. But, it still pulls in over 17 million unique users a month. The FTC had claimed that Myspace was sharing user information without being completely up front about its rules in this regard. Basically, the network “provided advertisers with the Friend ID of users who were viewing particular pages on the site – and [advertisers] could use the Friend ID to locate a user’s Myspace profile to obtain personal information publicly available on the profile and, in most instances, the user’s full name,” according to the FTC. This sort of deception is a violation of federal law. Myspace also allegedly failed to afford its users with an easy Safe Harbor opt-out regarding transfer of data between the U.S. and Europe. Myspace wasn’t forced to pay any fines, though any new violations could result in a $16K slap on the wrist per each offense. I wonder what Tom thinks of all of this.

This next infographic comes to us from CenturyLinkQuote.Com and it addresses the issue of the trendy nature of online empires. They layout some very interesting statistics on how long they usually stay in fashion and events that lead to or signify their downfall. It’s informative, revealing, and possibly a great predictor of future success, and/or failure. The graphic reports a startling eleven year average shelf life for the online empires involved and calls into question the numbered days left for Facebook in particular. It has been eight years since the social networking giant its popular site, and whether it shows signs of slowing down or not, past experience might prove to be more valid for prediction the future. Does Facebook have what it takes to persevere where others have failed? Some think it does, but you can predict what path you believe it will take after studying this next infographic. Enjoy:

If you thought Myspace was defunct as a social networking site, well, you were right. But Myspace is still trying to re-brand itself as a destination on the web for music and entertainment news. To that end, the website has a new series of interviews with musical artists it calls “One-Two-Watch.” The interviews series promotes artists Myspace has handpicked as ” key artist(s) with unique sound, set to influence new music.” The episode of “One-Two-Watch” released today features English performer Emeli Sande. The Scottish-born singer is interviewed an showcased in shows from her recent, small American tour including her first American performance in New York. Her recent album, ‘Our Version of Events’, which will be released in the U.S. in June, debuted at the top of the U.K. Albums Chart. Emeli will be opening for Coldplay during their U.S. tour this summer. “Myspace was always the place where music fans could hear what was new. I’m excited to see the brand refocus on this with the ‘One-Two-Watch’ series,” said Scott Vener, lead “curator” for Myspace. “By identifying and curating what’s next, the series simplifies the discovery process for people, helping reactivate passive listeners around their passion for music.” Here’s the Emeli “One-Two-Watch,” and you can decide for yourself whether Myspace has successfully “curated” new music for you: One-Two-Watch: Meet the U.K.’s biggest secret … Emeli SandMyspace Music | Myspace Video If it has been a while (years, I’m sure) since you’ve visited Myspace, you might go over and check out the site. It’s not the one you remember and it won’t bring back bittersweet memories – but it also won’t start auto-playing terrible music. Now they try and “curate” the music for you, but I have the feeling they are probably slightly behind services such as Pandora and Spotify. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Myspace has tapped Roger Mincheff to lead Myspace Entertainment as president. Myspace Entertainment will be Myspace’s internal production and entertainment division responsible for original programming and content. Mincheff has inked his first deal with Fox Digital Entertainment and Kia Motors to deliver WOLFPACK OF RESEDA. Premiering today on Myspace, the original web series blends workplace comedy with the supernatural. WOLFPACK’s first season follows 20-something Ben March, whose mundane life takes a drastic turn after he’s bitten by a mysterious creature in the woods. Convinced he’s been bitten by a werewolf, March forms his own “wolfpack” and becomes the alpha dog of Reseda. Myspace will distribute the eight episode series for free. “Roger is the perfect choice to launch Myspace Entertainment. In a short period of time Roger’s brought major brands to Myspace and is on his way to creating a slate of engaging and relevant content for the online community,” said Tim Vanderhook, CEO, Myspace. “Roger’s impressive track record at Fox speaks for itself, and his addition to our growing leadership team continues to build strong and positive momentum for Myspace.” Mincheff joins Myspace from Fox Filmed Entertainment where he served as Senior Vice President of Branded Entertainment. During his tenure, he helped launch and run branded entertainment – monetizing digital content across the company’s extensive portfolio of film and television production entities. Prior to Fox, Mincheff served as CEO of Spacedog Media, a full-service digital marketing agency that utilized new media to develop engaging brand experiences across Internet, mobile, digital signage, print and event platforms. “As a proven discovery platform, Myspace has the ability to tap into the best up-and-coming talent, as well as distribute content to millions of viewers seeking fresh entertainment,” said Roger Mincheff, president, Myspace Entertainment. “People are looking to discover the next big thing – and brands like Fox and KIA have a track-record for connecting with that audience, so the opportunity for Myspace Entertainment to bridge this gap is huge.” Mincheff will also serve as the President of Original Programming of Specific Media, home to one of the most successful digital series of all time, “Jen and Barb, Mom Life.”

Make all the MySpace jokes you want, but it still has a lot of users. You may not want to count it out just yet. In fact, MySpace has gained over a million sign-ups since launching its new music player in December, the company announced today. The player is drawing 40,000 sign-ups a day in the U.S., on average. “The numbers tell an amazing story of strong momentum and dramatic change for Myspace,” says CEO Tim Vanderhook. “And the one million-plus new user accounts we’ve seen in the last 30 days validates our approach. Myspace is building meaningful social entertainment experience around content, where consumers can share and discover the music they love. Consumers are getting excited about Myspace again – a testament to a great music product.” It probably helps that the player comes with free access to 42 million songs. Here’s a closer look at the player: It probably also helps that it comes with Facebook connectivity. MySpace has expressed, since relaunching, that it aspires to sort of be the Hulu for music. A million new sign-ups since December is not a bad start. Last month, Panasonic and MySpace revealed a new partnership that will bring a MySpace TV channel to connected devices. This could further help the new MySpace grow. Perhaps its new owners won’t “screw up” with MySpace as badly as News Corp. did. Also consider this (from late December):

It used to be that when a person dies, their family settles all of their affairs left on this physical earth. Our digital selves and reliance on social media has changed all of this. In the bluntly titled, “What happens online when you die?,” Life Insurance Finder lists the various policies that Web sites and social media sites have in place to handle a user’s death. They present interesting stats such as the fact that three Facebook users die every minute for a total of 1.78 million Facebook users in 2011. All the data that you have created on these Web sites belongs to them once you pass on. It’s usually up to your family to present proof of death or an attorney’s order to get the information back into the hands of your family. They do all this to remind people that it’s important to set up plans for how your data should be handled when you die. You don’t want just anybody digging through your emails to find dirt on your after your passing. Here’s a handy video that shows what Web sites do with your information after you die:

Rupert Murdoch has really taken to Twitter since joining the social microblogging service recently. He’s not one of those high profile execs that joins and tweets once every two months. He’s on there about every day speaking very candidly about the media industry, picking fights with Google and acknowledging News Corp.’s screw-ups. With reports that Facebook will file its IPO documents this coming week (maybe as early as Wednesday), he’s now talking about that (and again, the MySpace screw-up). .ditto163343547884503040{background: #C0DEED url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) no-repeat;padding: 20px;} .ditto163343547884503040 a { color: #0084B4;} p.dittoTweet{background: #fff;padding: 10px 12px 10px 50px;margin: 0;min-height: 48px;color: #000;font-size: 18px !important;line-height: 22px;-moz-border-radius: 5px;-webkit-border-radius: 5px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata {display: block;width: 100%;clear: both;margin-top: 8px;padding-top: 12px;height: 65px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author {line-height: 22px;color: #666;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} .mainlink {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 26px;color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: none;} .mainlink: hover {color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: underline;} .tweet {font-size: 24px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author img {float: left; margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px;} p.dittoTweet a:hover {text-decoration: underline;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp {font-size: 12px;display: block;color: #999;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a {color: #999;text-decoration: none;} @rupertmurdochRupert Murdoch Facebook a brilliant achievement, but $75-100bn? Would make Apple look really cheap. 19 hours ago via Twitter for iPad · powered by @socialditto .ditto163350475180216320{background: #C0DEED url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) no-repeat;padding: 20px;} .ditto163350475180216320 a { color: #0084B4;} p.dittoTweet{background: #fff;padding: 10px 12px 10px 50px;margin: 0;min-height: 48px;color: #000;font-size: 18px !important;line-height: 22px;-moz-border-radius: 5px;-webkit-border-radius: 5px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata {display: block;width: 100%;clear: both;margin-top: 8px;padding-top: 12px;height: 65px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author {line-height: 22px;color: #666;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} .mainlink {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 26px;color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: none;} .mainlink: hover {color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: underline;} .tweet {font-size: 24px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author img {float: left; margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px;} p.dittoTweet a:hover {text-decoration: underline;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp {font-size: 12px;display: block;color: #999;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a {color: #999;text-decoration: none;} @rupertmurdochRupert Murdoch Nothing wrong with MySpace price. Just our totally screwing up every way. Agree Facebook revenues will zoom, but still Apple cheap. 19 hours ago via Twitter for iPad · powered by @socialditto Speaking of MySpace screw-ups, here’s what he said a couple weeks ago: .ditto157719858904174592{background: #C0DEED url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) no-repeat;padding: 20px;} .ditto157719858904174592 a { color: #0084B4;} p.dittoTweet{background: #fff;padding: 10px 12px 10px 50px;margin: 0;min-height: 48px;color: #000;font-size: 18px !important;line-height: 22px;-moz-border-radius: 5px;-webkit-border-radius: 5px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata {display: block;width: 100%;clear: both;margin-top: 8px;padding-top: 12px;height: 65px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author {line-height: 22px;color: #666;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} .mainlink {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 26px;color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: none;} .mainlink: hover {color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: underline;} .tweet {font-size: 24px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author img {float: left; margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px;} p.dittoTweet a:hover {text-decoration: underline;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp {font-size: 12px;display: block;color: #999;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a {color: #999;text-decoration: none;} @rupertmurdochRupert Murdoch Many questions and jokes about My Space.simple answer – we screwed up in every way possible, learned lots of valuable expensive lessons. 16 days ago via Twitter for iPad · powered by @socialditto

Rupert Murdoch is fairly new to the Twitterverse, but his tweets have captured a lot of attention in that short time. He’s out at CES, and has been offering quick little bytes of commentary about it. Here are a few things he said about it: .ditto157545705198714882{background: #C0DEED url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) no-repeat;padding: 20px;} .ditto157545705198714882 a { color: #0084B4;} p.dittoTweet{background: #fff;padding: 10px 12px 10px 50px;margin: 0;min-height: 48px;color: #000;font-size: 18px !important;line-height: 22px;-moz-border-radius: 5px;-webkit-border-radius: 5px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata {display: block;width: 100%;clear: both;margin-top: 8px;padding-top: 12px;height: 65px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author {line-height: 22px;color: #666;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} .mainlink {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 26px;color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: none;} .mainlink: hover {color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: underline;} .tweet {font-size: 24px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author img {float: left; margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px;} p.dittoTweet a:hover {text-decoration: underline;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp {font-size: 12px;display: block;color: #999;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a {color: #999;text-decoration: none;} @rupertmurdochRupert Murdoch CES coming to a close. Seems like more innovation than ever, some great, all disruptive. Traditional coys feeling digital tornado 20 hours ago via Twitter for iPad · powered by @socialditto .ditto157546543824646144{background: #C0DEED url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) no-repeat;padding: 20px;} .ditto157546543824646144 a { color: #0084B4;} p.dittoTweet{background: #fff;padding: 10px 12px 10px 50px;margin: 0;min-height: 48px;color: #000;font-size: 18px !important;line-height: 22px;-moz-border-radius: 5px;-webkit-border-radius: 5px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata {display: block;width: 100%;clear: both;margin-top: 8px;padding-top: 12px;height: 65px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author {line-height: 22px;color: #666;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} .mainlink {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 26px;color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: none;} .mainlink: hover {color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: underline;} .tweet {font-size: 24px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author img {float: left; margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px;} p.dittoTweet a:hover {text-decoration: underline;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp {font-size: 12px;display: block;color: #999;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a {color: #999;text-decoration: none;} @rupertmurdochRupert Murdoch CES again. Big three,Apple,Google and Amazon, and maybe Facebook dominant now and growing. Plenty of others good, but not in same league. 20 hours ago via Twitter for iPad · powered by @socialditto .ditto157834841558224896{background: #C0DEED url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) no-repeat;padding: 20px;} .ditto157834841558224896 a { color: #0084B4;} p.dittoTweet{background: #fff;padding: 10px 12px 10px 50px;margin: 0;min-height: 48px;color: #000;font-size: 18px !important;line-height: 22px;-moz-border-radius: 5px;-webkit-border-radius: 5px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata {display: block;width: 100%;clear: both;margin-top: 8px;padding-top: 12px;height: 65px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author {line-height: 22px;color: #666;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} .mainlink {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 26px;color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: none;} .mainlink: hover {color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: underline;} .tweet {font-size: 24px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author img {float: left; margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px;} p.dittoTweet a:hover {text-decoration: underline;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp {font-size: 12px;display: block;color: #999;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a {color: #999;text-decoration: none;} @rupertmurdochRupert Murdoch CES wrapping up. All talk is about coming Apple tv. Plenty of apprehension, no firm facts but eyes on their enormous cash pile. 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPad · powered by @socialditto .ditto157836136633475072{background: #C0DEED url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) no-repeat;padding: 20px;} .ditto157836136633475072 a { color: #0084B4;} p.dittoTweet{background: #fff;padding: 10px 12px 10px 50px;margin: 0;min-height: 48px;color: #000;font-size: 18px !important;line-height: 22px;-moz-border-radius: 5px;-webkit-border-radius: 5px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata {display: block;width: 100%;clear: both;margin-top: 8px;padding-top: 12px;height: 65px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author {line-height: 22px;color: #666;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} .mainlink {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 26px;color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: none;} .mainlink: hover {color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: underline;} .tweet {font-size: 24px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author img {float: left; margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px;} p.dittoTweet a:hover {text-decoration: underline;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp {font-size: 12px;display: block;color: #999;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a {color: #999;text-decoration: none;} @rupertmurdochRupert Murdoch Last day here. Most top Newscorp execs will huddle to review their own digital efforts and plan forward. 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPad · powered by @socialditto Between those, however, he made the more headline-grabbing statement: .ditto157719858904174592{background: #C0DEED url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) no-repeat;padding: 20px;} .ditto157719858904174592 a { color: #0084B4;} p.dittoTweet{background: #fff;padding: 10px 12px 10px 50px;margin: 0;min-height: 48px;color: #000;font-size: 18px !important;line-height: 22px;-moz-border-radius: 5px;-webkit-border-radius: 5px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata {display: block;width: 100%;clear: both;margin-top: 8px;padding-top: 12px;height: 65px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author {line-height: 22px;color: #666;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} .mainlink {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 26px;color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: none;} .mainlink: hover {color: #1F98C7;text-decoration: underline;} .tweet {font-size: 24px;} p.dittoTweet span.metadata span.author img {float: left; margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px;} p.dittoTweet a:hover {text-decoration: underline;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp {font-size: 12px;display: block;color: #999;} p.dittoTweet span.timestamp a {color: #999;text-decoration: none;} @rupertmurdochRupert Murdoch Many questions and jokes about My Space.simple answer – we screwed up in every way possible, learned lots of valuable expensive lessons. 9 hours ago via Twitter for iPad · powered by @socialditto