It's just a little over 3 years old, but only recently has it seen its status and fame grow and grow. The emblem of Web2.0 / Web 3.0 and the semantic web movement, Facebook is the internet social networking site that's suddenly sizzling with activity - and naturally, the powers-that-be are beating down the door to get their share of the marketing dollars to be had.



You may have seen the headlines; pitting Microsoft, Yahoo! and Google against each other in a battle to "own" a piece of the internet's hottest site. When the dust settled, Microsoft laid claim to the prize, paying an almost unbelievable two hundred and forty million dollars for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook. Using "Microsoft math," this means Facebook is now worth approximately fifteen billion dollars.

Why the big payday for Facebook? Microsoft is afraid of losing control of the next generation of computer users, who make up a big part of Facebook's user base. With Google's aggressive internet marketing presence becoming a fact of life, Microsoft has no choice but to throw cash at Facebook so it won't be left behind. Kevin Johnson, president of the platforms and services division at Microsoft, called the epic deal a "major advertising syndication win for Microsoft."

It's also a major win for Facebook's continuing growth. The company will be doubling its workforce in the next year and will be aggressive in its international expansion. Facebook is also expected to announce a new advertising system very shortly. "We were very fortunate to have a lot of folks interested in a partnership with us around advertising," said Owen Van Natta, chief revenue officer of Facebook.

What makes Facebook the biggest, hottest attraction to online marketers today? First of all, Facebook's unique social networking interface, currently with fifty million active members and adding two hundred thousand more a day, is at the forefront of the Web 3.0 movement - operating systems that work not on your computer, but entirely online. Also, the over-five thousand free Facebook tools developed for the site since May of 2007 make it a fun, playful and cheap diversion for users and their friends. Anyone who's enjoyed a Super Poke from a pal or spent hours trying to guide Jetman through an endless underground cave can testify to that.

Of course, major players like Microsoft and Google aren't interested in a friendly Superpoke. They're in it for the money, so clearly they believe there is a huge amount of it to be made on Facebook. But with computer biz giants throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at Facebook, how can individuals and smaller marketing firms avoid being priced out of the market for internet marketing's newest must-have tool?

Currently, new, innovative and amazingly effective Facebook marketing software is being released - a prime example being the Stealth Friend Bomber, Facebook Edition. Automated and painless, this easy-to-use Facebook Friend Adder gives your marketing operation a huge boost with Mass Facebook Friend Requests, Messages and Pokes. Using a Facebook bot like this takes your marketing message to a whole new level.

It's clear that Facebook is the battleground for both the next level of technology and the next level of marketing on the internet. The marketer with the best set of software tricks has the best shot at reaching the denizens of this highly-desirable and thriving online community.