I vaguely remember my magnetic book full of numbers, my mother's Rolodex full of contacts and my pockets full of numbers from recent people I had met at a party, the mall or at school. The memory of such colloquial behaviors seem become thinner with each passing day, if not obsolete. The nature of connectivity and building your own network of colleagues, acquaintances and friends was a mere fragment back in the 80's and to the possibilities of today. As we look back at our lives, we often define it by the memories we once shared with others and the experiences we lived, evident by the innate desire to tell each other stories when we reconnect with old friends. Admit it, we repeat those stories over and over and seem to get a smile out of them every time.

Interaction between people has rapidly evolved into a digital environment - cell phones, email, video conferencing, Instant Messaging, etc., but the idea to simply connect is still the same. In February 2004, a small social networking website called Facebook launched to give individuals a platform to document and share their experiences with other friends. Understanding the power of a bond, Facebook announced yesterday that they have reached 500 million users. Yes indeed, you heard it right, 500 MILLION users! We can say it was a big day at Facebook headquarters but each new user and small increment of growth within the network is as important and exciting.  Facebook not only connects you to friends, family and colleagues, but also drives billions of pieces of content shared a month to further expand your awareness in the news, fashion, sports, music and so on.

click to enlarge (Image Courtesy of JESS3)

To document and celebrate this 500 million moment, Facebook paired up with JESS3 to design and build a new section called "Stories," which invites each of the 500 million users to share how Facebook has impacted their lives. Located at stories.facebook.com, this inclusive application lets you browse the globe for stories based on location, topics like love, religion, friendship and to further connect and engage with others. The JESS3 team developed concepts for illustrating this incredible moment in Facebook history and also worked tirelessly to make sure the the final product maintained Facebook's branding guidelines to allow the users, all 500 million, to have a seamless and enjoyable experience.

As participants of this social network, Yatzer sends a thank you and congratulations for allowing us to further engage with our fans and viewers. We also thank Facebook for providing an open platform for us to share our passions with the rest of the world. We are excited for what the future holds and will continue to explore better ways to bring our readers a pleasant, informative and enjoyable experience through Yatzer.com and our Facebook Fan Page.