Facebook is the largest of social media networks.

When talking about Facebook, the most commonly referenced numbers are total user base or number of monthly active users (or MAU). As of September 2014, Facebook has more than 1.317 billion users and 1.23 billion MAU’s. Instead of dwelling on this, I thought it would be interesting to look at some of the numbers that mean a lot more that people don’t usually talk about.

72% of Online Adults Use Facebook At Least Once a Month

According to Pew Research, 87% of the US population are Internet users. That roughly translates to about 277 million internet users in the United States (as of March 2014). In 2000, only 44% of the US population were considered internet users. So the Internet is a part of American life – more so today than ever before. Looking at these Internet users (adults only), 72% use Facebook at least once a month. I think that it is safe to claim that in addition to the Internet, Facebook is a part of American life. Facebook has changed how we communicate with friends and family. It has changed how we store and share memories. It has changed how we consume and distribute information. From farmers in Indiana to business people in New York, from celebrities in California to fisherman in Maine, Facebook is a part of our lives. It is then no surprise that the average user spends 21 minutes a day on Facebook!

At Any Moment, 1,500 Stories Are Fighting for Your Attention

The amount of data that Facebook stores in unbelievable. Facebook currently stores about 300 petabytes of information in its data centers. One petabyte is equal to 1 million gigabytes. So if you wanted to put all that data on 16GB flash drives, you need 18,750,000 of them. With all this information, friends, family members, former classmates, advertisers and companies are all fighting for your attention. At any moment in time, there are more than 1,500 stories competing for the average user’s attention. So Facebook has created an algorithm so that you see the ones that are most important to you. In order to stand out in this clutter, you need more than good content. You need relationships. The content you see most comes from the people (and companies) that you engage with most online.

57% of Millionaires Use Facebook

When meeting with clients about developing Facebook strategies, I often hear that they don’t have time for Facebook. These are the same people who are calling our firm to talk about becoming for successful online. There is a lot of value in Facebook. There is a lot of value for businesses in building a Facebook strategy. Don’t take my word for it. Ask the millionaires that are onboard already.

I think these three stats teach us an important lesson. Facebook is out there and is valuable. It is a tool for people of all generations and backgrounds to communicate with others and build powerful relationships. It is these relationships that will bring you success.