Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/257374
48 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 FEBRUARY 2014 Ten years ago, Mark Zuckerberg introduced 'The Facebook' to the world. In the decade since the site launched from a Harvard University accommodation, it has grown into a prominent force on the web, evolv- ing from a platform that served as a virtual meeting space for univer- sity students, to a global networking power house, by passing geographi- cal and cultural divides. Its influence and reach has grown to 1.23 billion monthly users global- ly, roughly one-sixth of the world's population. Those are staggering numbers considering that at the end of the first year the platform had just over 1 million members. The usage numbers are astound- ing, with 81 percent of its users re- siding outside of the United States and Canada. There are currently around 240,000 Facebook users in the Malta. 57% of the Maltese popu- lation. 82% of all Maltese internet users, are on Facebook. There are 51% male users and 49% female us- ers. According to the Pew Research Center, the average number of friends that an adult has on Face- book is 338. Those friends flock to the site in masses to submit their tacit approval of stories and events shared on their newsfeed, having clicked the "like" button more than 3.4 trillion times since the feature was first introduced on the website in 2009. After a decade of unprecedented growth, Facebook has become one of the most valuable companies in the world, worth $135 billion with revenues of $7.87 billion in 2013, while amassing $1.5 billion in prof- its. Its evolution from a social nov- elty to an integral feature of daily life continues to propel its financial success. Facebook has evolved, so, too, has our culture. ]SUBHEAD[ What's next? In 2013, social media continued to take over the world. Facebook con- tinued its constant growth and new social media platforms like Vine, Tumblr and Instagram became in- creasing popular. It seems obvious that social media platforms are here to stay, but many are now asking, "What's next?" Predictions are endless and, for certain, one cannot know what the future holds. But, the industry does seem to agree on several core ele- ments, many of which touch on the monetization of social platforms. Now that Twitter and Facebook are public entities, the revenue stream can no longer be ignored. Whether you're an industry insider or a cas- ual and occasional user, 2014 will concentrate one main aspect. ]SUBHEAD[ Real time, targeted marketing Social networks like Facebook and Twitter provide a means for inter- acting with consumers in real time. By comparison, radio and television advertisements are ancient by the time they hit consumers. Since peo- ple are spend more and more time online, it's easy for marketers to take advantage in real time as well. There's every reason to believe that businesses will try to adopt this approach with greater regularity moving forward. Gianluca Fino is a Business Devel- opment Executive at Alert Information Technology How has Facebook transformed our culture? TBG Limited, a Malta-based industrial holding com- pany, has donated the sum of €10,000 to New Leaf, an organisation dedicated to preserve and digitise the books at the National Library of Malta, for its book preservation and digitisation programme. Half of the funds have purchased a specialist piece of equipment to digitise small thick books which generally have a rigid binding and inserts – such as documents inserted onto one page – which need to be unfolded and f lattened. These books also tend to close naturally or spread their pages out in the form of a fan. The remaining €5,000 will help to preserve the Libri Bullarum, which are registers of the chancery bulls issued under the magisterial seal by the grand mas- ter and the council. The subject matter concerned the admission of knights, issuance of passports, collations of the priories and commanderies, bestowal of titles of nobility, the election of judges, and the instructions issued to ambassadors and galley captains. These registers also contain diplomatic correspond- ence, military matters, the administration of the cen- tral convent on Rhodes, and the summons to chapters general. These registers of charters are grouped ac- cording to the reign of the specific grandmaster dur- ing the period covered. Oliver Mamo, National Librarian, said: "This dona- tion enables us to have equipment that will not only speed up the process for book preservation and digi- tisation for future generations, but also minimises contact with books and documents by operators. The Libri Ballarum are incredibly important and their preservation is paramount." "TBG supports selected causes in Malta as part of its social responsibility as a Maltese company and is privileged to have many worthwhile causes to sup- port. New Leaf was selected for these contributions as their work focuses on supporting the preservation and making available to a wider public, the unique set of assets that Malta has in the books and documents held by the National Library" said Clifford Thring, the Company Secretary. "It is only with corporate sponsors, membership fees and private donations that we can continue the work we have started to assist the National Library's experts to preserve and digitise books and documents for future generations," commented Monique Chambers, Chair, New Leaf. "This donation brings the total funds raised to almost €50,000 in under two years". The National Library houses 750,000 books, many of which have both historic importance and require both preservation, repair and digitisation. To find out more about the charity, its work and how you can help, please visit www.newleaf.org.mt TBG Limited donates €100,000 to New Leaf Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg