Facebook was the big internet success story of last year. The media, and the British public at large just couldn’t get enough of poking, posting and tagging. In fact, Brits took to the site more enthusiastically than any other nation and still spend a larger percentage of their browsing time on Facebook (and social networking sites) than any other nation.

So we’re hooked.

Recently, some people have been saying that Facebook has peaked and is starting to go the way of myspace (which is decidedly niche nowadays). The truth is far less clear cut. Social networking sites are maintaining incredible growth: 20.8 million Britons (63% of Britons online) visited at least one of the ten most popular social media sites in January 2008, compared to 17.1 million in January 2007 (stats from Neilsen). And while YouTube may now see more monthly UK visits than Facebook, which site do you think has a stronger infrastructure?

Judging by the frequent service outages and glitches that you find on YouTube, it’s hard to imagine that the site was expected to become as popular as it has. Facebook, on the other hand, has always given the impression that it is ready to swallow the world.

The recent addition of pay per click advertising has been subtle enough not to anger users, despite actually being quite intrusive. All of that information you added to your Facebook profile (your favourite films, music, brands & places, not to mention your marital status, sexual orientation, family etc) can now be used to create super-focused marketing. This gives brands the opportunity to zoom in much more closely on their target demographic and stay away from those potentially expensive wasted clicks.

I recently attended a talk give by Blake Chandlee, Commercial Director of Facebook UK, in which he talked about the power of Facebook for marketers. His talk brought up a couple of interesting points. Firstly, brands can communicate directly with people who have mentioned a fondness for that brand in their profile. This is marketing to those with open ears. Secondly, marketing through Facebook is pretty close to viral marketing, because of how newsfeeds work. Basically, interacting with a group/brand shows up in the newsfeeds of your friends, therefore giving them your “vote of confidence”.

This business is all about trust: if people trust a site they are much more likely to make a purchase. If people see your site at the top of SERPs they are much more likely to trust it. If a friend trusts your tastes, they will follow your paths on Facebook. But beware… someone will be watching!