What's In A Billion? Facebook Users Hit Milestone In 1 Day

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A billion people logged in to Facebook on a single day this week, marking the first time that many members used the world’s largest online social network in a 24-hour period. The number amounts to one-seventh of the Earth’s population.

Monday’s milestone was mostly symbolic for Facebook, which boasts nearly 1.5 billion users who log in at least once a month. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who founded the network in his Harvard dorm room 11 years ago, reflected on the occasion with a post.

“I’m so proud of our community for the progress we’ve made,” he wrote. “Our community stands for giving every person a voice, for promoting understanding and for including everyone in the opportunities of our modern world.”

Facebook achieved 1 billion overall users in 2012, but this week’s milestone is perhaps more significant. It means the social network has become an essential service in many of our lives, a sort of online connective tissue that binds us to friends, family and even strangers who find themselves in similar circumstances. We need it daily, or more.