Today, this world seems to have only two kinds of people - those who have a Facebook account, and those who do not.

With more than 400 million active users, six million of which are from the Philippines, Facebook is one of the leading social networking sites in the world.

Social networking sites are not exactly new. After all they have emerged from an evolutionary line of social communication. First there were love letters, then emails, then texting, then Friendster, then Multiply, My Space, then Facebook and Twitter.

How did Facebook emerge as king? Simple. Because it’s not just a networking site.

While Friendster has provided a good way to reconnect with your high school friends, and Multiply serves as a good photo album and online retail catalogue, Facebook friends are sending each other beer, exchanging gifts and poking each other (even if they are 100,000 miles away).

Gone are the days of begging for testimonials.

Lazy friends can simply “like’’ your status and drop a one line- “ha ha” to your recent heartache.

Perhaps you would like a virtual hug? Sure, Facebook can give you that.

Promoting an event has never been this easy. And you don’t have to worry too much about how much food to prepare for the parties because you will know who is coming, not coming, and maybe attending like an automatic RSVP.

There is simply so many things to do on Facebook.

Fancy being a chef? Bake your favorite cake at Café World without the fear of burning your fingers. Aspiring millionaire? Act like one in Tycoons. Feel like going to war? Join the Mafia. According to Readers’ Digest, Farmville is the fastest growing online game in the world. Imagine if all those farms were real. The volume of our strawberries will surely end world hunger.

What intrigues me most are the fan pages. How can you not join “Alarm- Snooze, Alarm-Snooze, OMG late na ako!”? Why not find nuggets of wisdom from Bob Ong quotes? Facebook is a photo album, calendar, gossip magazine, event poster, freedom wall, blog, political forum, and gaming platform, all in one.

The main reason I am on Facebook is to keep in touch with friends I meet from around the globe.

True, my 746 friends are way above the average of 130, but I do make sure, that I know something about them or we have at least five mutual friends.

There are many things I get from Facebook, from thoughtful comments, noteworthy cause invitations, birthday reminders I would otherwise forget, to the constant fear of having one of my bored friends upload embarrassing photos. While I like the convenience of tagged photos, I also thank the tech geeks for the option to Remove Tag. It is unfortunate that FB didn’t have a “Dislike” or “Hate” button, because I am sure plenty of politician’s pages are worthy of that.

If only more people actually volunteer and join causes, and not just click on them. If only more people start acting like their heroes aside from being fans. If only we can be as interested about our history as the latest status updates of our friends. If only those comments were directed to more real issues and explored in real conversations.

But maybe that is asking too much.

There are just two things to remember in using Facebook. One is that at some point, you have got to upload pictures.

Two – never add your parents.

The author is a BS Economics graduate from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and is a British Council Global Changemaker.