Direction: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.
Apple’s iPhone may be big news, but in Silicon Valley all eyes are on Facebook. The all-age private Internet club that began as a college student hangout has become the technology industry’s hottest ticket.
Facebook, which started out offering simple Web profile pages for users to update personal details and link to their friends, has since late May provided an easy way to enhance profiles with growing menu of 1,400 applications from virtual horoscopes to music video players.
Membership has exploded to over 29 million active users, up one million users in just the past week and five million from six weeks ago. It’s adding more than 150,000 member a day, up from its pace of 100,000 six weeks ago, Facebook says.
Facebook has become the central way many users keep track of Web sites they use every day. More importantly, it’s a way to keep up with what friends are doing, says Chief Technology Officer Adam Angelo, a high school classmate of Zuckerberg.
Far bigger rival MySpace has difficulty striking a balance between sharing personal data and not revealing “too much information”. Many Facebook users post their mobile phone numbers, political affiliations or changes in dating status.
“Facebook is not open the way the Web is open, Users share all kinds of information on the site they would never share on the Web,” Angelo, 22, says. “We get users to reveal more information because we protect users’ privacy.
One protest group, called “Facebook Should Be Students ONLY”, with 20,000 members, is magnet from random discontent.
“Facebook should most definitely be ONLY students,” Katerina Laurel, 15, of Kansas City, Kansas, writes in Web shorthand. “Our CHOIR teacher has a Face book membership.”
Laurel’s solution is to use the site’s privacy controls to exclude the teachers/principals/dens/choir directors in her life. “I can just block them from my site if I don’t want them to see any of my profile.” She says.
(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS.)
What is Facebook?
_________________________________________________________________.
How many active uses have Facebook had till now?
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The reason why Facebook users share all kinds of information on the site they would never share on the Web is that________________________________________
It can be inferred that if you don’t want your profile exposed to strangers, you can _____________________________________________________________________