As this summer was winding down, Facebook took precise note of the moment its network reached 1 billion users (Sept. 14, 2012 at 12:45pm PST), but didn’t share news of the event until today. Accompanying that big announcement is a “brand video” directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu. The fact that González Iñárritu hails from Mexico, or that he made his name with gritty dramas like Amores Perros, 21Grams, and, most recently, Biutiful, should not go unnoticed.
The choice of director is no doubt a nod to González Iñárritu’s prowess for mise en scène, but it also seems very much like an acknowledgement of where Facebook’s biggest growth is coming from: the “developing worlds” of Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, and India. For now, the clip is only appearing on Facebook, though many in the industry expect it to hit television soon enough.
The video, titled “The Things That Connect Us,” is a minute-and-a-half long. The “things” of the title include “chairs, doorbells, airplanes, bridges,” and “games,” a list which according to the video, we must now also add Facebook to. Mark Zuckerberg (or his current personal writer) released these words:
“This morning, there are more than one billion people using Facebook actively each month. If you’re reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honor of serving you. Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life.”
See the video here: http://newsroom.fb.com/News/The-Things-That-Connect-Us-1c7.aspx
Read More:
http://newsroom.fb.com/News/One-Billion-People-on-Facebook-1c9.aspx