Best Invention of The Decade

If “liking”, “defriending” and “poking” are not part of your daily vocabulary, then where the hell have you been? Facebook is not just a website, it’s a worldwide phenomenon that has had a hand in marriages, divorces, promotions, dismissals and even overthrowing of governments!

Therefore, it’s no surprise that this social addiction has taken the number one spot on the list of the top 10 inventions of the decade. According to a recent online survey, Facebook claimed 73 percent of the votes, the iPhone 62 percent, Twitter 58 percent, the MP3 player 51 percent, satellite navigation 46 percent, the iPod 43 percent, YouTube 39 percent, high-definition televisions 30 percent, GHD hair straighteners 23 percent and 3D films 19 percent.

Since Facebook launched in February 2004, its active users have risen to 500 million – in comprehendible terms, that’s one in every 13 people on earth! Last year Facebook even surpassed Google as the top-ranking site in regard to total time spent online. In just 20 minutes on Facebook, one million links are shared, two million friend requests are accepted and almost three million messages are sent.

Essentially Facebook began in a dingy Harvard dorm room (as anyone who has seen The Social Network will tell you), but today the business headquarters rest in San Francisco, with offices in 15 other countries and more than 2 000 employees worldwide.

Facebook is so powerful that governments such as the People’s Republic of China, Vietnam, Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Bangladesh have all sought to keep their “subjects” in line and to protect themselves by blocking the site.

There is no denying that it is the invention of the decade, even though there are some grey areas as to who actually invented it. This grey area has led to “founder” Mark Zuckerberg having to pay out R450 million in damages to a pair of bitter twins, yet the Facebook empire is still valued at approximately $80 billion (R640 billion)! With this kind of money, we’re pretty sure Mark sleeps soundly at night! Like!

Finger Flop!

While few inventions actually changed the world as we know it, there are those that don’t come close – such as the iPhone finger glove. An Austrian company invented the “best in latex digital protection to keep your iPhone fingerprint and smudge-free”. It’s available online in black or white with a size chart showing what size fits best, but consumers had no reservations in giving this invention, well, the finger!