Facebook expects to register its 200 millionth user this week since it launched 5 years ago.

I’m Charlotte Bellis, and you’re watching Newsy.com.

Accompanying its astounding growth rate is the way people from different backgrounds around the world are using it.

The New York Times looked at Facebook data, showing the timeline of the site’s growth since it began in 2004 and the road to 200 million…

The graphics illustrate the expansion of global users, indicating the fastest growing group is people over 35.

CNN looks at how Facebook can come in handy unexpectedly with this story from Brunswick, Georgia.
A woman used Facebook to catch a thief who broke into her husband’s car. A local reporter explains how she did it.

“Long story short, Mary told one friend on Facebook who told another and another. One neighbor wrote back. She thought she saw the suspect and knew where he lived. … The suspect was an eighteen-year-old who lived just down the road. “If it wasn’t for Facebook, I would have never -- we would have never known who did this, why they did it and where our stuff was at.”” (CNN)

BusinessWeek focuses on the up-and-coming feature on the social networking site: user-generated video.

It says Facebook receives some 260,000 video uploads per day, although the quality of the videos is not the top priority.

“As opposed to sites like Hulu and even YouTube, high-quality videos are less important when it comes to personal sharing. … Facebook users are pushing forward notions of personal sharing by using video to capture live-action (if a little blurry) moments of their lives.” (BusinessWeek)

But not everyone approves of the Facebook style; a Washington Post columnist says it may not be polished enough…

“While the employees of a small, scrappy start-up may be used to communicating with bosses through text messages… the traditional providers of information technology services tend to conduct business using more formal practices.” (The Washington Post)

The New York Times talks to Facebook executives -- Mark Zuckerberg and Chris Cox. Zuckerberg says in a world of six billion - two hundred million is tiny….

“It’s great that we reached that, especially in such a short amount of time. But there is so much more to do.”

And adds this view from Cox…

“The people who started the company weren’t cool. I’m not cool. … Cool only lasts for so long, but being useful is something that applies to everyone.” (The New York Times)

How does Facebook apply to you? What are the unique ways you use it? We’d love to hear your thoughts and please check out the links to our sources.

I’m Charlotte Bellis for Newsy.com.