The new year, 2011, is here and it’s time to think about that New Year’s resolution.
It is time to set your goal to bring in the new year. Something that will motivate you to meet your goal by the end of the upcoming year. Many people can reach their goal, however others struggle or just never get to it.
A list posted on www.kcnewyears.com shows some of the most popular resolutions for the year. The resolutions are listed n order of most popular from one to ten. They are, spending more time with family and friends, getting fit, losing weight, quit smoking, enjoy life more, quit drinking, get out of debt, learn something new, help others and get organized.
A resolution list. Courtesy photo from http://www.google.com/imgres
Penn Manor students and staff are preparing for bringing in the new year by setting their resolutions.
“I don’t make New Year’s resolutions because I can never stick to it!,” said senior Cassey Graeff.
“My resolution is to have a definite answer to my future,” said senior Leah Freeman.
“My New Year resolution is to keep a perfect driving record,” said junior Taylor Goldberg.
“My goal is to get a 1.10.00 in back stroke for swimming,” said senior Olivia Rinier
The new year is a time for looking in to the future and setting goals to benefit you and keep you healthy.
“My resolution is to read more and watch less TV,” said administrator Jason D’Amico.
Being fit and getting in to shape was a popular resolution for the administrators at Penn Manor High School.
“I plan to eat healthier and stay in shape this year,” said administrator Eric Howe.
The New Years Ball. Courtesy photo from http://www.google.com/images
“My New Year’s resolution is to get in better shape,” said School Resource Officer Jason Hottenstein.
While some people are setting goals to benefit themselves physically, others are setting goals to help them emotionally.
“My resolution is to not be as stressed and to not worry as easily,” said senior Kristi Rineer.
“My goal is to spend more time with my family and friends,” said administrator Doug Eby.
Many people take resolutions seriously to improve their future and a lot of people set a goal, but fail to follow through with their resolution. Each year the list changes for different resolutions and the number one for people is always changing.
Cookies and candy canes will not be an option for some people at Penn Manor, but most of them say they “don’t care.”
The winter holidays is the time of year where most families get together and enjoy a lot of good fatty food together. Cookies are annually made along with lots of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy. Even though most students at Penn Manor choose to ignore the nutritional values of the food, a few people do.
The classic ginger bread cookies, baked for the holiday season. Photo by fun.familyeducation.com
“I am going to try to not eat a whole lot of candy over Christmas break,” said Jeremy Vital.”I am trying to improve my dental health because it is not very good.
The best way to avoid cavities and have the best oral hygiene is to not consume sweets at all. This rarely happens over a holiday such as Christmas and New Years, so instead you could brush twice a day with toothpaste containing fluoride and also visiting the dentist for regular check ups according to dentistry.about.com.
“My wife makes great food for Christmas, so I don’t care what I will eat on Christmas,” said assistant principal Mr. Howe.
Howe will be doing “CrossFit” to work off some calories from Christmas dinner over the break.
“CrossFit is the principle strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide,” according to crossfit.com.
The average American eats an about 2,500 calories of food for just one meal. Participating in an activity such as basketball typically burns up to 600 calories in a full hour of play.
” My mom is making turkey and I will eat a lot of it,” said Pat Navin. “I am all about protein so I eat a lot of meat to fuel my massive muscles.”
Navin considers himself the most nutritious person that attends Penn Manor. Candy is no part of Navin’s to the extent that he denies any piece of candy offered to him.
“The only sugar that I eat is natural from fruits,” said Navin.
“Over the break, I don’t plan to workout because I play real sports, and I’m not trying to be the best at exercising,” said Navin.
According to ehow.com, there are few good steps that could be taken to eat a little healthier over the Christmas break.
1. Eat a healthy breakfast and lunch prior to Christmas dinner. By eating well during the day, you will not be famished by night time. This avoids the risk of you doubling up on calories later in the day. The best foods to eat are cereal, wholemeal breads and soups. They are high in fiber and will keep you feeling satisfied for a while.
Christmas Dinner. Photo by nelsonideas.com
2. Once at the dinner table, eat only half portions. For main course, try using a salad plate. This will make you have to put less food in your plate, and you will soon realize that you don’t need a large portion of food to feel satisfied.
3. Drink plenty of water during the day. Sometimes people confuse hunger for thirst, so they may eat more while trying to hydrate themselves. This will not happen if you drink enough water during the day, and when it comes to dinner time, the water in your stomach will make you feel fuller faster.
4. If you are in charge of cooking, make substitutions in order to keep your meal lower in fat and calories. For example, switch your regular mayo for extra light mayo. Use skimmed milk and low fat cheeses. Use sugar substitutes instead of sugar.
5. Keep your drinking under control. Between Christmas and New Year, most of the calories consumed in excess comes from drinks. So limit yourself to two glasses of wine with your meal, or avoid drinking altogether if you can.
They say early birds get the worm, or in this case, present.
Procrastinating shopping for Christmas gifts this year just isn’t going to work. Time has ran out for some of the hottest and most popular gifts already. Last year, according to usatoday.com, retailers were left with too many left over items from the holidays, and now this year, they made sure they were more conservative with ordering merchandise.
According to usatoday.com, this year some of the most popular wants and purchases simply ran out in many different stores.
A hard gift to find, a Kindle. Courtesy photo from http://www.google.com/imgres
Time is running to put those checks on the Christmas list. These items include Kindles, a Kitchen Aid Mixer at Kohls, Old Navy’s $5 pajama pants, a $498 Coach Satchel, Victoria’s Secret waist cinchers, and the list continues. Some of these items listed are completely out of availability, others can still be purchased, its just a matter of finding them.
Penn Manor students and staff are also having trouble finding gifts for family and friends this year.
“I have been having so much trouble finding things that I just decided to get everybody gift cards instead of going through all the trouble,” said senior Olivia Rinier.
“I actually had to order a pair of shoes online because they weren’t available in stores,” said senior Kayla Pagan.
The Kinect for xbox 360. Courtesy photo from http://www.google.com/imgres
“Finding Under Armor that fits my dad has been a struggle for me this year,” said junior, Taylor Goldberg.
“I still have two of my closest friends to shop for and they are hard to find things for so this could be difficult for me this year,” said senior Cassey Graeff.
Waiting until the last minute to shop this year could put you in danger of finding the right gifts for your family and friends. Many gifts are slowly becoming scarce to find in stores, and online.
“If it’s not on the internet, and it doesn’t have free shipping, I don’t buy it,” said administrator Jason D’Amico.
“I am having a really hard time trying to find the Kinect for Xbox 360. I have called several different places to try and get a hold of it, but everybody that I talk to says it’s unavailable at the time,” said administrator Eric Howe.
The Kinect for Xbox 360 was one of the scarce and hard to find items. One of our administrators had trouble himself finding one. This year was the year for early Christmas shopping. Procrastinating shopping may end up with late Christmas gift arrivals or no late arrivals at all.
These items can usually be found under nearly every Christmas tree.
Christmas can be about the spirit of giving.
Here at Penn Manor, however, some of the staff and students are thinking outside the box.
When you think of Christmas gifts, material things usually come to mind. But to many at Penn Manor, time and charity are the epitome of the “Christmas spirit.”
Penn Manor cheerleaders are getting into the spirit by donating canned goods to people who are unable to have Christmas dinner. Canned items can be brought to the basketball game this evening in place of paying for a ticket.
“It’s really great to know we’re helping the less fortunate, rather than giving only typical gifts,” said sophomore and cheerleader Erica Williams.
Senior Jesse Graham spreads Christmas cheer to the elderly with his youth group.
“We go over and visit and give cookies and sing songs [to the elderly]. It makes them really happy which in turn makes me happy,” said Graham.
Librarian Sue Hostetter does not deal with busy malls and picking the perfect gift. She simply makes a donation to a charity in the name of each person she would normally buy a gift for.
“Christmas is the spirit of giving,” said Hostetter.
The Humane League, the Ronald McDonald House and Heifer International all accept donations for the holidays.
For those last minute shoppers or those who feel charitable, donations and community service are always an option.
“I drink chocolate milk in the morning, orangeade at lunch, cherry Pepsi during fourth block, and then some Gatorade when I get home,” said junior Joey Jackson.
What happened to drinking water throughout the day? Penn Manor seems to have forgotten, or doesn’t care, that the human body is made up of about 70 percent water.
“I only drink water when I’m doing a physical activity and feel like I actually need to put the water back into my body because I’m sweating it out,” said Jackson.
Penn Manor students are replacing water with soda and other drinks that experts say are unhealthy.
According to a forum on Nutrition and Exercise,”Soda instead of water will lead to a lot of problems. Lots of calories (weight gain), worse triglycerides in the blood (bad), more tooth decay, and much less quenching to your thirst due to the concentrated sugars.”
Unhealthy drinks that Penn Manor students seem to enjoy
“I just don’t like the taste of water,” said sophomore Samantha Horst.
Soda, sadly, is one of society’s favorite beverages. Each year, billions of gallons of soda are sold in the United States alone. Experts believe drinking soda may have serious health consequences. Obesity is a main cause of drinking too much soda, due to the fact that it is high in sugar and calories.
“I’ll be honest, I drink too much soda,” said senior Jeremy Vital, “When I’m at work I get a Mt. Dew every time I get a chance, or when I’m on my break.”
“I normally drink a lot of Gatorade when I’m at home, and sometimes soda, but never water,” said Horst.
If you drink a whole bottle of Gatorade you are still consuming about 56 grams of sugar, and this is not required in a normal sedentary lifestyle and in this situation it could be considered “bad” for you.
A few wise choices when reaching into the refrigerator
Gatorade is considered a sports drink and can be beneficial to athletes when it is drank during an activity but if it is being drank when someone is not doing physical work than it is a waste of time and can be bad for you.
According to a Nutrition and Health website, “The healthiest beverage to quench your thirst always has been, and always will be, plain old water. Water ensures proper hydration and cellular function, and these health benefits are delivered with no calories or unnatural ingredients. Drinking water also flushes out impurities and will help keep your waistline in check.”
It’s a Wonderful Life, The Little Drummer Boy, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, all popular classic Christmas movies. Elf, Jingle all the Way, The Polar Express, popular new Christmas movies.
It’s hard to say which movie is Penn Manor’s favorite and which new Christmas movie will become a future classic. There is no real answer since students have many opinions.
Penn Manor students were handed a list of the “most popular” Christmas movies out there.
The list consisted of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Nightmare Before Christmas, A Christmas Story, White Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Carol, The Little Drummer Boy, Miracle on 34th Street, The Polar Express, Jack Frost, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Elf, Jingle All The Way, The Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, and Home Alone.
Fifty percent of the Penn Manor students asked about their favorite Christmas movie said that A Christmas Story was their favorite. Others voted the top movies being Jingle All The Way, Elf, Home Alone and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
One of Jere Vital's favorite movies is Jingle All The Way. Photo by Jenna Reel
Senior Cory Lentz said his favorite movie is Elf.
“Will Farrell is the man. The best part is when he’s in the mall and sees Santa then yells, ‘Santa!'” said Lentz.
“A Christmas Story is my favorite. The best part is when Ralphie beats up the bully and he curses, then gets his mouth washed out with soap,” said junior Joey Jackson. “I think its funny and weird to have a Christmas movie with a young kid. It makes the story line different.”
Senior Jere Vital claims to have two favorite movies.
“Jingle All The Way, which I have on VHS tape, and Home Alone are my favorites. (In Home Alone) I always felt like that kid, Kevin. I thought I could take out the bad guys. My favorite part in Jingle All The Way is when Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character gets in the red turbo man suit and flies around saying, ‘It’s turbo time,'” said Vital.
Edward Gahring, a sophomore at Penn Manor, agrees with Vital in claiming his favorite movie being Home Alone.
A Christmas Story is a Penn Manor favorite. Photo credit to http://tvtropes.org
“Its exciting to watch. The funniest parts are where the little kid is always fooling the adult. The best part in the whole movie is when the old man comes in and knocks out the bandits with the shovel in the flooded house,” said Gahring.
Both sophomores, Kaitlyn Thomas and Cobi Kremer, say their favorite movie is A Christmas Story because its funny.
Thomas remembers the part in which the boy licks the pole and his tongue gets stuck, and Kremer remembers the shoe/hooker leg lamp.
“It makes me laugh,” said Kremer.
A movie becomes one’s favorite because there are parts of the movie that stand out to them and make it memorable. Some families watch the same movies every year as tradition, and some have other traditions.
Taylor Hager, another sophomore at Penn Manor, said that she has watched The Holiday every year since it first came out (in 2006).
Many people still disagree though about which movies are better. Newer ones or classics?
Home Alone is predicted to be a Classic. Photo credit to http://www.allstarpics.net
“Older ones are so much better,” said Jackson.
“I like old ones better. There’s nothing better than an old, good movie. New ones try and pack in too much stuff,” said Gahring.
“The classic 90s colored movies are the best,” said Vital.
Others argue that new ones are better.
“Newer ones are better. Old ones are so fake,” said Thomas.
“I like the pictures in newer movies, so they’re better,” said Kremer.
Hager explains how she likes a good mix of new and old movies.
Whether they like the new or old, which new ones will become the classics?
Jackson, Gahring, Thomas, and Kremer all insist that Home Alone will become a classic.
Mattel has come out with a brand new accessory for Barbie just in time for Christmas this year. The big change? She has a built in camera with picture and video abilities. The new Barbie is causing major controversy, but not just with the consumers.
The FBI has put out a warning against Mattel’s new toy. They are worried it will encourage child pornography with the video and picture capturing options.
But, an FBI spokeswoman attended a news conference on the topic stated “there have been no reported incidents of this doll being used as anything other than as intended.”
Mattel’s new “Video Girl” Barbie. Photo courtesy of fast-autos.net
On the Mattel website, the toy description says, “girls can record and play back clips with this multi-tasking doll, which has a video camera built right in. Capture everything from a doll’s-eye-view, then watch it instantly or upload to your computer. There’s an LCD screen on Barbie doll’s back, and a camera lens hidden discreetly in her necklace. Talk about making movies in style!”
When Senior Anissa Gerlach heard about the doll she immediately responded with “What’s a little kid going to do with a camera in their Barbie? You’ll just get pictures of the floor!”
Gerlach also thinks that “parents could use the recording Barbies as nanny cameras,” and said “what a waste of technology!”
“I would be kind of creeped out,” said senior Patrick Jones. He feels like girl’s parents are unaware of everything that could potentially be result of this new product. “Do they even realize there’s a camera in her necklace that can take pictures and record video?”
Jones thinks the doll has good and bad points.
“It’s giving kids an early look into the technological future,” on the other hand, “older children or adults will do inappropriate things with the little kids.”
“In later stages (of life) kids will be more comfortable with the Internet and video chatting.”
Jones thinks Mattel’s next step will be dolls that are fully functional in ways such as walking, talking and live video streaming capabilities.
An internal view of "Video Girl" Barbie. Photo courtesy of gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com
Morgan Moses feels strongly about Mattel’s new creation.
She made it very clear that she would be angry if her 9-year-old sister received the Barbie with the built-in camera. “I don’t want her having Barbies [in general] because they’re degrading and she doesn’t need to be videoing herself. They (younger children) shouldn’t know how to video themselves.”
Moses, unaware of the FBI warnings recently made, is afraid of the “weapon” this supplies pedophiles with.
“Some guy could be sitting there with his daughter’s Barbie taping little kids. They’ll come up with anything.”
“It would be weird to have a child receive one of these dolls” and “there’s really no need to have a camera in a Barbie doll,” said Alanna Margoline.
Margoline said, “everything is becoming dependent on technology, even toys! What’s next? Cell phones for babies so they can text in the womb?”
Aside from consumers, the government is alerting police personnel as well, to ensure that items such as Barbies will not be overlooked when investigating a case. This is mainly because these electronic dolls could be holding crucial evidence inside their fake, plastic bodies.
But despite all the arguments and claims giving the doll a negative reputation, the manufacturers of the doll claim that “Mattel products are designed with children and their best interests in mind. Many of Mattel’s employees are parents themselves and we understand the importance of child safety – it is our number one priority.”
The first lunar eclipse to happen during the winter solstice in 372 years has come and passed.
While most Penn Manor students were asleep for the action, a few faced the cold December night to experience it.
“It was interesting because the eclipse hasn’t happened on the winter solstice for a couple hundred years,” said Jess Huber, a junior who woke up to watch the epic eclipse unfold. “I’ve never seen the moon look that kind of orange before.”
A lunar eclipse is when the moon passes through the shadow of the earth cast by the sun, which then blocks the light to the moon. This eclipse was momentous due to the fact that it hasn’t fallen on the longest night of the year, the winter solstice, since 1638.
The stages of last night's lunar eclipse. Photo courtesy of sacredtravel.wordpress.com
Because the eclipse fell on the winter solstice, the moon appeared “very high in the night sky, as the solstice marks the time when Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun,” a NASA spokesperson said.
This eclipse turned the moon a “blood red color for more than an hour” according to NASA.
The red appearance is due to the atmosphere acting like a filtered lens and bending the red sunlight into earth’s shadow scattering out blue light. This is also why sunrises and sunsets appear red or orange as reported by Kevin Kehoe of astronomy.com.
Although this was a special occasion, not too many Penn Manor students considered it an exciting experience.
Junior Christina Stoltzfus sacrificed her good night’s sleep to see the magnificent event.
Junior Christina Stoltzfus imitates the moon. Photo by of Kyle Hallett
“It was breathtaking as the shadow slowly moved across the moon’s surface,” explained Stoltzfus. “I wanted to watch this since it was the first winter solstice lunar eclipse to happen during our generation.”
Earth Science teacher, David Bender, warned his students of the cloudy conditions and that it would be difficult to see the colorful moon.
Regardless of the rarity of the lunar eclipse on the day of winter solstice, most students said they would rather sleep than watch the moon disappear into the shadows.
“I prefer to sleep and I had a math test the next day,” said senior, Kelly McHugh.
It’s alright if you missed this experience Penn Manor, it will take place again in another 84 years
Earlier this year the freshman, sophomore and senior class had an assembly about the dangers of abusing drugs, including prescription drugs. The presentation was given by the SAP (Student Assistance Program) coordinator, Darrin Donmoyer. The presentation included facts and statistics about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs, second place only to the most common drug of choice among teens, marijuana.
Abuse of prescription drugs has become more prevalent than cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine all combined, according to national statistics.
Some of the statistics could be called terrifying, as emergency visits due to prescription overdose have gone up 300 percent in the country.
“Just because it’s prescribed by a doctor or sold in stores doesn’t mean it’s safe,” said Donmoyer.
Drugs can cause problems for people despite their family and friends, and sometimes because of them.
“Half my family tells me not to do it and the other half shoves a bowl in my face,” one student said about the pressure they feel toward using drugs.
One student said they did it just because it was there, starting with a sister and a couple of friends.
Although nearly every student in the Penn Manor district learned about the dangers of substance abuse in elementary school, some students have tried drugs and alcohol, and despite the known risks, abuse substances regularly.
Some will be caught.
Officer Jason Hottenstein estimated between two and ten students will probably be caught this year in school with a banned substance but “every student knows the consequences.”
Although 20 students openly admitted to trying drugs or alcohol at least once in their lifetime for this article, the good news is, the assumption that everyone is doing it is false.
Donmoyer said a school-wide survey showed only 14 percent of tenth graders have smoked marijuana in the last 30 days and 22 percent of twelfth graders and a mere 4 percent of eighth graders have smoked in the last 30 days.
“I’ve helped students voluntarily enter in-patient and out-patient rehab centers if that’s what they are willing to do,” said Donmoyer. ” I can’t make them do anything they don’t want to. But the assistance is there for them when they are ready.”
At least two students agreed they use drugs to “get away from reality.”
“I’m a concern-free person. When you live on the edge like me, you don’t need concerns,” said one.
But not everyone interviewed had a care-free attitude about drugs.
Another student spoke about the fear of “never waking up again.”
Needles used for some form of drug.
The answers were often blunt and straight-forward.
One student said the only thing that could make them quit would be, “me, myself, and I.”
One of the many students interviewed who had never tried drugs or alcohol said “I don’t want to conform to that lifestyle.”
Though this person admitted to going to parties about once a month, the person said they have never had the desire to do drugs or alcohol.
The Penn Manor students who said they use drugs, mostly used marijuana.
According to government studies, up to 30 percent of teens smoke marijuana. Marijuana, commonly known as weed, pot, hash, and by many other names is one of the most popular drugs.
Surprisingly, several Penn Manor students were more than willing to share how much they enjoy using this drug.
“Because it tastes good,” one student said about why they do it.
One student said, ” It’s a good way to enjoy yourself as long as you know what you’re doing.”
From the information found from abovetheinfluence.com any substance classified as a street drug is addictive, contrary to popular belief. It is commonly thought that marijuana isn’t addictive, this has been proven to be completely false. Most teens who are in treatment for drug problems receive a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependency. This diagnosis is more common than the primary diagnosis of all other illicit drug dependencies combined.
Every student who admitted trying marijuana at least once also said they have gone beyond the use of just that drug. Some of the other drugs students admitted they have used included ecstasy, mushrooms, salvia, heroin, acid, methamphetamines, LSD, amphetamines, alcohol, various inhalants and prescription drugs.
The only drugs that came close to being as popular as marijuana were the numerous forms of prescription drugs that students can get their hands on.
There was an 80 percent increase for kids who do use prescription drugs over the last 10 years in the country.
Ecstasy Pills
“I like the feeling I get from trying different pills,” one student stated.
It’s been said that popping pills takes pain away and according to one student interviewed “makes you forget.”
According to the U.S. Department of Health and family services, doctors will recommend that you only use prescription pills as directed.
These drugs can be seriously harmful physically and mentally and they can be as addictive as street drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
Some students are more than willing to risk the dangers of using drugs and becoming addicted and even the pain of trying to quit in the future.
Officer Jason Hottenstein said, “They’re not making the right life decisions, it’s all peer pressure.”
Many of the students started using because their friends or family members such as siblings and cousins got them into using. Three of the 25 students interviewed said they have parents who use drugs openly.
“I tried to quit once. But my mom didn’t understand, and kept me using,” one student recalled.
A small portion of those interviewed said they use to “have fun” and “have a good time”.
Most students will say there is a deeper reason as to why they use drugs and alcohol, not to just fit in or have a good time, but get away from pain in their lives.
“A quick fix for the pain is all that matters,” as one student had said.
Drug addiction often becomes overwhelming. Students who have drug problems can seek help through the school’s SAP program which is both voluntary and confidential.
The SAP team is a great tool for bettering one’s life. Donmoyer says what he wants to do for Penn Manor students is to assist in “setting them up for success.”
Some say it might topple Google’s stake as the top dog of email.
And who’s the one who’s trying to take them down? It’s Facebook.
Facebook revealed that they would now feature a “social messaging” email service, giving users the access to a Facebook-themed email account. All users would get an email address such as user@facebook.com.
The email service would be added to the current messaging service that users can access now. It would feature two sections – or inboxes – one for messages inside of Facebook (similar to the current system used) and one for messages outside of Facebook. A user would be able to check their friends’ statuses and email their bosses, all on the same site.
Before the super secret Project Titan was unveiled, rumors surfaced about the new plan of the social network giant.
Rumors are still running rampant about the nature of the project, including the report that this is meant to take down Gmail as one of the most used email providers. It seems to many observers that Facebook is gearing to take Google down as the ruler of the Internet, like an online Napoleon.
Google is the top dog of the Internet, and updates it's logo for special occasions. Logo copyright Google Inc.
But according to Mark Zuckerburg, head of Facebook Inc, his new service isn’t going to replace email as a primary form of communication.
“I think Gmail’s a really good product…we just think that this simpler kind of message is how people will shift their communication,” he said of what Project Titan actually means for users.
Zuckerberg has also downplayed the claim that his site was attempting to take over email, stating that email is still important to many people and will be in the future, but he admitted that more and more people would gravitate towards Facebook mail over time.
“What?” said Lauren Ali, “I don’t see myself using that. I’d much rather just wait until my friends go online.”
“I don’t think I’d use it,” said another student.
Facebook based email wouldn’t just contend with Gmail, either. It would also come up against providers like Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft, Thunderbird (an offshoot of Firefox) and Apple Mail. According to comscore, Microsoft’s Hotmail has 361 million global users, followed by Yahoo Mail’s 273 million users and Gmail’s 193 million users, and a Facebook email could drastically change these dynamics.
Yahoo, too, is trying to get ahead of the game, recently launching an updated version of Yahoo Mail, where users can update their Twitter and Facebook statuses from Yahoo.
The service would have a “social inbox” along with a regular email inbox, so users can separate their friends from other, outside email messages.
Facebook is one of the world's biggest social networks. Logo copyright Facebook Inc.
“We can do some really good filtering for you because we know who your friends are,” said Zuckerberg.
This announcement came out after the “ladybug” incident, where thousands of women had their accounts deactivated by a bug from a program that looks for fake Facebook accounts, and then were sent emails telling them that they had to present their photo ID over email, or other government documents, to validate their identity.
Facebook has reportedly reactivated those accounts affected, but the stain on it’s reputation remains, and some are asking the question: “If we can’t trust them with our accounts, how are we supposed to trust them with our email?”
But the numbers of people willing to trust Facebook are far more than the people who don’t wish to share their information with the site.
The numbers can no longer be counted in the hundreds and thousands, but millions and billions.
Facebook came on the scene in February 2004, and since then has accumulated over 400 million active users.
The numbers get more and more impressive. Fifty percent of these 400 million log on to the site every day and there are more than 2 billion photographs uploaded to the site every month, with about 60 million statuses are updated every day. The average user has about 130 friends, and the page with the most fans is Texas Hold’em Poker (an online game).
The fifth Page with the most fans? Vin Diesel.
Yahoo is one of the world's top email providers. Image courtesy Yahoo Inc.
Facebook has long defeated Myspace in the social network game. In 2009, Facebook had a registered 112 million United States users, while Myspace had only 57 million users.
The website has yet to state when the new plan will go into effect. No matter what happens, this is a step forward for the site – and who knows what effect it will have in the overall picture or how it will change the email and private messaging game.
