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Rory Cellan-Jones

Poking fun at Facebook

  • Rory Cellan-Jones
  • 2 May 08, 12:25 GMT

Whatever the problems over privacy, Facebook is still doing remarkably well in the UK. The latest figures from Nielsen show it's got 9.9 million UK members, almost twice as many as MySpace, so that dip at the beginning of the year seems to have been a blip.

But could ridicule do for Facebook? A أغر؟´«أ½ Three sketch about the true nature of friendship on the social network is funny, accurate - and becoming a big viral hit on . (Contains strong language.)

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And it comes just as many people are beginning to ask whether they really want to be in a place where they can be found and poked by virtual strangers - and have embarrassing moments from their past plastered all over the internet.

Facebook becoming mainstream enough to feature in a TV sketch show is obviously a sign of success - but remember the impact that Spitting Image had 20 years ago on the careers of some of the politicians it lampooned? If the idea that Facebook membership is for losers takes hold, then the crowds may melt away as quickly as they gathered.

Darren Waters

Waiting for Ballmer

  • Darren Waters
  • 2 May 08, 08:15 GMT

Forget counting ballot papers for the local elections. The big result everyone is waiting for concerns .

And what everyone wants to know is: Will Microsoft make a decision and do something?

Steve BallmerAfter setting a deadline of last weekend for Yahoo to agree to Microsoft's offer, reasonable people expected that MS would move quickly this week.

But there's been no word yet.

As my colleague Rory said on this morning: "Come on Microsoft, this is getting really tedious."

And why is everyone impatient?

It feels a little like the future of the web is on hold while MS makes up its mind what to do next.

Will our online future be decided by two companies (MS and Google) or three?

The Wall Street Journal is now a hostile bid today. Steve Ballmer told staff yesterday that a decision would be "in short order".

He also said MS wouldn't pay a dime more than he thought Yahoo was worth.

Few people, if any, think MS will walk away from this. Even though Ballmer on Thursday he was willing to drop the pursuit of Yahoo.

And the main reason that few commentators believe him is that this is Steve Ballmer's bid, as much as it is Microsoft's.

As Bill Gates prepares to step away from MS day to day, this is the defining action of the future Microsoft.

Like everyone else, I'm just hoping this defining action comes soon.

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