Facebook is believed to have over 300 million viewers, while others project that the number is much higher and close to 1 billion; one seventh of the world’s population. Apart from the statistics, we’re aware of the massive amounts of people entering their offices every day or spending recess in front of the monitor to check their new wall posts. Facebook’s user policy is under reconstruction now due to angry people complaining about privacy issues, and above that, they have experienced yet another layout change which has angered many, and some people have started to not participate in it anymore.

To many, Facebook hasn’t been living up to the expectations they once had. It was known as a simple, easy-to-use tool to connect that had a common look and feel that Myspace didn’t have. They grew, then grew some more, then the layout continued to change and people got mad.

Twitter is on the rise, but it doesn’t replace the complete functionality that Facebook yields.  Has Facebook maxed out or will they be the stronghold for a while longer?

In the past few years, we have seen Adobe buy out Macromedia, the other design software stronghold and Adobe has been making the Macromedia products more and more integrated with the Creative Suite. Flash has adopted a new, more Adobe friendly Actionscript language and has vector tools more similar to Illustrator. But the question remains if Adobe will continue to progress to have influence on the direction of the internet.

CFML is often looked at as an “Adobe version” of PHP, similar to ASP.NET being owned by Microsoft. Adobe AIR was also released, bringing internet technologies to the desktop. They have Adobe FLEX for internet application development as well. To many, Adobe has maxed out their software released, and to others, it has only just begun.

Many people are under the assumption that web design is done by computer geniuses who deal with the complex code of HTML.  That’s partially true. The majority of them are extremely familiar with HTML, but nowadays, the average Joe can create a simple website with just a little bit of direction.

A popular program to use is Macromedia / Adobe Dreamweaver. From there, you might want to try a tutorial from someone that knows the basics of web design. You should also look into basic courses at a local school. Many non-credit classes are available and you could learn a lot of the instructors. From there, you should be all set to do basic updates, and it’s just a matter of time before you become a computer genius too. LOL!

Just keep in mind that creating a website and producing an online marketing machine are two completely different things. Tinker all you want with the basics of HTML but don’t expect people to find your website and want to buy from you. Beginners need a LOT of deeper understanding to go from basic web design to full on Internet marketing.

Keep that in mind…