• November 12, 2008

Facebook has tripled its mobile audience to 15 million in the last year, according to a recent post on the company blog. The m.facebook.com site allows users to receive notifications or update their status with text messages, as well as access applications for devices such as the Treo, BlackBerry and iPhone.

Julie Ask, a JupiterResearch analyst who covers the wireless space, called Facebook's 15 million mobile users "a big milestone," in a blog post. "I think this number will only continue to grow and everyone in the ecosystem will benefit."

She also noted Facebook, and social networking in general, will benefit from the trend toward cell phones with larger screens and full keyboards. The more users post to the mobile site, the more often others will check in for responses, and that "virtuous circle" will help social networking expand on mobile devices.--Mark Walsh