CAIRO: Facebook will not be shutting down on March 15, 2011, the social networking site's Director of Corporate Communications Larry Yu said, quelling rumors that circulated this week. It is not clear how and who started the rumor, but within days the false alarm spread across all social networks, including Facebook itself and Twitter. Yu responded to a Daily News Egypt email saying that this is “silliness.” “We didn't get the memo about shutting down, so we'll keep working away. We aren't going anywhere; we're just getting started,” Yu added. The rumor spread quickly and stirred a lot of controversy among Facebook users, with some against the alleged closure and others welcoming it. The rumor went viral after CNN published a business story stating that the recent Goldman Sach's $500 million investment is a warning sign that Facebook might be losing business and would eventually shut down. CNN's report further spurred the rumor and gave it some credibility, especially for those who did not believe the original report published on an amateur blog saying that Facebook will be shutting down because Zuckerberg says the toll is too high and that he cannot keep up with the incessantly increasing load. “It makes no sense that a site with 500 million users that just received a $450 million investment from Goldman Sach's and $50 million from Russian firm Digital Sky Technologies would abruptly announce its closure,” Amy Samir, a marketing specialist, said. “The site has around 500 million users and valuation of $50 billion.” Ironically, Yahoo Videos officially announced that it would be closing down on March 15, 2011 — same day that the rumor claims Facebook would shut down. However, the reaction was not as pronounced as it was towards Facebook's closure. Speculations around the origin of the rumor point fingers at a post on a blog called “Weekly World News.” The article titled “Facebook will end on March 15th!” explained that Zuckerberg could not sustain the site with all the effort it needs. Facebook has gone beyond a mere social networking site as it became a platform for people to assemble and organize social, political and even religious events. It's has also become a source of news for some.
