Facebook (FB) beat the TV and newspapers in breaking the news about the recent

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Tsunami that left Japan devastated. The status updates by the users gave a comprehensive first hand account of the nature’s fury faster than any media could, claims Kirthiga Reddy, director of Online Operations and India Head of Facebook, the world’s fastest growing social networking website.

“FB is aiding in organizing news around people. More than 43 per cent of the news sharing happens through the social media and not through TV or newspaper. The homepage of the Facebook is a personalized newspaper. It is about people that matter to you,” she said.

Talking to newspersons in Hyderabad on Friday on the sidelines of a conference, she said about 66 per cent government agencies have started using FB to reach out to the target audience. For instance, the US Consulate at Hyderabad and the Hyderabad Traffic Police are using FB to send out the messages to the public.

In India, Facebook is among the three popular websites with a reach of about 38 per cent of Internet users. When it announced its India operations in March last year, Facebook had 8 million users and by September the number touched 15 million, she claimed.

Facebook, which is looking for more localized content with addition of more regional languages, is also on a major hiring spree for its online operations, content development and advertising operations. “Facebook, which has recently launched voice status updates with Aircel, is now working with other telecom operators for more convenience products and to reach out those who are not computer literate,” Kirthiga told Financial Chronicle.

On the changing Facebook usage patterns, she said, “Thirteen plus year category is the fastest growing segment.” Most people update the status messages, add a photo or two and participate in the ‘Causes’. The usage pattern is common across the geographical areas, she said.

Kirthiga expects the membership numbers to surge significantly owing to introduction of 3G telecom services as mobile phone is becoming a major channel for accessing the social networking site. Saying that an average FB user now spends about seven hours a month, she said “it is more than what the top one, two, three website put together have.”