ternet phenomenon he originally launched as a personal directory for students at Harvard. Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has grown to become the No. 1 social networking site on the planet. By mid-2009, Facebook boasted over 250 million active users, with members on every continent (including Antarctica). In 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Mark Zuckerberg as the 321st richest person in the U.S., making him, at the age of twenty-three, the youngest individual ever to appear on the Forbes 400.

A Nielsen.com blog reported that Facebook’s monthly growth rate was 228 percent in February 2009, and up to half its members visit the site on a daily basis. With stats like that, it’s little surprise that Time ranked Mark Zuckerberg among The World’s 101 Most Influential People. He’s No. 4 on AskMen.com’s list of the Top 49 Men of 2009.

5. Simon Cowell
There’s no escaping Simon Cowell in America or in Europe. Through 2009, he continued his lucrative judging ways on American Idol and the top-rated Britain’s Got Talent. He also served as the producer of America’s Got Talent, the highest-rated television show in the U.S. Because of him, David Hasselhoff maintained his eternal cool status, while Susan Boyle became 2009’s unexpected musical darling. Despite an impossible amount of success, Simon Cowell confessed this year that he sometimes suffers from inner conflict and depression. Does this mean he’ll change? Not likely. Would we like him to change? Of course not.

Simon Cowell’s penchant for stating the absurd also came through loud and clear in 2009. After remarking that he wanted to be preserved through cryogenics upon his death, he stated that Ringo Starr wouldn’t make the cut if The Beatles had auditioned on American Idol, prompting a major media backlash against him. He insisted that the whole thing was a joke, but the jokes may start to fall on him when the sharp-tongued Ellen DeGeneres joins him as a judge on the next season of Idol.

6. Michael Jackson
2009 was supposed to bring some much-needed polish to Michael Jackson’s career. In March, the King of Pop announced that he was preparing This Is It, an ambitious fifty-date concert series in London, England. On June 25, everything changed. A few weeks shy of his first comeback concert, the world was stunned to learn of Michael Jackson’s passing. Search engines overflowed, entertainment blogs were overloaded and news networks ran tributes around the clock. A memorial celebration was watched by an estimated one billion people worldwide and featured all-star performances from the likes of Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer, Mariah Carey, and Usher, as well as a moving impromptu speech from his surviving daughter, Paris Katherine Jackson.

Michael Jackson and his much-publicized personal struggles were suddenly gone, but his musical p

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