The following is part of our series on different ways Facebook is used across the world. Read the previous blog post in this series here. If you have a story you'd like to share with us, please submit it here.


Marie* was expecting a typical day when she arrived at her advertising job one January day earlier this year. By the end, she was among the 15 percent of her company who had been laid off as part of a downsizing at the New York company. She was so devastated that she didn't have time to say goodbye to co-workers with whom she had shared so many memories.

Like millions of people, Marie faced the harsh reality of the current economic recession that has led to double-digit unemployment in the United States and many other countries. She looked to support from her friends, family and former co-workers — and she found it by logging onto Facebook.

Facebook allowed her to reconnect with many of her former colleagues who had similarly lost their jobs, and they were able to support each other through a difficult time. Marie expected her first day without a job to be filled with sadness and isolation. Instead, she said she was greeted with well wishes and even job leads from previous co-workers and others who had been in similar situations.

"This gave me a great sense of support and connection," Marie said, "As I gladly received wonderful messages and followed up on leads, I realized that this would not be possible without Facebook."

One of those leads was for a marketing position, and Marie diligently followed up. Months later, on another day she thought would be typical, she received a job offer. Now she's working full-time and grateful for the support and advice of her friends. As Marie said, "Facebook really helped me stay connected, receive kind words, and indirectly secure employment."


Nikki, a specialist on Facebook's user operations team, is grateful to have found her job through Facebook, too.

*Marie is a pseudonym we used at the request of the Facebook user to protect her identity.

The following is part of our series on different ways Facebook is used across the world. Read the previous blog post in this series here and the next post here. If you have a story you'd like to share with us, please submit it here.


Earlier this fall, Drew and Sierra of Washington state suffered every parent's worst nightmare when they learned that their 13-year-old son, Levi, had collapsed and gone into cardiac arrest during his gym class. Fortunately, Levi's school had a defibrillator (AED) that teachers used to keep him alive until he could be airlifted to the hospital. Still, his chances of survival were slim as his heart had stopped for 30 minutes.

With their son in critical condition, Drew and Sierra reached out to their friends and relatives for support. From the hospital, Drew updated his Facebook status with news of the incident and Levi's progress. "Within moments, I had people responding," he told us, "Not just locally, but even friends in Germany and as far as Australia!" Over the next two weeks, as Levi's condition improved, Drew continued using his status to broadcast the latest news from doctors to friends and relatives on Facebook.

Friends and family continued to reach out to ask about Levi and offer any help they could. Drew created a Facebook group for Levi, which more than a hundred of his friends, family and classmates joined to stay updated on his situation. As with any Wall on Facebook, people started posting their thoughts, which Drew compared to a "prayer chain." Drew added photos of Levi and recent news articles telling the story of his son's incredible rescue and recovery.