In today’s Quick Hits, we touch on Facebook’s enormous growth, Google’s enormous political clout, and the enormous ramifications of using facial recognition technology to automatically “check-in” social networking users.

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Facebook Poised to Cross 500 Million Users

Facebook is expected to cross the 500 million user mark this week. The company plans to celebrate the milestone with “‘Facebook Stories,’ a collection of real-life blurbs from Facebook users about how the social networking site has impacted their lives.” Reaching half a billion users in only six years is an impressive feat and shows just how important Facebook has become to the overall Internet landscape.

Death and Dying on Facebook

In his Technically Incorrect column for CNET, Chris Matyszczyk explores the problem of death on Facebook. Matyszczyk explains that when a Facebook user dies, his or her profile page becomes a sort of living memorial where friends and loved ones can say their last goodbyes. However, because the user is dead, it is also an unguarded memorial, meaning it can be hijacked by someone with ill intentions. It is an interesting problem, and one which Facebook’s founders surely did not anticipate when they began the site six years ago.

Automatic “Check-ins” with Facial Recognition Technology

Facial recognition software is already being used for photos, could it soon be sued for video as well? This article from ReadWriteWeb touches on technology entrepreneur Mark Cuban’s recent investment into facial recognition technology. Cuban explains that the technology could be used for public safety purposes, but also as a tool for location-based social networking users to “check-in” to an event on Foursquare or Gowalla. The RWW article makes the apt comparison to the Steven Spielberg film “Minority Report” in which individuals are scanned by billboards and offered personalized advertising.

Google Acquires Metaweb, Hopes to Improve Semantic Search

Last week, Google took another step toward improving semantic web search with the acquisition of Metaweb. According to the official Google blog, the acquisition is meant to help Google answer specific questions that are hard for the company’s algorithm to understand. With Metaweb’s technology, Google hopes to improve its ability to answer search queries like ‘colleges on the west coast with tuition under $30,000′ or ‘actors over 40 who have won at least one oscar.’

Google’s Political Clout

This article in the Politico explores Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s political influence and why it has made some privacy advocates in Washington D.C. nervous. The article touches on Google’s strong relationship with congressional leaders, the FTC, and even with President Obama.