While Facebook seems to be dominating across many modern technologies, Facebook CTO Bret Taylor announced that the social networking site will heavily invest on mobile and HTML5 research and enhancements in 2011.  Placing mobile above countless other business priorities is no easy task, even for a company as massive and influential as Facebook. The company firmly believes that mobile usage is the fastest growing aspect of the Facebook experience, with more than 200 million people accessing the site from mobile phones presently.

Taylor furthers with the relevance of HTML5. He said, “…though 125 million of Facebook’s more than 200 million mobile users are already using HTML5-capable smartphones, Apple and Google could do more to “close the gap” between what a native application on their respective smartphones can do and what an HTML5 app on those devices can do. One example is Apple allowing HTML5 apps to also access the accelerometer (which allows for motion and directional input) on the iPhone.”

To be more specific with what Facebook is looking into in terms of their mobile domination, the organization will focus on 3 key priorities:  making Facebook Connect more accessible for mobile apps, reducing the burden of developing for different platforms and location. Everyone’s favorite social network sees progress with the launch of single sign-on, wherein users can sign into their Facebook account from within just a single app.

In addition, Facebook will carry on rolling out Places to all users and promote the Places API to mobile developers, in hopes of spurring new location-based apps that will utilize Facebook.  This will be a huge opportunity for Facebook to maintain close contact with its hundreds of millions of users, with local interactions providing context for their site activity.  Monetizing around their mobile front will allow Facebook to continue its early innovations in the social sector, as mobile platforms provide a new frontier for the company.