YOUTUBE’s massive rise to global stardom is not about to recede just yet. In fact, Faux Society has just gotten word that the video service firm has hit the 1-billion mark, meaning one billion people are now turning to the site to watch all kinds of videos — from people cleaning their dead toenails, to kids trying to turn super saiyan, etc.

This is a major milestone, one that should give YouTube’s rivals a run for their money. Can you imagine a site getting 100 million views a day (as of 2006)? By then, it was enjoying a 50-million fan base all over the virtual stratosphere, but this is just the start of something big (if 1 billion isn’t already humongous enough).

YouTube’s feat has only prodded online search giant Google Inc to acquire the company for a hefty $1.65 billion that year, when it breached the 1-billion boundary five months after social media empire Facebook reported that it had crossed the figure for the first time in as many years.

“Our consumption grew by 50%” over the past year, Kyncl disclosed in a discussion following an event in Los Angeles, dubbed YouTube Pulse and conducted in a building where James Cameron was filming a portion of “Avatar.”  KyncI added that “when you look at the total number of users… that didn’t grow by 50%.”

Around a quarter of the videos being viewed in YouTube come from mobile gadgets. The company has shelled out tons of cash over the past year to make its video available on the Android and iPad gadgets as well as to every nook and cranny of every civilized humans’ abode who know how to operate a computer or handheld device.

Videos, anyone?