In the modern digital era, everything can be done online. We have also reached the advanced digital state wherein everything is installed in one device, smartphones. Social media platforms have been perfected by their designers to the point wherein we are dependent and addicted to it.
It is a fact, and it is science when you say that Facebook is the world’s largest social media platform with 2.4 billion users and has reached such remarkable and historical milestones. A person without a Facebook account will be considered an outcast these days; it’s as if he/she lived under a rock. It’s as if it has become a social norm to be a part of Facebook.
While some may have seen the movie, The Social Network, many people still have a lot to learn about this gigantic social media. This will be brief, but you will learn how it started, how enormous it has become, and how it got to where it is today. Not just that, but we will also discuss more Facebook facts.
Content List
1#) A Little Backtrack
Facebook was founded by the genius, Mark Zuckerberg, way back in February 2004 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States while he was studying at Harvard University. Ever wondered why you couldn’t keep your phone away from your face? Some may not know, but Mark took a major in psychology along with plentiful computer science classes.
It started in 2003 when Mark was a sophomore. He created Facemash, an app comparing a series of paired women and if who’s more attractive, wherein he used hacked photos from their school’s dormitory ID files. It caused heavy traffic, making it comparable to halftime in Super Bowl. He almost got expelled at Harvard because of this prank website.
He then launched “The Facebook,” which was controversial when Harvard seniors said it was stolen from their ConnectU idea. The Winklevoss twins, and Divya Narendra, sued him. By March 2004, he stretched Facebook to other universities together with his co-founders to establish solid stability of the site.
2#) Things To Know
The coding for The Facebook began in January 2004 and moved its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, in June 2004. When Mark met Napster co-founder Sean Parker in mid-2004, everything has changed. Facebook became just Facebook in 2005. It expanded its membership base from college students to include high school students in September 2005.
Facebook opened itself to the general membership in September 2006. In 2007, Companies began running official accounts on Facebook. By 2011, 33% of traffic on Facebook was coming from mobile devices. Especially today, where mobile phones are lavish, Facebook Messenger became Facebook’s one of the most popular services. Almost everyone now can create a Facebook account and connect with anyone from all around the world.
Today, Facebook stands with the corporate giants, Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft, as the five biggest technology companies in the world and now owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. 9.9% stake in Jio belongs to them. Mark Zuckerberg is Facebook’s chairman and CEO, and it ranks 76th in Fortune 500’s list of American companies with the largest revenues.
It first implemented its App Center in 2012. Facebook’s revenue sprang up to $70.7 billion in 2019 alone, and its assets worldwide amounted to $133.38 billion, with 44,942 employees. It cost $23.99 billion to run Facebook in 2019, and it earned $18.49 billion in the same year. Did you know? The Facebook logo has stayed unchanged throughout the years.
3#) Takeaway
Facebook has brought upon us a revolutionary modification on how to live our daily lives. It has made everything so much easier for us. We can connect with the people we love in an instant, no matter what the distance. Small businesses have become large franchises with the use of social media. Ordinary but daring people become extraordinarily famous.
Some poor became rich through Facebook. People in need from different countries have received massive support from all over the world through Facebook. Facebook can influence even the political biases of the public. The things we see and share in this social media greatly affect everyone in it and can be good or bad.
Some compare their unfortunate lives to their idolized public figures, which can lead to depressions and suicides, forgetting the fact that their idols have also filtered the perfect lives that they want to flaunt to the public. Quite undeniably, everything has its pros and cons. It depends on how you use it.
Years ago, an unsung genius predicted that the time would come where technology becomes too advanced and will surpass human interaction. We can always see friends or families dining out where they are all just looking at their phones. Do not let technology control you, control it instead. You are the artist and author of your life. Write it and don’t forget to live it.