In the social media world, Facebook has risen to become a household name that has transformed the concept of communication and is singlehandedly connecting the world through its platform.
Facebook has billions of users who rely on its day-to-day running to communicate with loved ones and business partners/customers.
Due to the heavy dependence of its users, Facebook is always up and running. Introducing new features each day which continues to leave its effectiveness unmatched by any other platform.
However, when Facebook started, it wasn’t so much of a giant in the social media world. Therefore, in this article we will examine its early days, that is, the journey of Facebook thus far and how it came about.
The Inception: Facemash
Facebook’s story started in the year 2003, when a Harvard University student, Mark Zuckerberg created an online platform called “Facemash”.
The platform was popular among Harvard University students. However, there was a huge controversy regarding how Mark got the pictures he uploaded on the platform and it ended up being shut down.
Nevertheless, Mark had always desired to create his own space and the shutdown of his first platform did not deter him, rather, he worked harder.
The Inception: Thefacebook
The following year, February 2004 to be precise, he created a new website and called it “Thefacebook”. It was a site that allowed its user to share photos and connect. The site met with great success as this platform became more popular among Harvard students.
The site was built in 2004 exclusively for Harvard students alone. But it soon became the talk of the time as so many were interested. In no distant time, it began to cut across other universities and cities. Going far beyond Harvard University students to other institutions all around the world.
The Emergence of Facebook
In August 2005, Zuckerberg’s online platform had embraced the general public and was well-known, in response, its name was changed to Facebook.
After the launch of Facebook, the site grew rampantly and began to attract investors to the company. Everyone wanted to be part of Facebook from 2005 to 2007. The growth was so massive, Facebook had more than 50 million users on its platform.
The Journey and Advancement of Facebook
Zuckerberg did not stop striving for more even after having 50 million users and major investors within two years. He quit school to focus more on the platform. And in no time, he continued to achieve several milestones, with the introduction of Facebook features. We will mention some significant ones below:
News Feed
This feature called Newsfeed was launched in 2006 and it allowed users to see updates instantaneously. That is, as soon as it was posted. the news feed section on a user’s profile shows recent activities added to the platform.
It was initially criticized by users due to the change that came with it. But as they used it, it became one of the most popular Facebook features.
Like Button
This feature called the like button was launched in 2009 and it allowed users to show admiration and appreciation for a post or comment.
In no time, it became the most familiar and well-used button. In recent times, a post is rated by how many likes it gets. It Is safe to say it has become the standard of social media engagement.
Facebook Live
This feature was launched in 2016 and it allowed users to share live videos of themselves to their friends and followers.
It broadcasted your video in real-time as you streamed it. Facebook Live has risen to become one of the popular features used by social media users, mostly influencers, celebrities, businesses, and organizations.
Apart from the above, Facebook brought about lots of features that helped to skyrocket its users to billions of people.
Other Features of Facebook
Facebook bought Instagram and created DIY feeds, Facebook walls, and timelines.
It created the privacy option which allowed users’ posts to go beyond their circle of friends if they chose public and also limited posts to only friends if they choose private.
Facebook went ahead to create the notifications feature that helped give users a head up for anything that concerned their Facebook profile and friends and followers on Facebook.
The list goes on and on, over the years to the present day, Facebook kept evolving and increasing with its several milestones.
Impact of Facebook Over Time
Since its inception, Facebook has more than 5 billion active users, making it the largest social networking site in the world. It has slowly crept into every household and has become a household name when speaking of social media platforms.
Facebook has become one of the most valuable companies globally. All that invested in it at its inception, are smiling to the bank now because their investment yields good results. And the Facebook market’s capitalization is above 900 billion.
Facebook’s user engagement level has become very high with its billion users which has helped to expand its reach to business, advertising, marketing, and e-commerce among several others.
Facebook has changed the status quo for communication and interaction as it gave room for likes, comments, shares and even posting of feelings and emojis.
It has created opportunities for people with small businesses to become owners of big businesses.
Facebook has helped people with the potential to be seen by those who are willing to help and also help to bring every hidden business to the limelight.
With the aid of Facebook’s marketplace, people within the same environments get to buy and sell from each other.
Facebook has helped create jobs such as social media influencers and also given religious bodies no one knew anything about visibility.
Although Facebook has also brought about some challenges relating to privacy, security, and fake news. Also the removal of social class Nevertheless, it has done more good than harm since its inception in 2003.
Facebook’s journey since its inception is an interesting and challenging one through the years. Facebook has become a social media giant all over the world.
What was Facebook’s Original Name?
Facebook, the giant social media of this day began with the name, Facemash on October 28, 2003. Which became Thefacebook on February 4, 2004. Before becoming Facebook in 2005 and has remained the same to date even with its parent company Meta, it remains Facebook.
What was Facebook Originally Created for?
Facebook was created for Harvard University students to enable them to connect, post pictures and share their posts. But as it became open to other universities and cities, it spread worldwide and has continued to be an awesome means of communication.
Who was Mark Zuckerberg Before Facebook?
Mark Zuckerberg had always been interested in software creation from an early age. It prompted his parents to get him a tutor even before he became a student at Harvard University. At Harvard University he studied psychology and took part-time computer classes while he tried to develop software. In his second year, along with his dormitory friends, he created Facemash.
When did Facebook Become popular?
In December 2009, Facebook had a major achievement of hitting 350 million registered active users. Which made it the most popular social platform in the world as of then but Facebook didn’t stop there and has continued to evolve.
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