It started as a private university networking site where students could virtually meet other students, and after a few short years Facebook has grown into a multi-billion dollar business with more than 500 million members.
Mark Zuckerman is the creator of Facebook, along with his roommates and computer science students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. The original name of the site was Facemash, which Zuckerman created on October 28, 2003 while attending Harvard University as sophomore.
Facemash started off as an online database of students from 9 different houses on-campus. To do this, Zuckerman hacked into the protected areas of Harvard’s computer network and copied the houses private dormitory ID images. This generated 450 visitors and 22,000 photo views in the first 4 hours. The site was eventually shut down a few days later by the Harvard administration and Zuckerman was charged with brief of security and violating copyright and individual privacy. Ultimately, charges were dropped.
Zuckerman decided to start up the site again renaming it as Facebook. Initially membership was restricted to students of Harvard. Within the first month more than half of the undergrad student population was registered on the site.
In March of 2004, Facebook expanded to Stanford, Columbia, Yale and eventually hitting all other Ivy League schools.
In 2005, Facebook opened its networks to high schools and major companies, including Apple Inc, and Microsoft.
In September 2006, it opened its site to anyone older than 13.
In October 2008, Facebook set up international headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.
In June of 2010, an online marketplace for trading private stock reflected a value of $11.5 billion for Facebook Inc.
As of March 2010 more people visit Facebook than Google.
Facebook has revolutionised the world of social networking and has generated billions of dollars in a few years. The site has brought people together and allowed people to stay more connected with friends and family. Facebook has also developed a powerful kind of advertising that’s more targeted and lucrative.