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A Brief Historical Overview of Facebook with a Timeline

The History of Facebook – An Overview

 A quick look at the history of Facebook (the largest social platform in the world), gives us a good idea of the platform’s great influence. The social networking site known today as Facebook was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, along with Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. Today, it boasts more than 2.8 billion monthly active users, making it the largest social media platform in the world. From its humble beginnings, Facebook is now a global giant with worldwide influence.

 

2004-2005: The Origins of Facebook

Zuckerberg as a sophomore at Harvard
Zuckerberg as a sophomore at Harvard

Initially, Zuckerberg, then a sophomore at Harvard, created Facebook as a social network for students at Harvard University. He wanted a platform that would allow students to connect with one another, share information and experiences, and create a virtual campus community. In February 2004, he launched the first version of Facebook, then called Thefacebook.com.

Quickly, the early version of Facebook, available only to Harvard students, gained popularity and was expanded to other Ivy League schools. In the following months, Facebook expanded to yet other colleges and universities, allowing students from around the country to join the network.

 

2006-2008: The Newsfeed

As Facebook continued to grow, it started attracting the attention of venture capitalists and investors. In 2006, Facebook received its first investment from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, which helped the company expand its operations and reach more users.

In 2007, Facebook introduced its first major feature, the News Feed. Subsequently, this allowed users to see updates from their friends in real-time, making the platform more engaging and interactive. In the same year, Facebook also introduced the platform’s first advertising program, which allowed advertisers to reach the site’s growing user base.

 

2009-2010: global growth

By 2009, Facebook had become one of the largest social networks in the world, with over 200 million active users. In 2010, the company launched its first official mobile app, making it even easier for users to stay connected with their friends and family while on the go.

 

2011-2015: The Rise of Mobile and the IPO

Jemully IPO FacebookAs smartphones became more widespread, the popularity of mobile apps also grew.  To capture the audience, Facebook adapted to the changing landscape by putting more focus on mobile. In 2012, the company went public, charting one of the largest initial public offerings (IPOs) in history.

In 2013, Facebook acquired the popular photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion. As a result, this helped Facebook expand its reach and allowed the company to tap into the growing popularity of photo sharing.

In 2014, Facebook introduced a new feature called Facebook Paper, which was a news-reading app that allowed users to personalize their news feeds and discover new content. Unfortunately, Facebook Paper didn’t gain the popularity that Facebook had hoped for, and the company eventually discontinued the app.

 

2015-Present: The Rise of Virtual Reality  

Jemully Oculus VR Headset Facebook
Oculus VR Headset Facebook

In recent years, Facebook has continued to evolve and expand, introducing new features and services to meet the changing needs of its users. In 2016, Facebook embraced the big trend known as virtual reality (VR), with the company launching its Oculus VR headset in 2016.

 

THE FIGHT AGAINST MISINFORMATION

Unsurprisingly, it’s not been all rosey for Facebook. As the platform grew, the company faced increasing criticism and scrutiny over issues such as data privacy, misinformation, and the spread of fake news. In 2018, the Cambridge Analytica scandal came to light, revealing that the data of millions of Facebook users had been improperly collected and used for political purposes.

In response to these concerns, Facebook has made a number of changes and improvements, including increased transparency and the introduction of new features that help users identify and report misinformation. Despite these efforts, the company continues to face criticism over issues such as privacy and misinformation, and it remains to be seen what the future holds for Facebook.

Want more? Here are a few other sources that provide additional information on the history of Facebook: Britannica, Wikipedia, and This Day in History.

TIMELINE

Here is a detailed historical timeline of Facebook from its beginnings until now:

2003
2003
Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard, creates Facemash, a website that allows students to compare and rate the attractiveness of their classmates.
2004
2004
Zuckerberg launches Thefacebook.com, a social networking site exclusively for Harvard students.
2005
2005
Thefacebook.com expands to other universities and changes its name to Facebook.
2006
2006

Facebook introduces the News Feed, which shows updates from friends on a user’s homepage.

2007
2007
Facebook launches the Facebook Platform, which allows third-party developers to create apps for the site.
2008
2008
Facebook surpasses MySpace as the most popular social networking site in the United States.
2010
2010
The movie The Social Network, which tells the story of Facebook’s founding, appears in theaters.
2012
2012
Facebook goes public in one of the largest IPOs in history, valued at $104 billion.
2013
2013
Facebook reaches 1 billion active users.
2014
2014
Facebook acquires WhatsApp, a popular messaging app, for $19 billion.
2015
2015
Facebook introduces live video streaming and the Reactions feature, which allows users to express emotions beyond just “liking” a post.
2016
2016
Facebook launches Facebook Marketplace, a feature that allows users to buy and sell items directly on the platform.
2018
2018
The Cambridge Analytica scandal breaks, revealing that a data analytics firm obtained and misused the personal data of millions of Facebook users.
2019
2019
Facebook reaches a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, agreeing to pay a $5 billion fine and implement new privacy measures.
2020
2020
Facebook faces criticism for its handling of misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. presidential election.
2021
2021
Facebook rebrands as Meta and announces plans to focus on virtual reality and the metaverse.

This timeline highlights some of the major events in Facebook’s history, from its humble beginnings as a college social network to its current focus on the metaverse and virtual reality. Along the way, Facebook has faced numerous challenges and controversies, but it remains one of the most influential and widely used social platforms in the world.

our facebook experience

Our team of marketers at Jemully Media has used Facebook and its business tools for more than 12 years to help our business clients stay in touch with their fans and followers. Jemully has taken team members to Facebook training events at the Facebook offices in Austin, Texas, in order to be better equipped to serve our clients. Good and/or bad, Facebook remains an important social media platform for most businesses with customer engagement and link-building for SEO. One of the questions we are often asked by clients is which is more important to a marketer: Likes or Follows? Both are important and represent a different set of data.

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