Facebook(Meta)
Founder:-Mark Zuckerberg
Headquarter:- Corporate campus in Menlo Park, California
History of Facebook:-
1. Founding and Early Years (2004-2005): Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg along with his college roommates Andrew McCollum, Eduardo Saverin, Chris Hughes, and Dustin Moskovitz in February 2004. Initially, it was launched as a social networking platform exclusively for Harvard University students. It quickly expanded to other Ivy League schools and then to various universities and colleges across the United States and Canada.
2. Expanding Beyond Universities (2005-2006): In 2005, Facebook dropped the requirement for users to have a university email address, allowing anyone above the age of 13 with a valid email address to join the platform. This expansion led to significant growth in the number of users.
3. Open to the Public and International Expansion (2006-2007): In September 2006, Facebook became accessible to the general public, allowing users from around the world to join the platform. This move resulted in a massive surge in user numbers. During this period, Facebook also introduced the News Feed feature, which allowed users to see updates from their friends in real-time.
4. Applications and Developers (2007-2008): Facebook launched the Facebook Platform in May 2007, which allowed third-party developers to build applications that users could use on the site. This led to the rise of various popular applications and games on the platform.
5. Beacon Controversy (2007): Facebook faced criticism in 2007 for its Beacon advertising system, which automatically published user activities from external websites to their Facebook profiles without clear consent. The controversy led to changes in how user data and privacy settings were handled.
6. Facebook Pages and Advertisements (2008-2009): Facebook introduced Pages for businesses, brands, and public figures to interact with their audiences in November 2007. In 2008, Facebook also launched its advertising platform, allowing businesses to target specific demographics with their ads.
7. User Growth and Competition (2010-2012): Facebook continued to experience significant user growth, surpassing other social networking platforms in terms of active users. It faced competition from various platforms like Twitter, Google+, and Instagram.
8. IPO and Mobile Expansion (2012-2013): In May 2012, Facebook went public with an initial public offering (IPO), becoming one of the largest technology IPOs in history. Facebook also focused on expanding its presence on mobile devices during this time.
9. Acquisitions (2014-2015): Facebook made several high-profile acquisitions during this period, including Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, further strengthening its position in the social media landscape.
10. Video and Live Streaming (2015-2017): Facebook emphasized video content and live streaming, introducing features like Facebook Live to allow users to broadcast live videos to their followers.
11. Data Privacy Concerns (2018): In 2018, Facebook faced a major scandal involving Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm that harvested the data of millions of Facebook users without their consent for political purposes. The incident raised significant concerns about user privacy and data handling practices on the platform.
12. Ongoing Developments: Since 2018, Facebook has continued to evolve, introducing new features, expanding its user base, and facing ongoing scrutiny regarding privacy, misinformation, and content moderation.
Please note that the information provided is accurate up to September 2021, and there might have been further developments in Facebook's history beyond that date
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