Is there anyone on the planet who is not familiar with Facebook? I don't claim to be an expert, but I've known about Facebook since its inception when, at that time, I was totally anti-Facebook. I was determined not to join another social networking site. However like so many after the Virginia Tech tragedy, Facebook continued to be more and more in the news and I began paying more attention to Facebook. It appears as though I was not the only one as the popularity of Facebook has soared in recent months.
The Facebook Years: Everything You Need to Know About Facebook
So what is Facebook anyway? We decided to perform a little research on Facebook and have come up with a little history of Facebook. At the time of this writing, Facebook is the second largest social network on the web, behind only MySpace in terms of traffic.
As you probably know, Facebook is a social networking website and "social utility" that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, family and co-workers. Facebook was founded in February of 2004 and is now headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
WHO: Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg with the help of Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes
WHAT: Social network site originally intended for students to join the school communities they belonged to. The name facebook originated from the facebooks that various prep school and colleges give to incoming students & staff.
WHERE: Cambridge, Massachusetts
WHEN: Founded in the winter of 2004.
WHY: Originally for students but now enjoyed by the masses, Facebook allows users to interact with long lost friends, past co-workers and family members who live across the globe. Users can send both public and private messages to other users and join various groups of individuals amongst the facebook community.
In 2007, the popularity of Facebook continues to surge. The following table from comScore depicts the explosive growth of Facebook over the past year.
Interesting facts about Facebook
- According to Chris Hughes spokesperson for Facebook, users spend an average of 19 minutes per day on Facebook
- It is estimated that 85% of all students have a Facebook profile (US)
- A 2006 study listed Facebook as the second most "hip" or "in" thing among undergraduate students tied with beer and sex. Facebook was second only to the iPod.
- It is estimated that Facebook's value is around $8 billion
- The largest network on the site is Toronto, Ontario with over 600,000 users alone.
- Facebook is the most viral software distribution platform ever.
- The domain facebook.com was originally purchased for a reported $ 200,000.
- Facebook has experienced no known major security breaches, despite opening the platform to anyone in the world.
- According to comScore, from May 2006 to May 2007, Facebook users in the 12-17 age frame increased by 149%, users in the 25-34 age frame increased by 181%.
- There are 98,979,539 installs across 3,343 apps on Facebook.
Here is a look at some of the people behind the Facebook phenomenon. Courtesy of insidefacebook.com.
Current Facebook Executives - Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
- Matt Cohler, VP of Strategy and Business Operations (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
- Adam D’Angelo, VP and CTO (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
- Dustin Moskovitz, Co-founder and VP of Engineering (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
- Chamath Palihapitiya, VP of Product Marketing and Operations (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
- Owen Van Natta, VP and Chief Revenue Officer (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
- Gideon Yu, VP and CFO (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
- Chris Kelly, VP of Corporate Development, Chief Privacy Officer, General Counsel (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
- Dan Rose, VP of Business Development (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
- Rudy Gadre, VP and General Counsel (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
- Mike Murphy, VP of Media Sales (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
- Jeff Rothschild, VP of Technology (Facebook profile / LinkedIn profile)
Current Facebook Board of Directors Additional Facebook Co-founders Facebook Resources
Here are some links to some great Facebook related resources.
Official Site
Facebook Blog
Wikipedia Listing
Facebook Developers
Inside Facebook
Facebook Visitation Trends
30+ Awesome Facebook Applications
Facebook Biography
Why Facebook is the Future
Facebook Info
The Facebook Economy
12 Ways to Use Facebook Professionally
Adonomics - open analytics platform for Facebook
Face Reviews - Facebook application reviews
Facebook Profile
The more I use Facebook, the more I like it. From finding old friends to the various application offerings, Facebook is becoming more of a regular destination in my online journey. For those interested, here are the links to the SEO-Space Group on Facebook, as well as my own profile.Labels: facebook |
Nice post! It is difficult not to like Facebook. It is the most addictive thing since instant messaging! Its lasting value is yet to be seen.
Thanks for such great info!