Two years more, and Facebook will complete 20 years of its existence. It was set up in 2004 by a group of four students at Harvard University. Then they called it The Facebook. Today it has become a giant organisation headed by Mark Zuckerberg, its creator. As noted earlier, initially it was designed for Harvard University. It dropped ‘The’ from its name, and dropped its exclusivity too. It was involved in a controversy as the twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, both Harvard students, served it a legal notice alleging that Zuckerberg stole their idea of Facebook. In 2008. the case was settled out of court by paying the twins $65 million.
In the meantime, Facebook kept evolving adding new features — Facebook wall and newsfeed. These define the Facebook experience. The popular ‘like’ button was introduced in 2009. Facebook kept pace with the time, and appeared on mobile in 2006. In 2008, its iOS version was introduced.
Soon it emerged as important social media with 500 million users (2010). It went public in 2012, raising $161 million. In 2012, it also bought Instagram, a photosharing app for $1billion in cash and stocks. Facebook considered Instagram as a threat and hence the buy. In 2014, it bought WhatsApp for $19 billion. Metaverse was announced in 2022 beginning its tryst with extended reality. In fact, Facebook has been renamed as Meta. In 2014, Facebook had acquired Oculus VR, a virtual reality company to enhance the personal experience of its users by Oculus VR headset.
Half of the internet users use Facebook (2015). The number of Facebook users is 1.86 billion in 2016. It made a profit of $10 billion, most of it through advertising.
Facebook faced a major storm in Cambridge Analytica scandal which became public in 2018. It was alleged that the private data of millions of users was passed on to Cambridge Analytica, a British consultancy firm rendering political advice. The analysis of the data was used to influence the presidential voting in the US (2016) and in Brexit poll. Zuckerberg reiterated its commitment to protect people’s information before the US Congress.
Facebook kept changing its algorithm to keep it focused on family and friends. Of course, though this preserves its core essence, it limits its utility to companies and organisations. Facebook, of late, has faced decline in the time users spend on Facebook. Its user base is plateauing and ageing. It is facing competition from the likes of TikTok.
India with its 490 million users is the biggest Facebook market. Men made up 75 per cent of monthly active users. Women avoid it due to issues of safety and privacy.
It has added Facebook Stories and Facebook Reels to keep it contemporary. It went ahead with a major push towards metaverse, touted as the main pillar that might define Web 3.0. Facebook proposes to devote 20 per cent of its costs to Reality Labs in 2023. As a tech company, it is forward-looking.