By

Josh Harlukowicz

NMC 301 / Spring 08

One of the largest online communities in the world, Facebook is a social networking icon. The internet-based community allows its 70 million users to have profiles, chat, post pictures, videos, etc. as a way to connect with others on a regular basis (Facebook, 2008). The free website allows people to join specific networks where they can connect with other users and share information by means of one of the many features. School communities (both college and high school) have been popular enthusiasts of the digital world and make up a large amount of the total users (Phillips, 2007).

Basic History

The relatively new company was started in 2004 by a Harvard undergrad named Mark Zuckerberg (Phillips, 2007). Originally named “The Facebook,” the internet-based social network was meant for Zuckerberg’s fellow Harvard students (Facebook, 2008). Controversy has surrounded the creation of the website as Facebook continues suit with fellow Harvard students Divya Narendra, Cameron Winklevoss, and Tyler Winklevoss, who reportedly hired Zuckerberg for the creation of an online community and ended up creating his own (Phillips, 2007). Despite the suit, the growing popularity took Facebook to other colleges, eventually extending to every student from every college. In 2006 Facebook expanded to allow anyone with a valid e-mail address over 13-yrs-old to join (Facebook, 2008).

Co-founders

Soon after creating the popular site, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes joined Zuckerberg in promoting the new company (Facebook, 2008). In the middle of the first year the three moved to Palo Alto, CA where the company currently resides.

Funding

In the summer of 2004 Facebook saw its first large monetary influx with an investment by Peter Thiel (creator of PayPal) of $500,000 (Facebook, 2008). Other early investors like the Accel, Greylock, and Meritech Capital partners later provided the tens of millions that helped to launch Facebook to new heights. Even Microsoft recently tapped into the Facebook money jar with a $250 million dollar investment which help lead Facebook to its current status of a reportedly $15 billon dollar worth (Forbes, 2008).

Website Breakdown

Personal Profiles

Each user has the ability to have a personal profile that is laid out with all the desired information a person wants others in their network to see and/or utilize (Facebook 2008). It is the basic area where users can connect with others.

Social Networks

Probably the largest part of Facebook is its social networks that allow users in certain networks to connect with each others via a search or browsing. The community based use of Facebook keeps the popularity growing and is currently the second-most trafficked social networking site (Facebook, 2008). Companies are even using the online networking tool to aide in their own businesses (Vauhini, 2007).

Features

Innovative features have helped the billion-dollar website keep traffic high. Facebook has been expanding on features routinely and currently contains many. As shown on Facebook.com, features include:

• The Wall, a comment board on every profile that allows others to leave messages;
• Friends, an ability to connect with another user in or out of your network and see updates of their information;
• Privacy controls, which allow users to designate who sees what within a profile (controls later updated to allow a prevention of profile-viewing and various options);
• Pokes, an announcement that another user has given you;
• Photos, a users ability to post pictures of themselves and others with the capability to “tag” another, showing others the names of all in the picture;
• Groups, a use of Facebook that allows users to start and join groups for various reasons;
• Events, which allow users to start and join specific upcoming events, and
• Status, the ability to keep friends informed about a particular users current condition;
• News Feed, a constant update of users in another users network of changes and updates,
• Mini-Feed, a smaller version of the News Feed located in the users “Home” page,
• Lexicon, a word comparison tool that is used on another users profile to see uses of words within the profile,
• Mobile, a mobile-phone version of Facebook where users can check and use there Facebook from their mobile-device;
• Public Searching, a Facebook-wide search that lists others in a designated network.

Some recently added features include

• Gifts, where a user can purchase a digital gift for one-dollar to be given to a recipient of there choice in the Facebook community;
• Videos, which can be added onto a users profile and/or shared with others;
• Platform, an open source technology allowing any Facebook user to create and distribute applications via Facebook;
• Messenger, the most recent of features that allows users who are “friends” with other users to instantly connect and talk to each other.

Timeline

The brief timeline that follows is as gathered from the Facebook website as a combination of company details and press releases.

2004 – Facebook is launched from Harvard University and is expanded into numerous colleges, reaches 1-million users. The company then moves to Palo Alto, CA.

2005 – Facebook expands through 800 different colleges and starts including high schools which lead it to reach 5.5-million users. Investors like the Accel Partners see the growing phenomenon and provide the Facebook company with its’ first tens of millions.

2006 – Features like Mobile, Notes, updated News and Mini-feed are added to Facebook. Greylock and Meritech Capital partners invest another $27.5 million to the company that has now reached over 12-million users.

2007 – Features like Gifts, and Platform are added to the website. Expansion into Canada and the UK provide Facebook with another 3-million users bringing the total to 50-million users by the end of the year. Microsoft invests $240 million into Facebook and helps to expand its advertising.

2008 – Features like updated privacy controls and chat are added. Facebook launches in German, Spanish, and French. The website reaches over 70-million users world-wide.

Concluded…

Making it to number-51 on the Times 100, Mark Zuckerberg has started a new social network that helps the better part of a billion users connect and stay connected with each other (Newmark, 2008). Its clean look and restriction of certain customizations helps to keep the website in favor with many other organizations besides just students (Stone, 2007). Current privacy settings help to keep a users profile either as closed or as open as they desire (Facebook, 2008). Overall, Facebook has created its own world of online enthusiasts desired to network with each other. The large growth rate over just a few years is a great testament to its success.

Bibliography

(2008). Facebook Press Room. Retrieved May 25, 2008, from Facebook Web site: http://www.facebook.com/press.php

(2008, March 5). The Worlds Billionares. Retrieved May 30, 2008, from Forbes.com Web site: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Mark-Zuckerberg_I9UB.html

Newmark, Craig (2008). The 2008 Time 100. Retrieved May 31, 2008, from Time Web site: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733754 _1735207,00.html

Phillips, Sarah (2007, July 25). A Brief History of Facebook. Retrieved May 25, 2008, from Guardian.co.uk Web site: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/ jul/25/media.newmedia

Stone, Brad (2007, May 25). Facebook Expands into Myspace’s Territory. Retrieved May 30, 2008, from The New York Times Web site: http://www.nytimes.com /2007/05/25/technology/25social.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Vara, Vauhini (2007, May 21). Facebook Opens its Pages as a Way to Fuel Growth. Retrieved May 30, 2008, from The Wall Street Journal Web site: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117971397890009177-wjdKPmjAqS_9ZZbwiRp_CoSqvwQ_20070620.html

The “About” section of our website will include areas like Basic Info, History, Website Breakdown, Features, Timeline, and more. The page begins with introducing the company and explaining its role in the online world. Further detail is broken down into sections: History, Co-Founders, and Funding. The page then turns toward the website itself as it is also broken down into sections: Personal Profiles, Social Networks, and a detailed list of Features. The page ends with a brief company timeline and a conclusion of the results. For visual support, I’ve included a picture of the founder, Mark Zuckerberg, along with a picture of a generic Facebook profile. Both visuals were acquired from the Facebook site.

Check them out:

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Mark-Zuckerberg_I9UB.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/25/technology/25social.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117971397890009177-wjdKPmjAqS_9ZZbwiRp_CoSqvwQ_20070620.html

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733754_1735207,00.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia

In an article from the Idea Lab section of “Media Shift,” it is written that the purpose of EveryBlock is not only to provide up to date information via government participation, but also to increase government information sharing with the public. EveryBlock is potentially a milestone in open source technology and can be credited for its purpose in the journalistic world. Perhaps EveryBlock is the new daily newspaper. Perhaps it is the death to print media. Whatever it is, it can be certainly one great use of using a remote program for the benefit of sharing information at a more efficient level.

-Shakespeare, Sonnet 18