We are the Facebook generation. Since 2004, this social network keeps getting bigger.
Have you seen the film The social network by David Fincher? It traces the true story of the founder, Mark Zuckerberg, a young man who starts from nothing and gets to the top.
Mark Zuckerberg was born in Dobbs Ferry, a suburb of New-York, on May 14th 1984. His father was a dentist and his mother a psychiatrist. Passionate about computers and knowledgeable about psychology, he studied at the prestigious Harvard University. He was the stereotype of the “nerd”, someone who is obsessed with computer technology, who forgets real life to spend all day writing programs. He was ignored by other scholars. That is why, on October 28th 2003, after a failed date with a girl, Mark Zuckerberg, created a website called “Facemash”, a real feat because in four hours, the young student “cracked” the computer system of the University to get photos of students and allowed visitors to compare girls to animals. His joke was appreciated and earned him an article in the Crimson, the Harvard journal. The twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss were also at Harvard University; they realized the potential of Mark and invited him to develop a partnership called “Connect U”, another website for linking up students. But, instead of working on the twin’s project, he asked for money from his best friend at that time, Edouardo Saverin, to create “TheFacebook” which will become “Facebook” in 2005. First, he opened his site to other Universities like Princeton and Yale, but soon the entire Internet as early as 2006. He left Harvard without a diploma to open his website like Bill Gates 30 years before. In 2008, the Winklevoss twin sued Zuckerberg and got 65 million dollars in compensation.
Facebook is the second website visited by Internet users worldwide, after Google. It is worth an estimated 15 billion dollars. This success is incredible. Facebook is not just a fad, but a true social phenomenon. But, beyond the buzz, issues of politics, music rights or the narcissism of the users arise.
The Facebook revolution:
140 million: the number of Facebook users in December 2008.
Between 600.000 and 700.000 new accounts are created each day on Facebook.
200 million: the number of members on Facebook in March 2009
400 million: the number of members on Facebook on its sixth anniversary
4 million: the number of Facebook users in France
13 million: the number of members that update their profile at least once a day
700 million: the number of pictures that are published each month by members of Facebook
4 million: the number of videos that are published each month on Facebook
15 million: the number of items (articles, links, photos, etc.) that are shared each month between members
2 million: the number of events created each month on Facebook
19 million: the number of active groups on Facebook
Article by Camille L.
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