Facebook has now hit double digits! Well, in age, that is.
According to the Business Insider, on Feb. 4, 2004, Facebook launched as “thefacebook.com.” Creator Mark Zuckerberg was a Harvard sophomore at the time, working with fellow Harvard students to create a new type of dating website. The award-winning 2010 movie, “The Social Network,” depicts the struggles Zuckerberg went through creating and making Facebook succeed.
Initially, Facebook was only open to students at select colleges in the north. Over time, Facebook was opened up to anyone over the age of 13.
“When I first got Facebook, I thought it was whack.”
The majority of Texas Tech students are not old enough to remember a time before Facebook, with freshmen being around 8-years-old in 2004. Senior electronic media and communication major Eli Fierro said that he got his first Facebook in high school.
“Before that, Myspace was dominate, and it was a huge thing,” Fierro said. “When I first got Facebook, I thought it was whack. I kind of kept up with Facebook, and then it became dominant around 2010. And I’ve been using it ever since.”
Fierro said he thinks that Facebook is really revolutionary. He said it changed the way we communicate and connect with other people. Fierro said it has its ups and downs, but it is still one of a kind.
Grace Diana, a sophomore public relations major, said she signed up for Facebook in middle school. She said she uses Facebook to connect with groups she is involved with. Diana said she posts pictures occasionally, but does not posts regularly. Diana said she thinks the world would be different without social media.
“We’d probably lose a lot of that connectivity that we have,” Diana said. “Just from the exchange of information, from all of the social media platforms.”
“It’s a good way to get your brand name out there…”
The Hub’s social media and promotions manager, Shahaley Carr, thinks Facebook is still an important tool for companies and individuals to use to promote themselves. Carr said she feels some people get annoyed with Facebook, due to the advertisements.
The home page of “Thefacebook” in 2004.
“I believe that people in certain demographics are slowly starting to move away from Facebook,” Carr said. “However, I do think that it’s a good way to get your brand name out there, or different news articles and topics.”
In a study conducted by Nielsen, it was found that Facebook has more than 1 billion users worldwide. The study also found from an advertising perspective, Facebook is as successful at reaching viewers as television during some times of day.
With 1.13 trillion “likes” and 604 million mobile users, it looks like Facebook is not going away anytime soon.
About Sarah Self-Walbrick
