Facebook's 21st anniversary — story of success
Today, February 4, 2025, Facebook celebrates its 21st anniversary. During this time, the platform has evolved from a student project to a global giant that unites billions of users around the world.
Novyny.LIVE tells the story of how the social network was created and what successes it has achieved.
From Harvard dorm to first successes
It all began on February 4, 2004, when Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg launched a website called The Facebook. Initially, the resource was only available to Harvard students, but within a month, more than half of the university's students had signed up for the platform. Zuckerberg's classmates Dustin Moskowitz, who worked on the software, and Chris Hughes, who promoted the resource, soon joined the team.
Its success with students led to the expansion of the network to other Ivy League universities and later to most educational institutions in the United States and Canada. In 2005, the "The" was dropped from the name and the platform became known as Facebook. That same year, the facebook.com domain name was purchased for $200,000.
Opening to the world and rapid growth
On September 26, 2006, Facebook opened registration to all Internet users over the age of 13. This decision was a turning point that led to explosive audience growth. In October 2007, Microsoft acquired a 1.6% stake in Facebook for $240 million, valuing the entire company at $15 billion.
In 2008, Facebook opened its international office in Dublin, helping to further globalize the platform. In 2012, the company acquired the photo service Instagram for $1 billion, expanding its influence in the social media sphere.
Throughout its existence, Facebook has faced various challenges, including lawsuits and criticism over user privacy. One of its first scandals came shortly after its launch, when the Winklevoss brothers accused Zuckerberg of stealing their idea. The lawsuit ended in a settlement that paid the brothers $65 million.
Despite the difficulties, Facebook continued to introduce new features such as News Feed, Groups, Events, and Chat, making the platform an integral part of billions of people's daily lives. As of January 30, 2025, Facebook has more than 3 billion monthly active users.
In Ukraine, Facebook has become a popular tool for communication, news sharing and community organization. As of January 2025, the number of Ukrainian users was over 20 million, and this number continues to grow.
In 2021, the company rebranded and changed its name to Meta Platforms Inc. This decision reflected the new vector of the company's development, which is focused on the development of the metaverse, a virtual space where users can interact in real time through avatars.
In the 21 years of its existence, Facebook has grown from a university project to a global platform that influences social, political and economic processes around the world. New challenges and opportunities lie ahead, and it's exciting to see where the company goes from here.
As a reminder, Mark Zuckerberg made a bold prediction. He claimed that in 2025, artificial intelligence would be able to replace mid-level programmers in the labor market.
Previously, the European Commission fined Meta Platforms for abusive practice. The amount totals to 797.7 million euros.