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Facebook turned 10 on Feb. 4. Who knew the social media site would last this long? And it doesn't seem to be slowing down.
Most other tech startups have gone under, or at least become less recognizable or memorable than our beloved Facebook. There are few people who wouldn't recognize the “like” button icon. Most businesses wouldn't dream of a social media strategy that doesn't include Facebook.
To celebrate the 10-year mark, Facebook put together a little customized video for each user, and even the strongest willed non-conformist Facebook user just HAD to see what their video would look like. I can't lie, it was pretty fun, and scary if you think about all the information they have on us (but that's less fun to think about.)
Mark Zuckerberg posted on his timeline a surprisingly sentimental 10th anniversary post saying: “When I reflect on the last 10 years, one question I ask myself is: why were we the ones to build this? We were just students. We had way fewer resources than big companies. If they had focused on this problem, they could have done it.
“The only answer I can think of is: we just cared more.
“While some doubted that connecting the world was actually important, we were building. While others doubted that this would be sustainable, you were forming lasting connections.”
Speaking of connecting the planet, Mashable put together a handy article about how Facebook has changed the world. I bet you never thought about it that way, did you? Maybe you have, anyway, here are some highlights:
1. Facebook changed how we keep in touch. True, now we can find old classmates and see if they achieved more than us. We can also stay in contact with people far easier than we once could - that's a nice perk.
2. Facebook changed the way we share our lives. Yes, now I can see pictures of sonograms and selfies someone took at a funeral.
3. Facebook changed the way we consume content. This has possibly made us a little attention deficit as well, but I'm not complaining about getting news stories directly to my timeline. I always feel informed, so that's nice.
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8. Facebook changed the way businesses interact with customers. I definitely agree, a lot of the views we get for businessobserverfl.com come from Facebook. I can't complain.
I sound cynical, but don't get me wrong, I like Facebook. It's handy for businesses and for our social lives. They've done a great job making money through advertising. It's a time-suck for sure and I am jealous that a college student is a billionaire now because he invented it, but who's not?
And apparently, leading up to Facebook's 10th birthday stocks were rising. Zuckerberg made $3 billion, according to Digital Trends.
Facebook also recently released a new mobile app called Paper. It's a little like a re-imagined version of Facebook. Some are already calling it the future of Facebook that's focused primarily on content. Look out for that and the different ways businesses are going to try to sell themselves via that new platform.
Who knows what Facebook has in store, but Zuckerberg had this to say, “I'm even more excited about the next 10 years than the last. The first 10 years were about bootstrapping this network. Now we have the resources to help people across the world solve even bigger and more important problems.”
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