History of Facebook

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Facebook[3], a globally recognized social media[2] platform, was originally launched as TheFacebook in 2004. Initially available to only Harvard students, it quickly gained popularity, reaching over half the undergraduate population within a month. The platform then expanded to high schools and other universities internationally. As of April 2023, it boasts an impressive user base of 2.989 billion monthly active users[1]. Facebook’s financial journey has been bolstered by significant investments from entities such as Peter Thiel, Accel Partners, and Microsoft[4]. The company has faced several legal challenges, including patent[6] infringement lawsuits and allegations of improper information sharing. Despite these challenges, Facebook has grown through numerous acquisitions and product launches, including Instagram[5] and Facebook Messenger. The platform has also engaged in multiple social impact initiatives and faced controversies related to user policies and competition.

Terms definitions
1. active users. "Active Users" is a term that refers to individuals who engage with an online platform or application during a specific time period. This term is pivotal in various sectors including business, academia, and research. In business, metrics related to active users aid in predicting growth trends, customer engagement, and potential revenue streams. In academia and research, studying active user behavior contributes to the understanding of online behavioral patterns. Ethical considerations around active users shed light on the importance of informed consent, data privacy, and confidentiality in the online realm. There are also technical challenges in defining and accurately measuring active users due to varying practices across different companies. Additionally, active user data plays a crucial role in predictive analytics and policy considerations regarding technology use and online safety.
2. social media. Social media is a broad term encompassing a variety of digital tools and platforms that facilitate the sharing of information and the creation of virtual communities. Emerging from early systems like PLATO and ARPANET, it has evolved into modern platforms like Facebook and Twitter. These platforms offer unique features that differentiate them from traditional media, including the ability for users to generate content and engage in dialogic communication. They cater to over 100 million users globally and offer different forms of services, such as messaging apps and collaborative content creation platforms. The use of social media has far-reaching impacts on individuals, society, and businesses, influencing everything from marketing practices to political processes. However, it's also associated with ethical concerns, such as the spread of misinformation and potential addiction.

Facebook is a social networking service originally launched as TheFacebook on February 4, 2004, before changing its name to simply Facebook in August 2005. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students, in particular Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. The website's membership was initially limited by the founders to Harvard students, but was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and gradually most universities in the United States and Canada, corporations, and by September 2006, to everyone with a valid email address along with an age requirement of being 13 or older.

Mark Zuckerberg in 2005
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