How often do you open the Facebook app on your phone? Do you use Facebook on a computer? Do you know anyone who doesn’t have Facebook?
The social media platform is the largest in the world, with billions of people using the site. Yet there’s a lot many people don’t know about the conglomerate.
From its origins to its user base today, here are 10 facts about Facebook that will make your jaw drop.
1. A Game: Hot or Not
When Mark Zuckerberg started playing with the idea of a social media platform like Facebook it was a game. According to his college roommate, he used his Harvard Face Book, a directory of all the students in the dorms. The website he built showed you two guys and two girls, and you had to choose the most attractive of each pair.
Facebook facts don’t always tell you that Zuckerberg’s first site, Facemash, crashed the school servers. Harvard shut his site down because there was so much web traffic that students couldn’t surf the internet anymore (as well as the inappropriate nature of the site). Zuckerberg apologized for using the photos without permission.
2. The Facebook
One of the most interesting Facebook facts is that “Facebook” is not the site’s original name. At its launch, Facebook was actually called Thefacebook, not far from its precursor, Facemash.
It was located at thefacebook.com, later dropping the “The” to become the platform we know today.
3. Facts About Facebook: Moneymaker
When any business venture is at the start, the investors have to take a risk because they don’t know if they’re going to make any money. Peter Thiel was one of Facebook’s first investors, and he’s no stranger to taking risks. He had previously invested in PayPal, which ended up being a great idea and a huge moneymaker on its own.
Some even joke that Thiel is the head of the PayPal Mafia. This unofficial group is several original PayPal employees that have since gone on to other big tech companies like YouTube, Yelp, and Tesla.
Thiel invested $500,000 in Facebook at the get-go. In 2012, only eight years later, he sold almost all his shares, netting over a billion. That’s 200 times his initial investment, proving that taking a risk pays off sometimes.
4. The Next Bill Gates?
Zuckerberg has been hailed as the next Bill Gates, earning more than he probably ever guessed with his social media creation. He dropped out of Harvard, never finishing his degree.
The university did invite him back to speak at commencement in 2019, however. He was awarded an honorary degree then.
5. Facebook Was Exclusive
When Facebook was launched, you couldn’t join unless you went to Harvard. Later, the site was opened to other universities and some corporations. Eventually, anyone with an email could create an account, as long as they professed to be 13 years or older.
6. You Really Can Download Those Videos
No doubt you’ve noticed there is no option to download Facebook videos. For photos, you can click on the three dots in the corner and save the photo to your phone or computer. However, that option doesn’t exist for a video.
While Facebook didn’t create the option within the platform, that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Use these tips to download Facebook videos you want to keep.
There’s also a save option that comes in handy if you don’t want to store the file using your own digital storage space. Watch it later when you have time and then you can delete it from your saves.
7. You Couldn’t Like Anything
Before you get too deep in Facebook history, you’ll see screenshots of old Facebook posts that didn’t have any “Like” button. Interesting facts about Facebook even point out the thumbs up button’s inception as the “Awesome” button.
Facebook’s Andrew Bosworth wrote a timeline for the creation of the button, including the idea that everyone hated the word “like” versus the word “awesome.” Yet “Like” won out, and they launched it in 2009, although Friendfeed launched theirs first. Facebook later bought the company and dissolved it.
8. Facebook Owns Other Companies
As the social media giant grew, it bought out other tech companies along the way. As early as 2009, they bought Friendfeed and began a stream of purchases over the next few years.
Facebook acquired international companies like Malaysia’s Octazen Solutions, Israel’s Onavo, and India’s Jio. They’ve also purchased other social sites like Instagram (in 2012 for $1 billion) and WhatsApp (in 2014 for $19 billion).
9. More Users Every Day
The cool facts about Facebook show that it’s growing every day–well, nearly. Since its beginnings in 2004, the social media platform continued to gain users until 2018. The first time it lost users was a newsworthy event, but it didn’t symbolize a new trend.
Facebook continues to grow. It surpassed a billion users in 2012, and during the first quarter of 2020, it had 2.6 billion.
10. Popular At Night
Anything you post at night, specifically between 10 and 11 p.m., is likely to get the most traffic. One study showed that posts published during this one hour a day get 88% more likes, share, and comments than any other time of day.
Know These Facebook Facts!
Cool Facebook facts like these are only the tip of the iceberg. When a tech company takes off as fast as Facebook did, it inspires people across the globe to use it for good.
Check out other facts about Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms by exploring the rest of our website!
