February 05, 2024
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Sunday looked back on his Facebook journey, as one of the world's leading social networks marked 20 years since its launch in 2004.
Following its launch on February 4, 2004, the platform has become one of the most popular social media apps used across the globe, with more than three billion monthly active users today.
To mark this occasion, tech billionaire Zuckerberg shared a short video and a message on Instagram to let viewers revisit some memories of his 19-year-old self creating Facebook with his Harvard University roommates, Al Jazeera reported.
The 39-year-old tech mogul shared a snippet of Facebook's early journey in a reel with a series of pictures and videos. The images included his early profile picture, his photos working on a desktop and images of his wife Priscilla Chan and Shan Sandberg (a former member of Meta's board).
Facebook responded to Zuckerberg’s post with a loving comment, writing: "Love you dad".
Facebook was named after the physical student directory distributed at universities at the start of the academic year, commonly known as a "face book".
Within its first year, the platform grew to one million users, and in August 2005, it was renamed "facebook.com" and by the end of 2006, anyone above the age of 13 with internet access could join the site.
The number of users jumped from 12 million in 2006 to 50 million in 2007, which doubled to 100 million by the end of 2008.
In 2012, the year when the platform reached one billion users, it went public, valued at $104 billion. On October 29, 2021, Zuckerberg announced the rebranding of Facebook, Inc to Meta Platforms, Inc.
The company owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp, among other products and services.
Additionally, amid rising concerns about social media platforms' effects on the health and well-being of children and teenagers, Zuckerburg, along with CEOs of TikTok, X and other social media platforms, was asked to testify before the US Senate Judiciary Committee last week.
Zuckerberg apologised to the parents of the victims. "I'm sorry for everything you have all been through. No one should go through the things that your families have suffered," he said.