How did Facebook originate? Today it's one of the most popular social networking sites on the Web, with millions of active users. Like some other popular Web sites, this social network was first built in a college dormitory. Here is a basic Facebook history lesson.
Who's Hotter?
Facebook got it's start when Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg created a short-lived Web site called Facemash in October of 2003. This site featured a collection of photos of Harvard students and placed two together at a time, for users to choose the "hotter" person. This caused quite a bit of controversy, and Zuckerberg nearly faced disciplinary action from Harvard for hacking into their computer networks to acquire the images for his site. He was accused of security and privacy violations, and faced the possibility of expulsion, but the charges were eventually dropped.
I'm Using The Facebook
In February of 2004, the sophomore put his creative computer programming skills to use once again, this time in a much less controversial context, when created the first version of Facebook, called The Facebook. Named for the books handed out by colleges to help students get acquainted, the Web site was a way for students to connect with one another. At first The Facebook was just for students of Harvard University, but it was so popular in such a short time that Zuckerberg elnlisted friends and fellow students Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, Eduardo Saverin and Andrew McCollum to help him build it. The Facebook was soon opened up to other university students in the Boston area. Membership was then opened up to universities across America, and a year later it was opened to high school students.
From Hobby to Business
Zuckerberg and Moskovitz moved The Facebook's operation to Palo Alto, California, and they opened an office there during the summer of 2004, with financial backing from PayPal co-founder Peter Theil. By September 2006, the site now known as Facebook was opened up to the gepublic, and anyone over the age of 13 with an email address could join.
In the years since, Facebook has grown to over 200 million active users, making it the second most popular online social network, just behind MySpace. While the mischievous college antics that spawned the site were the subject of controversy, no one can deny the success of what Facebook became.
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