1Harvard's "face book"
A "face book" is a student directory featuring photos and personal information.In 2003, Harvard had only a paper version along with private online directories. Zuckerberg told the Crimson, "Everyone's been talking a lot about a universal face book within Harvard. I think it's kind of silly that it would take the University a couple of years to get around to it. I can do it better than they can, and I can do it in a week."
2Zuckerberg Built a Website Called "Facemash"
Zuckerberg built a website called "Facemash" in 2003 while attending Harvard University. The site was comparable to Hot or Not and used "photos compiled from the online facebooks of nine Houses, placing two next to each other at a time and asking users to choose the "hotter" person". Facemash attracted 450 visitors and 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours. The site was sent to several campus group list-servers, but was shut down a few days later by Harvard administration.
3Sean Parker Became Company President
In mid-2004, Napster co-founder and entrepreneur Sean Parker—an informal advisor to Zuckerberg became company president.
4Zuckerberg Coded "TheFacebook"
In January 2004, Zuckerberg coded a new website, known as "TheFacebook", inspired by a Crimson editorial about Facemash, stating "It is clear that the technology needed to create a centralized Website is readily available ... the benefits are many." Zuckerberg met with Harvard student Eduardo Saverin, and each of them agreed to invest $1,000 in the site.
5Zuckerberg Launched "TheFacebook"
On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched "TheFacebook", originally located at thefacebook.com.
6Facebook expanded to Columbia, Stanford and Yale
Membership was initially restricted to students of Harvard College. Within a month, more than half the undergraduates had registered. Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum, and Chris Hughes joined Zuckerberg to help manage the growth of the website. In March 2004, Facebook expanded to Columbia, Stanford and Yale. and then to all Ivy League colleges, Boston University, New York University, MIT, and successively most universities in the United States and Canada.
7The Company moved to Palo Alto
In June 2004, the company moved to Palo Alto, California.
8The Company Received Its First Investment
The company received its first investment In June 2004, from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.
9The Company Dropped "The" From Its Name
In 2005, the company dropped "the" from its name after purchasing the domain name facebook.com for US$200,000. The domain had belonged to AboutFace Corporation.
10Accel Partners Invested $12.7 Million In Facebook
In May 2005, Accel Partners invested $12.7 million in Facebook, and Jim Breyer added $1 million of his own money.
11Launching A High-School Version of The Site
A high-school version of the site launched in September 2005.
12Facebook Had 100,000 Pages On Which Companies Promoted Themselves
By late 2007, Facebook had 100,000 pages on which companies promoted themselves.
13Facebook Launched Facebook Pages for Brands and Celebrities
In 2007, Facebook launched Facebook Pages for brands and celebrities to interact with their fanbase.
14Microsoft Purchased a 1.6% Share of Facebook
On October 24, 2007, Microsoft announced that it had purchased a 1.6% share of Facebook for $240 million, giving Facebook a total implied value of around $15 billion. Microsoft's purchase included rights to place international advertisements.
15Facebook Introduced "Facebook Beta"
On July 20, 2008, Facebook introduced "Facebook Beta", a significant redesign of its user interface on selected networks. The Mini-Feed and Wall were consolidated, profiles were separated into tabbed sections, and an effort was made to create a cleaner look. Facebook began migrating users to the new version in September 2008.
16Announcing The Location of Its International Headquarters
In October 2008, Facebook announced that its international headquarters would locate in Dublin, Ireland.
17China Blocked Facebook
China blocked Facebook in 2009.
18Compete.com Study
A January 2009 Compete.com study ranked Facebook the most used social networking service by worldwide monthly active users
19The "Like" Button Was First Enabled
The "like" button, stylized as a "thumbs up" icon, was first enabled on February 9, 2009, and enables users to easily interact with status updates, comments, photos and videos, links shared by friends and advertisements.
20Organization Pages
Organization pages began rolling out in May 2009.
21Facebook introduced a "Usernames" Feature
In June 2009, Facebook introduced a "Usernames" feature, allowing users to choose a unique nickname used in the URL for their personal profile, for easier searching and sharing.
22Achieving Positive Cash Flow For The First Time
In September 2009, Facebook said that it had achieved positive cash flow for the first time.
23Facebook opened to everyone at Least 13 years old
On September 26, 2006, Facebook opened to everyone at least 13 years old with a valid email address.
24Facebook Opened Its Fourth Office, In Hyderabad
In 2010, Facebook opened its fourth office, in Hyderabad it's the first in Asia.
25The US National Security Agency began Taking Publicly Posted Profile Information
In 2010, the US National Security Agency began taking publicly posted profile information from Facebook, among other social media services.
26Winning The Crunchie "Best Overall Startup Or Product"
In 2010, Facebook won the Crunchie "Best Overall Startup Or Product" award for the third year in a row.
27Facebook was granted a Patent On Certain Aspects of Its News Feed
On February 23, 2010, Facebook was granted a patent on certain aspects of its News Feed. The patent covers News Feeds in which links are provided so that one user can participate in the activity of another user. The sorting and display of stories in a user's News Feed is governed by the EdgeRank algorithm.
28The Like Button Was Extended To Comments
The like button was extended to comments in June 2010. In 2017, Facebook expanded Like into "Reactions", choosing among five pre-defined emotions, including "Love", "Haha", "Wow", "Sad" or "Angry".
29500 Million Users
The company announced 500 million users in July 2010.
30Facebook's Value was $41 Billion
In November 2010, based on SecondMarket Inc. (an exchange for privately held companies' shares), Facebook's value was $41 billion. The company had slightly surpassed eBay to become the third largest American web company after Google and Amazon.com.
31Facebook Acquired The Domain Name fb.com
On November 15, 2010, Facebook announced it had acquired the domain name FB.com from the American Farm Bureau Federation(AFBF) for an undisclosed amount.
32The Farm Bureau Disclosed $8.5 Million In "Domain Sales Income"
On January 11, 2011, the Farm Bureau disclosed $8.5 million in "domain sales income", making the acquisition of FB.com one of the ten highest domain sales in history.
33Facebook Announced Plans To Move Its Headquarters
In February 2011, Facebook announced plans to move its headquarters to the former Sun Microsystems campus in Menlo Park, California.
34Removing about 20,000 Profiles Daily For Violations
In March 2011, it was reported that Facebook was removing about 20,000 profiles daily for violations such as spam, graphic content and underage use, as part of its efforts to boost cyber security.
35Facebook Became The Most Visited Website Tracked by DoubleClick
Statistics showed that Facebook reached one trillion page views in the month of June 2011, making it the most visited website tracked by DoubleClick.
36Facebook announced Its Bug Bounty Program
On July 29, 2011, Facebook announced its Bug Bounty Program that paid security researchers a minimum of $500 for reporting security holes. The company promised not to pursue "white hat" hackers who identified such problems.
37Facebook Messenger Became a Standalone Mobile App
Facebook Messenger is an instant messaging service and software application. It began as Facebook Chat in 2008, was revamped in 2010 and eventually became a standalone mobile app in August 2011, while remaining part of the user page on browsers.
38The Format of Individual User Pages Was Revamped
Each registered user on Facebook has a personal profile that shows their posts and content. The format of individual user pages was revamped in September 2011 and became known as "Timeline", a chronological feed of a user's stories, including status updates, photos, interactions with apps and events.
39Facebook Settled Federal Trade Commission Charges
On November 29, 2011, Facebook settled Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers by failing to keep privacy promises.
40San Mateo County became The Top Wage-Earning County because of Facebook
San Mateo County, California, became the top wage-earning county in the country after the fourth quarter of 2012 because of Facebook.
41Facebook acquired Instagram
In April 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram for approximately US$1 billion in cash and stock.
42Facebook's Initial Public Offering Came
Facebook's initial public offering came on May 17, 2012, at a share price of US$38. The company was valued at $104 billion, the largest valuation to that date.
43Facebook Launched its App Center
On June 7, 2012, Facebook launched its App Center to help users find games and other applications.
44Facebook Had One Billion Monthly Active Users
Zuckerberg announced at the start of October 2012 that Facebook had one billion monthly active users, including 600 million mobile users, 219 billion photo uploads and 140 billion friend connections.
45Facebook's Monthly Active Users Passed One Billion
In October 2012 Facebook's monthly active users passed one billion, with 600 million mobile users, 219 billion photo uploads, and 140 billion friend connections. The 2 billion user mark was crossed in June 2017.
46Facebook announced Facebook Graph Search
On January 15, 2013, Facebook announced Facebook Graph Search, which provides users with a "precise answer", rather than a link to an answer by leveraging data present on its site.
47Facebook announced App Center
In March 2012, Facebook announced App Center, a store selling applications that operate via the website. The store was to be available on iPhones, Android devices, and mobile web users.
48Facebook Unveiled Facebook Home
On April 3, 2013, Facebook unveiled Facebook Home, a user-interface layer for Android devices offering greater integration with the site.
49Announcing an Alliance With The National Association of Attorneys General
On April 15, 2013, Facebook announced an alliance across 19 states with the National Association of Attorneys General, to provide teenagers and parents with information on tools to manage social networking profiles.
50Facebook Modified Its Logo
On April 19 Facebook modified its logo to remove the faint blue line at the bottom of the "F" icon. The letter F moved closer to the edge of the box.
51Facebook Joined The Fortune 500 List For The First Time
Based on its 2012 income of $5 billion, Facebook joined the Fortune 500 list for the first time in May 2013, ranked 462.
52Introducing Clickable Hashtags
On June 12, Facebook announced that it was introducing clickable hashtags to help users follow trending discussions, or search what others are talking about on a topic.
53Facebook Joined Alliance For Affordable Internet
Facebook joined Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) in October, as it launched.
54Facebook acquired Onavo
On October 13, Facebook acquired Onavo, an Israeli mobile web analytics company.
55Standard & Poor's added Facebook To Its S&P 500 Index
Standard & Poor's added Facebook to its S&P 500 index on December 21.
56Over One Billion Users Connected Via a Mobile Device
In January 2014, over one billion users connected via a mobile device.
57Facebook announced That It Would be Buying WhatsApp
In February 2014, Facebook announced that it would be buying mobile messaging company WhatsApp for US$19 billion in cash and stock.
58Facebook Expanded The Gender Setting
In February 2014, Facebook expanded the gender setting, adding a custom input field that allows users to choose from a wide range of gender identities. Users can also set which set of gender-specific pronoun should be used in reference to them throughout the site.
59The Company Celebrated Its 10th anniversary
The company celebrated its 10th anniversary during the week of February 3, 2014.
60Facebook announced a New Open-Source Programming Language
On March 20, 2014, Facebook announced a new open-source programming language called Hack. Before public release, a large portion of Facebook was already running and "battle tested" using the new language.
61Allowing Users To Ask For Information Not Disclosed by Other Users on Their Profiles
In May 2014, Facebook introduced a feature to allow users to ask for information not disclosed by other users on their profiles. If a user does not provide key information, such as location, hometown, or relationship status, other users can use a new "ask" button to send a message asking about that item to the user in a single click.
62Mobile accounted For 62% of Advertising Revenue
As of June, mobile accounted for 62% of advertising revenue, an increase of 21% from the previous year.
63Facebook's Market Capitalization Had Exceeded $200 Billion
By September Facebook's market capitalization had exceeded $200 billion.
64Zuckerberg Participated In a Q&A Session at Tsinghua University
Zuckerberg participated in a Q&A session at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, on October 23, where he attempted to converse in Mandarin.
65Zuckerberg Hosted Visiting Chinese Politician Lu Wei
Zuckerberg hosted visiting Chinese politician Lu Wei, known as the "Internet czar" for his influence in China's online policy, on the 8th of December.
66Facebook's attempt To Filter out False or Misleading Content
As of January 21, 2015, Facebook's algorithm was revised in an attempt to filter out false or misleading content, such as fake news stories and hoaxes.
67Facebook In association With Major News Portals Launched "Instant Articles"
On May 13, 2015, Facebook in association with major news portals launched "Instant Articles" to provide news on the Facebook news feed without leaving the site.
68Facebook Released its Blueprints of Surround 360 Camera
Facebook released its blueprints of Surround 360 camera on GitHub under an open-source license.
69Combating Fake News by Using Fact Checkers
Following the 2016 presidential election, Facebook announced that it would combat fake news by using fact checkers from sites like FactCheck.org and Associated Press (AP), making reporting hoaxes easier through crowdsourcing, and disrupting financial incentives for abusers.
70Zuckerberg Outlined His 10 Year Vision
On April 12, 2016, Zuckerberg outlined his 10 year vision, which rested on three main pillars: artificial intelligence, increased global connectivity and virtual/augmented reality.
71Facebook announced Deep Text
In June, Facebook announced Deep Text, a natural language processing AI that learns user intent and context in 20 languages.
72A US$1 Billion Suit Was Filed against The Company
In July, a US$1 billion suit was filed against the company alleging that it permitted Hamas to use it to perform assaults that cost the lives of four people.
73Facebook won an Emmy For Its animated Short film "Henry"
In September, it won an Emmy for its animated short film "Henry".
74Facebook announced a Fee-based Communications Tool Called Workplace
In October, Facebook announced a fee-based communications tool called Workplace that aims to "connect everyone" at work. Users can create profiles, see updates from co-workers on their news feed, stream live video and participate in secure group chats.
75Facebook Opened Its London Headquarters
Facebook opened it's London headquarters in 2017 in Fitzrovia in central London.
76Facebook Launched Facebook Stories
In January 2017, Facebook launched Facebook Stories for iOS and Android in Ireland. The feature, following the format of Snapchat and Instagram stories, allows users to upload photos and videos that appear above friends' and followers' News Feeds and disappear after 24 hours.
77Facebook added "Messenger Day"
In 2017, Facebook added "Messenger Day", a feature that lets users share photos and videos in a story-format with all their friends with the content disappearing after 24 hours; Reactions, which lets users tap and hold a message to add a reaction through an emoji; and Mentions, which lets users in group conversations type @ to give a particular user a notification.
78Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg Planned To Open Station F
On January 17, 2017, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg planned to open Station F, a startup incubator campus in Paris, France.
79Facebook announced The Beta Launch of Facebook Spaces
On April 18, Facebook announced the beta launch of Facebook Spaces at its annual F8 developer conference. Facebook Spaces is a virtual reality version of Facebook for Oculus VR goggles.
80Facebook announced It Would Spend Up To US$1 Billion On Original Shows
In September, Facebook announced it would spend up to US$1 billion on original shows for its Facebook Watch platform.
81Facebook introduced The 3D Posts Feature
On October 11, 2017, Facebook introduced the 3D Posts feature to allow for uploading interactive 3D assets.
82Facebook acquired The anonymous Compliment App tbh
On October 16, it acquired the anonymous compliment app tbh, announcing its intention to leave the app independent.
83Facebook Opened an Office In Cambridge
Facebook opened an office in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2018.
84The 2018 Fortune 500 List
Facebook ranked No. 76 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue. Most comes from advertising. One analysis of 2017 data determined that the company earned US$20.21 per user from advertising.
85Facebook announced That It Would Change News Feed To Prioritize Friends/Family Content
On January 11, 2018, Facebook announced that it would change the News Feed to prioritize friends/family content and de-emphasize content from media companies.
86The English High Court Reaction To The Facebook–Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal
Facebook customer Global Science Research sold information on over 87 million Facebook users to Cambridge Analytica, a political data analysis firm. According to The Guardian both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica threatened to sue the newspaper if it published the story. After publication, Facebook claimed that it had been "lied to". On March 23, 2018, The English High Court granted an application by the Information Commissioner's Office for a warrant to search Cambridge Analytica's London offices, ending a standoff between Facebook and the Information Commissioner over responsibility.
87Facebook Published a Statement Apologizing Over a "Breach of Trust"
On March 25, Facebook published a statement by Zuckerberg in major UK and US newspapers apologizing over a "breach of trust".
88The Federal Trade Commission Opened an Investigation Into The Matter
On March 26, the Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation into the matter. The controversy led Facebook to end its partnerships with data brokers who aid advertisers in targeting users.
89Papua New Guinea announced That It Would Ban Facebook For a Month
In May 2018, the government of Papua New Guinea announced that it would ban Facebook for a month while it considered the impact of the website on the country, though no ban has since occurred.
90Facebook announced It Would Offer Its Own Dating Service
In May 2018 at F8, the company announced it would offer its own dating service.
91Facebook announced about a Bug
On June 7, 2018 Facebook announced that a bug had resulted in about 14 million Facebook users having their default sharing setting for all new posts set to "public".
92Facebook Was Charged £500,000 by UK Watchdogs
In July, Facebook was charged £500,000 by UK watchdogs for failing to respond to data erasure requests.
93Facebook Established a Subsidiary Named Lianshu Science & Technology
On July 18, Facebook established a subsidiary named Lianshu Science & Technology in Hangzhou City, China, with $30 million of capital. All its shares are held by Facebook Hong. Approval of the registration of the subsidiary was then withdrawn, due to a disagreement between officials in Zhejiang province and the Cyberspace Administration of China.
94The First company To Lose Over $100 Billion Worth of Market Capitalization In One Day
On July 26, Facebook became the first company to lose over $100 billion worth of market capitalization in one day, dropping from nearly $630 billion to $510 billion after disappointing sales reports.
95Facebook Deleted 17 accounts Related To The 2018 American Elections
On July 31, Facebook said that the company had deleted 17 accounts related to the 2018 American elections.
96News Distribution Outside The United States
On September 19, Facebook announced that, for news distribution outside the United States, it would work with U.S. funded democracy promotion organizations, International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, which are loosely affiliated with the Republican and Democratic parties.
97Facebook Experienced a Major Breach In Its Security
On September 28, 2018, Facebook experienced a major breach in its security, exposing the data of 50 million users. The data breach started in July 2017 and was discovered on September 16.Facebook notified users affected by the exploit and logged them out of their accounts.
98Launching Smart Displays Branded Portal and Portal Plus (Portal+)
In November, Facebook launched smart displays branded Portal and Portal Plus (Portal+). They support Amazon's Alexa (intelligent personal assistant service). The devices include video chat function with Facebook Messenger.
99The 10 Year Challenge
In January 2019, the 10 year challenge was started asking users to post a photograph of themselves from 10 years ago (2009) and a more recent photo.
100Provide Users with "Authoritative Information" On The Topic of Vaccines
Criticized for its role in vaccine hesitancy, Facebook announced in March 2019 that it would provide users with "authoritative information" on the topic of vaccines.
101Facebook Confirmed a Password Compromise of Millions of Facebook Lite Application Users
In March 2019, Facebook confirmed a password compromise of millions of Facebook lite application users, however in April the company further stated that it was not just limited to Facebook but had also affected millions of Instagram users. The reason cited was the storage of password as plain text instead of encryption which could be read by its employees.
102Tweaking Sheryl Sandberg’s Wikipedia Page
On March 14, Huffington Post reported that Facebook’s PR agency had paid someone to tweak Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s Wikipedia page, as well as adding a page for the global head of PR, Caryn Marooney.
103The Christchurch Mosque Shootings
In March 2019, the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand used Facebook to stream live footage of the attack as it unfolded. Facebook took 29 minutes to detect the livestreamed video, which was eight minutes longer than it took police to arrest the gunman. About 1.3M copies of the video were blocked from Facebook but 300,000 copies were published and shared.
104Banning Several British Far-Right Organizations
Further bans were made in mid-April 2019, banning several British far-right organizations and associated individuals from Facebook, and also banning praise or support for them.
105Half a Billion Records of Facebook Users Were Found Exposed on Amazon Cloud Servers
On 4 April 2019, half a billion records of Facebook users were found exposed on Amazon cloud servers, containing information about users’ friends, likes, groups, and checked-in locations, as well as “names, passwords and email addresses.
106Facebook Said It Could Face a Fine between $3 Billion To $5 Billion as The Result of an Investigation by The Federal Trade Commission
On April 24, 2019, Facebook said it could face a fine between $3 billion to $5 billion as the result of an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. The agency has been investigating Facebook for possible privacy violations, but has not announced any findings yet.
107Pulling Facebook's Apps From Windows Phone
In early-April 2019, Facebook announced that it would be pulling its apps from Windows Phone on April 30, 2019, including Facebook, Messenger and Instagram.
108Facebook founded Libra Networks
In May 2019, Facebook founded Libra Networks, reportedly in order to develop their own stablecoin cryptocurrency. In recent developments it has been reported that Libra is being supported by financial companies like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Uber. The consortium of companies is expected to pool in $10 million each to fund the launch of the cryptocurrency coin named Libra.
109The Company announced Its New Vision
On May 2, 2019 at F8, the company announced its new vision with the tagline "the future is private". A redesign of the website and mobile app was introduced, dubbed as "FB5". The event also featured plans for improving groups, a dating platform, end-to-end encryption on its platforms, and allowing users on Messenger to communicate directly with WhatsApp and Instagram users.
110The Company announced It Was Under Antitrust Investigation
In late July 2019, the company announced it was under antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.
111Facebook's Option To View and Load Pictures Stopped Working
On July 3, 2019, Facebook's option to view and load pictures stopped working as people around the world complained. Facebook posted on Twitter about the issue and said they would resolve it as soon as they could.