Meta shares on Thursday jumped 23 per cent after it released its fourth-quarter revenue and gave an optimistic outlook. After nearly a decade, Meta stocks saw one of their best days, and this is two days before Facebook's 18th birthday.
The company's co-founder Mark Zuckerberg's statement, in which he says that the company is focused on becoming more efficient and stronger, was well received by analysts and investors. In addition, this company has also increased its share repurchase authorization by $40 billion.
The social media network is believed to be officially launched on February 4. Harvard graduate Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook with some of his friends, decided to begin a social networking platform. The platform began as a tool for university students to connect, but it soon became bigger than anything anyone might have imagined.
History of Facebook
While Facebook's story began in 2004, the story began before that in 2003, when Zuckerberg started Facemash while he was still studying at Harvard. Instead of being what it is today, it was an online service to judge the attractiveness of other students. This was against university policy, and Facemash had to shut down within two days. However, this was how he got the idea for Facebook, which he registered the next year.
The app was initially limited to Harvard students, but soon its reliability and reach caused an uproar, and the app started to spread to Yale and Stanford.
By June 2004, the platform had close to 25,000 students, and this exposure gave the company the power to prompt MasterCard to pay them for exposure. It was also after this huge surge that the app evolved to include image tagging, a Facebook wall, and unlimited photo uploads.
By 2006, Facebook had reached six million active monthly users, ensuring authentic information was retained on each profile while also allowing users to connect. Soon, advertisers flocked to Facebook and captured the online market.
In July, Facebook became open to anyone over 13 years old, and in February 2012, the company went public and raised $16 billion.
The company has grown and evolved into Meta, which is no longer limited to social media.
But it was Facebook that changed our lives and helped us stay connected despite being in different corners of the world.
While Facebook keeps reminding us of our friends' birthdays, it's time to wish Facebook a happy 18th birthday.
