Case study of Facebook

In 2004, college sophomore Mark Zuckerberg wanted to build an online version of student directory with basic information, commonly known to schools as facebook. Harvard did not offer such a directory and the administration insisted that they were unable to aggregate the information required.

Thus, one night, Zuckerberg hacked into Harvard’s student records and created a basic site called Facemash, which randomly paired photos of undergraduates and invited visitors to determine who was “hotter”. After four hours, 450 visitors, and 22,000photo views, Harvard administration disconnected Zuckerberg’s internet connection and took down the site.

However, Zuckerberg continued with this new project as he believed that information should be available to all students. He added applications and expanded the networks to other schools, and to work networks such as employees from the central. Intelligence Agency, McDonald’s, and the U.S. Marine Corps.

Eventually in September 2006, Zuckerberg’s social networking website,Facebook. com, was opened to the public. Facebook is ranked 2nd in the “Top 10 U.S. Social Networking Site for November 2007” report released by Nielsen Online. In addition, Zuckerberg reported Facebook’s revenue at US$150 million in 2007 and projected revenue at US$350 million for 2008.

Inspirational uses of Facebook

1)Play many fun and different games in Facebook.

2)Catch up with old friends through Facebook/know more about your friends’ recent happenings.

3)Post interesting photos on Facebook to share with friends.

4)Keep updated for events coming up (e.g. friend’s birthday,concerts,etc.)

Cyber Wellness tips

1)Never tell a stranger your personal information or details.

2)Do not agree if strangers ask you out for a meet-up.

3) If a stranger harasses you, always remember to stay calm, tell your parents or report the case to the police.

4)Don’t chat with strangers online and don’t listen to what they ask you to do.

Danger uses of Facebook

1) If you didn’t set it as a private profile only to those whom you know, anyone in the world can view your profile and can track you down.

2) Anyone can still view the photos that you had deleted on Facebook.

3)Facebook applications may contain viruses and/or spyware which may harm your computer.

4) Facebook applications can access to almost all of your profile data.

Interesting facts about Facebook

1) If Facebook were a country, it would be the fifth-largest country in the world, after China, India, the U.S., and Indonesia.

2)Facebook has over 350 million active users. More than 35 million users update their status each day, with more than 55 million status updates each day.

3) In December 2009, there were over 250 million active users on Facebook, up from 1 million active uses. The first person to invest in Facebook was the cofounder of PayPal, Peter Thiel, who invested $500,000 in June 2004.

4) Demographics: Almost One-Thirds of the total Facebook Population are school or college going. The age group that uses Facebook the most is 35 - 45 years.