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THE STORY BEHIND THE APP Facebook

JACKSON PETERS

MASON CREST MIAMI

Mason Crest PO Box 221876, Hollywood, FL 33022 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll-free) • www.masoncrest.com

Copyright © 2024 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN (hardback) 978-1-4222-4776-1 ISBN (series) 978-1-4222-4773-0 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4222-7041-7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Peters, Jackson, author. Title: Facebook: the story behind the app / Jackson Peters. Description: Hollywood, FL: Mason Crest, [2024] | Series: Tech titans | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2023014360 | ISBN 9781422247761 (hardback) | ISBN 9781422270417 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Facebook (Electronic resource) | Online social networks. Classification: LCC HM742 .P4834 2024 | DDC 302.30285--dc23/eng/20230628

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023014360 Developed and Produced by National Highlights, Inc. Editor: Andrew Luke Interior and cover design: Tara Raymo • CreativelyTara Production: Crafted Content LLC Publisher’s Note: Websites listed in this book were active at the time of publication. The publisher is not responsible for websites that have changed their address or discontinued operation since the date of publication. The publisher reviews and updates the websites each time the book is reprinted.

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Story of a Startup . ......................................... 7 Chapter 2: Rise to the Top . ............................................ 21 Chapter 3: Market Domination ...................................... 33 Chapter 4: Beyond the Boardroom . ........................... 47 Chapter 5: On the Horizon ............................................. 61 Series Glossary of Key Terms . ....................................... 74 Further Reading . ................................................ 76 Internet Resources ......................................................... 77 Index . ............................................................................... 78 Author’s Biography & Credits . ............................................. 80 KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR:

Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

computer programming: the creation of instructions that tell a computer what to do prodigy: someone who is very talented at something at a very early age social network: an online site for people to communicate and share information software: any program used on a computer, whether a game or other application technology: the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

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chapter 1

STORY OF A STARTUP

Occupy Wall Street was the name of an organized protest against the financial system and income inequality in America. Although the initial protest was a physical demonstration that began on September 17, 2011, in New York City’s financial district, the movement spread and grew thanks to the online social network known as Facebook. By mid-October there were more than 400 Occupy pages on Facebook which, in addition to helping recruit more than 170,000 people, facilitated information sharing and storytelling. Facebook helped Occupy Wall Street mobilize its online following to show up and protest in person. During the previous summer, Wael Ghonim, a twenty-nine year-old Google marketing executive, learned about the death of Khaled Mohamed Said, who had been beaten to death by the Egyptian police. Compelled to act, he created a Facebook page on which he wrote, “Today, they killed Khaled. If I don’t act for his sake, tomorrow, they will kill me.” He named the Facebook page “We Are All Khaled Said.” The page attracted a quarter million followers in three months. Then, the voices on the Facebook page spilled out into Egypt’s streets, helping to ignite the uprising that eventually forced Egypt’s president to resign. The page was one of the sparks that ignited the movement known as the Arab Spring. Wael’s actions proved that one person can start a change and, with the help of Facebook, have it spread like wildfire.

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Watch the story of how activists used Facebook to spark protests after the killing of Khaled Said.

These are two examples of something far more important than connecting “friends.” “When you give everyone a voice,” says Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, Inc. (renamed Meta in 2021), “and give people power, the system usually ends up in a good place. So, what we view our role as, is giving people that power.” That’s what Zuckerberg has done through Facebook. He’s given people all around the world a place to have a voice, and by doing that, he’s helped to change the world in unexpected ways. HOW IT BEGAN Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984, in White Plains, New York. He grew up living with his family in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Zuckerberg’s parents are Edward and Karen, and he has three sisters, Randi, Arielle, and Donna. Edward Zuckerberg worked as a dentist—his patients called him “painless Dr. Z” because of the gentle way he treated them. The

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Today, Zuckerberg is one of the most successful people working in online business. He’s changed the way people think about the Internet and created a hugely successful company. However, the entrepreneur had to work hard to create the company that would change his life.

dental office was attached to the family’s home, allowing Dr. Z to work nearby. Zuckerberg’s mother, Karen, worked as a psychiatrist for a time, but she left her job to care for Zuckerberg and his three sisters. She also worked in her husband’s dental office, helping him to run and organize his business. Edward’s dental practice exposed him to early computer technology , particularly when it came to X-rays and organizing his office. That experience with technology rubbed off on his son, helping to shape Zuckerberg’s interests early in his life. Edward introduced him to computer programming . He showed his son how to program using an Atari computer, an early, simple kind of home computer, much less powerful than the computers in homes today.

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Story of a Startup

Zuckerberg was creating messaging programs that used the Internet for communication far before most people were familiar with getting online and chatting with friends.

Zuckerberg learned quickly and soon found he loved computers and programming. In 1996, Edward wished aloud for a way for his office receptionist to tell him that a patient had arrived in the waiting room. Up to that point, his receptionist had simply been yelling into the office, and Edward wanted something more efficient. A twelve-year-old Zuckerberg saw that a computer program could help solve his father’s problem. He set to work to create software that could help. The program that Zuckerberg built enabled the computers in his father’s dental office and in the Zuckerberg house to send messages back and forth. Mark called his creation Zucknet, a reference to his nickname, “Zuck.” A year later, America Online (AOL) released its own messaging program called Instant Messenger, but Zuckerberg had already seen the potential for computers to communicate with each other over the Internet. Zucknet allowed Edward’s receptionist to send a message to him whenever a patient arrived. Using the program

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Zuckerberg created, Edward and his family could also send messages between the computers in their home. One night, Zuckerberg used Zucknet to send a gag message to his sister Donna while she was doing her homework. The message said that a computer virus would cause the computer she was on to explode in thirty seconds! COMPUTER CLASS Zuckerberg’s parents realized their son had a gift for computer programming, so they hired a tutor to teach Zuckerberg even more. David Newman, a software programmer, began visiting Zuckerberg’s home each week to teach him more about computer programming and creating software. When interviewed later in his life, Newman told New Yorker magazine that Zuckerberg was

Zuckerberg’s skill with programming was extraordinary for a young person, but also for a time when fewer people owned and understood how to use computers.

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Story of a Startup

“a prodigy ” when it came to programming. “It was tough to stay ahead of him,” Newman said. Zuckerberg started creating his own games, using his skills as a computer programmer. “I had a bunch of friends who were artists,” he told a magazine interviewer. “They’d come over, draw stuff, and I’d build a game out of it.” Zuckerberg loved creating new things through computer programming, whether games or new ways to communicate. When Zuckerberg was a little older, his parents helped him take a college computer class at Mercy College, near their Dobbs Ferry home. Each Thursday night, Mark’s father would drive him to the school and drop Zuckerberg off to attend the class. The first time he dropped him off at the class, the teacher told Edward he couldn’t bring his son inside with him. Edward had to tell the professor that it was his son who’d be taking the class, not him. A PRODIGY EMERGES Zuckerberg started high school at Ardsley High School, located in Ardsley, New York. While there, he studied hard and got excellent grades. The young scholar was particularly interested in Greek and Latin studies. He loved to read classical literature, like The Iliad and The Odyssey , by the Greek poet Homer. By Zuckerberg’s sophomore year, his family realized he needed more than what Ardsley High School could offer him, so they applied for their son to attend a boarding school called Phillips Exeter Academy. Zuckerberg was accepted at Exeter, and he moved into the dorms at the New Hampshire school. At Exeter, Zuckerberg continued to do very well, both in school and in activities outside the classroom. He kept up his love of classical literature, Latin, and Greek. Zuckerberg also became an

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excellent fencer and was captain of Exeter’s fencing team by the time he graduated from the school. In addition, he won prizes for his work in math, physics, and astronomy, as well as for his studies in Latin and Greek. Though he was always able to succeed in the classroom, Zuckerberg’s passion for computers never took a back seat to his other activities. While at Exeter, he continued to learn more about computer programming and creating new software. During his senior year, Zuckerberg created a computer program for his senior project called Synapse Media Player. Synapse was a program that recorded what kind of music users liked to hear, keeping track of the songs and artists they enjoyed. The program then automatically picked new artists, songs, and playlists for

After graduating from Exeter, Zuckerberg turned down several impressive job offers to go to college, where he would eventually create Facebook.

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Story of a Startup

users based on the music they’d already picked. The popular website Pandora.com chooses music for users in a similar way, based on what they already like. At the time, however, Zuckerberg’s Synapse Media Player was a brand-new idea. What started as a senior project from a high school student quickly spread on the Internet. Blogs and websites wrote about Synapse, and Internet users began downloading the project for themselves. To put Synapse into the world, Zuckerberg started a company he called Intelligent Media Group. Big technology companies started to take notice of Zuckerberg’s program and the buzz it was getting on the Internet. Soon, Microsoft and AOL were both trying to buy Synapse from Zuckerberg and offered him jobs creating software at their companies. Zuckerberg turned them both down and decided instead to attend college at prestigious Harvard University after graduating from Exeter in 2002. Zuckerberg wasn’t even eighteen yet, but he had already shown great promise.

Zuckerberg’s Synapse Media Player was helping users find new music based on their favorite songs long before Pandora, Spotify, and other modern music services existed.

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COLLEGE KID At Harvard, Zuckerberg took classes in psychology and computer science. He joined the university’s Jewish fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi. At a party at the fraternity’s house one Friday night, Zuckerberg met Priscilla Chan, whom he would eventually marry. Between classes and fraternity activities, Zuckerberg continued to create computer software and started building websites. SOPHOMORE SUCCESSES During Zuckerberg’s second year at Harvard, the computer whiz created a website called Facemash, a very simple site that allowed users to see photos of two people and then vote on who was better looking. The site used photos of students at Harvard, which Zuckerberg got by hacking Harvard’s computer network and stealing student identification

photos. In its first few hours online, a few hundred people visited Facemash. Over the next few days, the site was shared with people around Harvard, alerting the school’s administration. They forced Zuckerberg to shut down the site and even threatened to expel him.

Zuckerberg didn’t graduate from Harvard, but the university played an important role in his starting Facebook. He received an honorary doctorate from the university in 2017.

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Story of a Startup

After Facemash was shut down, articles about Zuckerberg appeared in the Harvard student newspaper, and students were both outraged and interested in their fellow classmate. Soon, three students looking to start their own site came to Zuckerberg for help. Divya Narendra and brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss wanted to create a website that allowed students at Harvard to find each other online, share information, and possibly begin dating. Zuckerberg agreed to help Narendra and the Winklevosses create

what they called Harvard Connection. FACEBOOK BEGINS

Zuckerberg initially worked with Narendra and the Winklevoss twins on Harvard Connection, but it wasn’t long before he stopped working on the site. Instead, Zuckerberg began work on his own web project, a site that allowed users to post information about themselves and see information posted

by other students. He called his site TheFacebook.com, which many believe was based on the books Exeter gave students that included pictures, addresses, and phone numbers for every student in the school. “Face books” were a way for students to get to know each other at a

Zuckerberg chose to use blue while creating Facebook because of his color blindness, and the logo and color became a huge part of Facebook’s success.

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