9781422270417

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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