What started as a college networking site has now transformed into a global social media giant - it's been 21 years of an incredible journey!
It all started with a simple idea - a group of students at Harvard College wanted to build a website that would be used for communication within their college. Mark Zuckerberg, the leader of the group, named it TheFacebook, stating, "It is clear that the technology needed to create a centralized website is readily available ... the benefits are many." Well, the benefits were indeed many and hence it garnered enormous popularity in no time. But who could have imagined that this small website would one day grow into a social media giant, leaving an impact on literally every aspect of human life? Facebook (as the platform is known today) has become a global phenomenon now in just 21 years, and it has changed how we think, talk, interact, and whatnot. Call it good or bad, that's completely up to you, but there's no denying that it's one of the greatest things to have happened to humanity in recent history. In fact - wouldn't be even an iota of exaggeration to say - it's in the same chain of groundbreaking human innovations as the discovery of fire, the invention of the wheel... the internet... the artificial intelligence... and so on.
Facebook - now owned by the American technology conglomerate 'Meta' - was officially launched on February 4, 2004. As we celebrate its 21 years of journey, let's learn an interesting fact about it that many do not know.
When Facebook was still a college networking site at Harvard, Andrew McCollum designed its logo at the request of Mark Zuckerberg. Both realized that they needed a recognizable face on the logo to boost the platform's appeal. And who better than Al Pacino - the legendary American actor - to represent a platform that's destined for greatness?
They used a pixelated version of Al Pacino for the same. However, they made it in such a way that no one could immediately recognize it was Pacino. It left many wondering who this "mystery man" was, with some thinking it was the CEO of the company. Later, David Kirkpatrick revealed in his book, 'The Facebook Effect': "Zuckerberg’s friend and classmate Andrew McCollum designed a logo using an image of Al Pacino he’d found online that he covered with a fog of ones and zeros—the elementary components of digital media."
Did you know? 💡
— Whale Coin Talk (@WhaleCoinTalk) June 4, 2023
The first logo of #Facebook featured the face of the actor Al Pacino, who was dubbed as the 'Facebook guy'.
However, in 2007, Mark Zuckerberg introduced the current design, which has remained unchanged ever since.🔎 pic.twitter.com/3vra5fDimY
(Credit: Whale Coin Talk)
The image was there until 2007 when the homepage was redesigned.
Besides Zuckerberg, other members in the creation of Facebook were Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.
The platform was initially restricted to students of Harvard College, and soon to most universities in the US and Canada. In 2006, it opened to everyone at least 13 years old with a valid email address. By 2007, it became the world's most popular social media platform.
As of November 2024, Facebook ranked as the third-most-visited website in the world.
