The facebook hype

Facebook is a social networking site designed to connect users. Sites such as MySpace and Friendster are similar, Facebook allows individuals to create profiles that include personal interests, affiliations, pictures. Launched in February 2004, they have attracted over 8 million users in US alone.

Facebook was founded by former-Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg. While he was studying at Harvard, he was doing this as a hobby, using Facebook as a way for him and his friends to better connect with schoolmates. It was well received in Harvard and it soon exploded to other campus. It became so popular that before he knew it, it had become a national student network phenomenon. Thereafter, Zuckerberg and his fellow Harvard student dropped out of Harvard to run Facebook fulltime.

Because of his Harvard background, there are a lot of comparisons between him and Bill Gate. And the big question being raised, could he be the next Bill Gate?

Earlier, there were some reports that Yahoo wants to acquire Facebook for $1 Billion dollars. Mark Zuckerberg rejects the offer and told Yahoo that his website is more than just a billion dollar.

On 24th May 2007, Zuckerberg held a massive press/developer event today in San Francisco to officially launch Facebook Platform, a set of tools that lets designers and businesses create their own applications for the site, A number of third party applications will also be announced, including Microsoft, Amazon, Slide, RockYou, Box.net, Red Bull, Washington Post, Project Agape, Prosper, Snapvine, iLike, PicksPal, Digg, Plum and others. Seventy companies in total are currently developing applications. Facebook’s new platform reportedly attracting 1,000 developers a day in its first month.

On 24th Oct 2007, it was announced that Microsoft had bought a 1.6% stake in Facebook for $240 million, valuing the social utility site at roughly $15 billion. The deal makes geeky twenty-three-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, at least on paper, worth $5 billion!