Go-to old-timer Facebook turns 20

SAN FRANCISCO — Founded 20 years ago as a simple hangout spot for young people, Facebook has since become a battle-hardened behemoth with an insatiable appetite for your attention.

"I will never forget the day that I ran up to my high school's Mac lab and signed up for Facebook," Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at research company Insider Intelligence in New York, told Agence France-Presse.

"You simultaneously felt that you were part of this small, exclusive community where your parents, grandparents and teachers weren't — but also part of something much larger."

Launched as thefacebook.com by Mark Zuckerberg and three friends on Feb 4, 2004, the site was originally restricted to Harvard College students. It became available to students at other universities in the United States before opening to anyone in 2006.

Facebook became a venue for connecting with just about anyone, anywhere, and by last year reported being used by more than 3 billion people monthly.

"Facebook, when it launched, was revolutionary," Enberg said.

She noted Facebook's famous "feed" that served up photos, comments or other "posts" its algorithm figured would grab the attention of users. The more users engaged with the social network, the more it could serve up moneymaking advertisements targeted using the vast amount of information people shared on Facebook.

In 2022 — a bad year for the Silicon Valley-based company — its profits reached $23 billion.

A business model built on using people's personal data to offer more attention-grabbing content and targeted advertisements has earned Facebook complaints and fines.

In 2021, it came under fire over whistleblower accusations that executives put profit over the safety and well-being of users.

Despite it all, Facebook has continued to grow.

Enberg called buying Instagram in 2012 as part of a pivot to smartphone lifestyles one of the best business decisions made by Facebook.

The move eliminated a rival, provided a new forum for advertisements and appealed to younger internet users losing interest in Facebook.

"Above all, it gives the company an app to rival Snapchat and TikTok", which are "ultra-popular with teenagers", Enberg said.