Meta: From Social Media Pioneer to Metaverse Architect Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, Inc., stands as one of the most influential and controversial technology companies of the 21st century. From its humble beginnings in a Harvard dorm room to its current status as a global tech giant, Meta's journey has been marked by rapid growth, innovation, and increasing scrutiny. This article explores the company's history, its present state, and its ambitious vision for the future. The story of Meta begins with Facebook, which was founded by Mark Zuckerberg along with fellow Harvard students Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes in February 2004. Initially called "TheFacebook," the platform was created as a social networking site exclusively for Harvard students. The idea quickly gained traction, and within a month, more than half of the undergraduate population at Harvard had signed up. Recognizing the potential for growth, Zuckerberg and Moskovitz dropped out of Harvard to focus on Facebook full-time, moving the company to Palo Alto, California. By the end of 2004, Facebook had expanded to other universities across the United States and Canada, accumulating nearly one million active users. In 2005, Facebook received its first major investment from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who invested $500,000 for a 10% stake in the company. This influx of capital allowed Facebook to expand its operations and continue its rapid growth. By the end of 2005, Facebook had expanded to over 5.5 million active users and was available to students at more than 2,000 colleges worldwide. The following year, in September 2006, Facebook made a pivotal decision to open registration to anyone over the age of 13 with a valid email address. This move exponentially increased the platform's user base and set the stage for Facebook's transformation into a global social media powerhouse. The years that followed saw Facebook introducing key features that would become integral to its platform. In 2006, the company launched the News Feed, which aggregated updates from friends in a single stream. This was followed by the introduction of Facebook Platform in 2007, allowing third-party developers to create applications within Facebook. In 2008, Facebook Chat was launched, enabling real-time communication between users. The following year saw the introduction of the "Like" button, which would become one of the most recognizable features of the platform. During this period of rapid expansion and innovation, Facebook also faced its first major controversies. In 2008, the company settled a lawsuit with ConnectU, a rival social networking site founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra, who claimed Zuckerberg had stolen their idea. This legal battle would later be dramatized in the 2010 film "The Social Network." Despite these challenges, Facebook's growth continued unabated. By 2010, the platform had over 500 million active users worldwide and had surpassed Google as the most visited website in the United States. On May 18, 2012, Facebook made its initial public offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ, raising $16 billion and valuing the company at $104 billion. This made Facebook the largest technology IPO in U.S. history at the time. However, the IPO was marred by technical glitches and a sharp drop in stock price in the months following, leading to lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny. Despite the rocky start as a public company, Facebook continued to innovate and expand. Recognizing the growing importance of mobile, the company made significant investments in its mobile platforms. In April 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion, a move that would prove prescient as mobile photo-sharing became increasingly central to social media usage. In 2014, Facebook made another major acquisition, purchasing messaging app WhatsApp for $19 billion. This acquisition solidified Facebook's dominance in mobile messaging and significantly expanded its global reach, particularly in markets where WhatsApp was the primary communication tool. These strategic moves positioned Facebook as a dominant force in the mobile-first era of social media and communication. As Facebook's influence grew, so did concerns about its impact on society, privacy, and democracy. The period from 2016 to 2020 was marked by a series of controversies that would significantly impact the company's reputation and lead to increased regulatory scrutiny. The 2016 U.S. Presidential Election brought Facebook's role in the spread of misinformation and foreign interference into sharp focus. It was revealed that Russian-backed entities had used Facebook to spread divisive content and false information in an attempt to influence the election outcome. This led to congressional hearings and calls for greater regulation of social media platforms. In 2018, Facebook faced its most significant privacy scandal to date with the Cambridge Analytica ...
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