Meta Platformis a very successful companyknown throughout the world, owner of extremely famous platforms and services that have changed the way people live their daily lives and that it has a strong impact on how they interact. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads are just some of the products and projects Meta works on.
What today is a great reality, universally recognizedfinds its origins in the dreams, ambitions and vision of Mark Zuckerbergan entrepreneur who achieved success thanks to an invention which, one can say without fear of exaggeration, it has changed the way people relate to each other and which gave unstoppable momentum to the world of social networks: Facebook.
Let’s discover the entire history of Meta, starting from the creation of Facebook up to the plans the company has for the future.
Meta Platforms, the origin with the foundation of Facebook
It is February 4, 2004a date that can be considered historic for the technological universe, when Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin founded and launched TheFacebook on the market, the project that would become known throughout the world as Facebook. Initially, it was a platform designed to allow Harvard students to always stay in touch, but it soon spread to other universities and, subsequently, among web users.
The quickly gained popularity makes it become interesting for investors, who they begin to believe in Zuckerberg’s project and to finance it.
In 2006 TheFacebook changes name, becoming the now well-known Facebook. Beyond the confines of university campuses, the number of members grows more and more. The next year Microsoft decides to buy a small sharewith the aim of inserting advertising banners on the site.
Facebook manages, a few years after its launch, to overcome the boundaries of US university campuses and, subsequently, national ones, attracting the attention of investors
Zuckerberg begins to aim for Europe and in 2008 it opened its first branch in France. He arrived in Europe on 14 May of the same year and within a few months it managed to reach more than a million visits, with a real boom in registrations. It is at this moment that the founder decides to build a strong team, in order to guarantee the platform constant and long-lasting development over time. He hires Sheryl Sandberg, the woman who will contribute to the company’s success in a significant way.
Facebook achieves success, acquires Instagram and goes public
A few years after its launch, Facebook officially becomes a successful reality, economically solid and with a rosy future ahead of it. In April 2012, the company decided to acquire another social network that was rapidly growing at the time: Instagram. The investment is worth one billion dollars.
In the same year Facebook is listed on the stock exchange, officially consecrating its role in the panorama of technology and the web. The company can now compete with other important companies and can count on many investors ready to bet on the company.
2014 is another important year for the company, thanks to others two successful acquisitions and which will bring great profits over the years. The first, which takes place on February 19th, is that of WhatsAppthe instant messaging application known throughout the world and used daily by thousands and thousands of people for both personal and professional communications.
WhatsApp is acquired for 19 billion dollars. A substantial investment, announced directly by Mark Zuckerberg with pride. After a few months, It’s Oculus’ turnwhich produces virtual reality viewers: an action revealed what the entrepreneur’s intentions were for the future.
Despite the ambitious goals achieved, there was no shortage of difficulties for the company. The Cambridge Analytica scandal, which broke out in 2018 and caused a serious loss of confidence among both investors and web users, attracted great media attention.
The company has experienced severe moments of difficulty following scandals that have undermined the confidence of investors and web users. The company managed to overcome them with hard work aimed at re-establishing the relationship with all stakeholders
In detail, the company was accused of using the personal data of millions of Facebook membersfor electoral purposes. Zuckerberg’s admission of mistakes and his apologies were of little use, but it took constant hard work to overcome this important obstacle and allow Facebook to survive.
Facebook changes name, Meta is born
After overcoming great difficulties, the moment of rebirth and looking to the future arrives. In 2021 Mark Zuckerberg decides to change the name of the companysince its projects are no longer limited to the creation, development and management of a social network, but the goal is to offer users a series of different services and, above all, to build the metaverse.
Facebook Inc. officially becomes Meta, a name that derives from Metaverso, a virtual reality shared by users through an Internet connection. For Mark Zuckerberg, the metaverse is a goal to be achieved, an evolution of the web as we know it, a way to have increasingly immersive experiences.
Meta continues to work constantly to allow users to take advantage of cutting-edge platforms with many useful features and innovative products. In 2023 he launches a new social networkstrongly linked to Instagram and structured similarly to Elon Musk’s X, the former Twitter.
20 years after its foundation, Meta is a leading company in the sector, with extremely ambitious projects for the future and with a vision capable of tackling the most difficult challenges, such as those posed by increasingly strict regulations on data processing, transparency and security.
To know more:
- Guide on Facebook, Meta’s social network
- How to use Instagram, the guide to make the best use of it