REPORT: Facebook celebrates tenth anniversary

Initially dubbed ‘thefacebook’, the social networking website went live from programming genius Mark Zuckerberg’s halls of residence at Harvard University ten years ago.

By the end of the year, Facebook, as it soon became known, had expanded far beyond its college limits, turning into one of the most used websites in the world.

Chief executive Mr Zuckerberg said: ‘It’s been amazing to see how people have used Facebook to build a real community and help each other in so many ways.’

Facebook now has 1.23 billion users, and soaring profits that reached $1.5 billion (1.1 billion euros) for 2013.Despite a shaky 2012 initial public offering of shares, they are now trading at $60 dollars (44 euros). That puts the estimated net worth of 29-year-old Zuckerberg around $30 billion (22 billion euros).

The company has also had to address legal issues: last year Facebook paid $20 million (14.8 million euros) in a class action lawsuit relating to users’ images being used in advertising content.

Predictions have been made about its demise, including a recent study which said it would lose all its users by 2017.

In this regard, analysts at Princeton University expect a bumpy ride for the social network site over the upcoming decade, saying its user base will desert it as it falls out of fashion.

Using the same research methods as the university Facebook responded to the said report by saying that “Princeton may be in danger of disappearing entirely.”


To watch Maytham Kassir's report, please click on the VIDEO above