The new face of Facebook
How to win friends and influence people
The social network has turned itself into one of the world’s most influential technology giants,
and wants to become ever more powerful
BriefingApr 9th 2016 edition
Apr 9th 2016
SAN FRANCISCO
A HUGE thumbs-up, Facebook’s “like” symbol, greets visitors at the entrance to the company’s
headquarters in Menlo Park, in the heart of Silicon Valley. The imposing sign is crafted from that
of a former occupant of the attractive corporate campus, Sun Microsystems, a once high-flying
startup that crashed before Facebook moved there in 2011. When employees leave they can see
Sun’s name and logo still inscribed on the back of the sign. This corporate memento serves as a
reminder of how quickly fortunes can change if tech startups take success for granted.
Not long ago sceptics dismissed Facebook itself as a fad. Having watched its early rivals
stumble, many doubted the longevity of another social network and underestimated the ingenuity
of its 31-year-old boss, Mark Zuckerberg. An ill-managed initial public offering in 2012—the
firm’s share price sank on the first day of trading—seemed to confirm those doubts. But those
betting against Mr Zuckerberg were wrong.
Facebook is now the sixth-most-valuable public company in the world, with a market value of
around $325 billion. Facebook claims nearly 1.6 billion monthly users for its social network (see
chart 1). Around 1 billion people, nearly a third of all those on the planet with access to the
internet, log on every day.
Facebook takes up 22% of the internet time Americans spend on mobile devices, compared with
11% on Google search and YouTube combined, according to Nielsen, a research firm. As a
result it has more data about more users than almost any other company in history. It has used
that advantage to become one of the most powerful forces in the advertising business. Its
revenues have more than doubled in two years, to $18 billion in 2015.
,
How to win friends and influence people
The social network has turned itself into one of the world’s most influential technology giants,
and wants to become ever more powerful
BriefingApr 9th 2016 edition
Apr 9th 2016
SAN FRANCISCO
A HUGE thumbs-up, Facebook’s “like” symbol, greets visitors at the entrance to the company’s
headquarters in Menlo Park, in the heart of Silicon Valley. The imposing sign is crafted from that
of a former occupant of the attractive corporate campus, Sun Microsystems, a once high-flying
startup that crashed before Facebook moved there in 2011. When employees leave they can see
Sun’s name and logo still inscribed on the back of the sign. This corporate memento serves as a
reminder of how quickly fortunes can change if tech startups take success for granted.
Not long ago sceptics dismissed Facebook itself as a fad. Having watched its early rivals
stumble, many doubted the longevity of another social network and underestimated the ingenuity
of its 31-year-old boss, Mark Zuckerberg. An ill-managed initial public offering in 2012—the
firm’s share price sank on the first day of trading—seemed to confirm those doubts. But those
betting against Mr Zuckerberg were wrong.
Facebook is now the sixth-most-valuable public company in the world, with a market value of
around $325 billion. Facebook claims nearly 1.6 billion monthly users for its social network (see
chart 1). Around 1 billion people, nearly a third of all those on the planet with access to the
internet, log on every day.
Facebook takes up 22% of the internet time Americans spend on mobile devices, compared with
11% on Google search and YouTube combined, according to Nielsen, a research firm. As a
result it has more data about more users than almost any other company in history. It has used
that advantage to become one of the most powerful forces in the advertising business. Its
revenues have more than doubled in two years, to $18 billion in 2015.
,
