Interview: Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook's Origins and its Future
Newsweek, Thursday, July 23, 2009 2:48 PM
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks with Newsweek's Dan Lyons about the origins of what would come to be the world's largest social networking site. Over late night pizza, Zuckerberg says that he and his Harvard friends would talk about "how during our lifetimes the way people negotiated their identity and their privacy would be changed. There would be a lot more information, and a lot more transparency," he said. "That was really interesting to us." However, in no way did he think "we would build a business that would shape that in any way. I was just building something that would let me and the people around me stay in touch. But then it just kind of grew and grew."
Indeed, Facebook is now a global phenomenon with more than 250 million registered users around the globe. But what will it look like in five years? According to Zuckerberg, "Facebook will be less about Facebook.com and more about this underlying system and platform that we're building." That platform would be Facebook Connect, which allows users to stay signed into Facebook when they visit participating third-party sites. This enables them to interact with those sites using their Facebook ID. Zuckerberg notes that Facebook Connect now has more than 15,000 participating sites, "and that's just a start," he says. "Within five years we hope to have hundreds of millions of [more] people using Facebook. But it's more about using the system to make other sites more social."
Zuckerberg also acknowledges that the company's core strategy over the last two years has been growth, not revenue. Facebook has gone from 25 million users in 2007 to 250 million today. "The primary value of the site is having other people on the site," he says. "More users means more revenue. As we grow, we will become increasingly profitable."
Read the whole story at Newsweek »
Indeed, Facebook is now a global phenomenon with more than 250 million registered users around the globe. But what will it look like in five years? According to Zuckerberg, "Facebook will be less about Facebook.com and more about this underlying system and platform that we're building." That platform would be Facebook Connect, which allows users to stay signed into Facebook when they visit participating third-party sites. This enables them to interact with those sites using their Facebook ID. Zuckerberg notes that Facebook Connect now has more than 15,000 participating sites, "and that's just a start," he says. "Within five years we hope to have hundreds of millions of [more] people using Facebook. But it's more about using the system to make other sites more social."
Zuckerberg also acknowledges that the company's core strategy over the last two years has been growth, not revenue. Facebook has gone from 25 million users in 2007 to 250 million today. "The primary value of the site is having other people on the site," he says. "More users means more revenue. As we grow, we will become increasingly profitable."
Recent Around the Net In Online Marketing Articles
-
Is Google Just An Amazon Copycat? May 24, 11:59 a.m.
Despite its image as an innovator and a maverick, Google appears to be borrowing liberally from ... -
Hulu's Future Less Uncertain Than Ever May 24, 11:58 a.m.
With Hulu hanging in the balance, the first round of bids were reportedly due this week ... -
Google Faces New Antitrust Probe Over Display Ads May 24, 11:57 a.m.
Once again, U.S. regulators are reportedly pursuing an antitrust probe into whether Google’s ad sales business ... -
Waze Stirs Bidding War Between Google, Facebook May 24, 11:55 a.m.
Threatening a bidding war, Google is said to be eying Waze -- that social driving app ... -
Gadget Use Soaring Among Fliers May 23, 12:23 p.m.
Don’t tell your flight attendant, but frequent fliers are greatly increasing their use of tablets and ... -
Microsoft Employs Siri To Bash Apple May 23, 12:22 p.m.
Say it ain’t so, Siri! Seemingly against her will (if she even has one), Apple’s oracle ... -
Yahoo Buys Gaming Platform Provider PlayerScale May 23, 12:21 p.m.
Continuing its buying binge, Yahoo just scooped up gaming platform startup PlayerScale. “PlayerScale, which was founded ... -
Twitter Streams Network Fare With "Amplify" May 23, 12:20 p.m.
Twitter on Thursday unveiled a new way for TV networks to broadcast real-time video on the ... -
"Social Expressions" Startup Urturn Raises $13.4M May 22, 11:48 a.m.
Urturn -- a so-call “social expressions platform” -- just closed a $13.4 million Series A funding ... -
Apple To Embrace More Social Networks May 22, 11:47 a.m.
Apple reportedly plans to give third-party social networks -- including Flickr and Vimeo -- a bigger ...
Be the first to comment on "Interview: Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook's Origins and its Future"
Leave a Comment