Facebook Graduates To Corporate America
- by Gavin O'Malley @mp_gavin, April 28, 2006
The major change--which shows the startup's desire for growth amid a booming social networking space--was first reported on Wednesday by blogger and self-professed "vertical search veteran," Niall Kennedy. Soon, blogger Justin Smith reported the names of the companies involved on his Inside Facebook blog. Thefacebook did not returned OnineMediaDaily's requests for comment.
BusinessWeek reported late last month that Thefacebook had turned down a $750 million acquisition offer, asking for an incredible $2 billion. In comparison, the most popular networking site today, MySpace, was acquired by News Corp. for $580 last summer.
Rather than cash out, Thefacebook is raising relatively conservative sums so it can grow independently. Just over a week ago, it secured $25 million in a financing round led by Greylock Partners. Also participating in the funding round were Meritech Capital Partners, as well as current Facebook investors Accel Partners and Peter Thiel. The funding is being used to develop user-generated content sharing features, the company said.
Founded in February 2004 by Harvard University undergraduate Mark Zuckerberg, Thefacebook has moved slowly to expand its potential pool of users. Following a $12.2 million investment from Accel, the site will expand its reach from 800 colleges and universities to all 1,400 of the nation's four-year schools last fall. The site now reaches 85 percent of U.S. college students, and is available to high school students as well.
Thefacebook stood out early because of its inherent selectivity, the level of which is determined by each user. In some instances, members only accept messages from others enrolled in their schools. Many users will only make themselves and their profile available to those who can prove they are a friend of someone on their friends list.
