Being a website developer, I’ve come to understand how
dynamic huge conglomerate sites such as Facebook, Google, and YouTube can be.
Since 2004, Facebook has received a significant amount of updates to its site,
both on the front end(externally) and the back end(internally). In it’s
beginning stages, Facebook started as an invite-only site exclusively for
college students who were enrolled in Ivy League schools. Interestingly, I
believe this is one of the reasons it experienced exponential growth in users within
the site.
Exclusivity & Ability to Influence the Influencers
Facebook used the idea of limited access to create a demand
for their product, well Mark Zuckerberg did. Since the site was just coming out
this was a critical reason as to why they were so successful. Everyone knows
the Ivy League schools and they can serve as influencers across the nation and
even the world. Having the site only
eligible to those particular students created a domino effect which influenced
the majority of the generation Y who are the innovators of this
technological revolution. Even though it may have not been on purpose, I think
it was genius. This was one of the reasons why Facebook was successful early
on. The exclusivity and the ability to influence the influencers was the key to
early success.
Ability to Gain Access to Capital
When starting any
company, there is one thing that is essential for activating growth: Capital or
for lack of better terms, MONEY! Now, the money that you start with may not
be yours but you have to have some money, whether its yours or someone elses. A
couple years after Facebook began, Mark Zuckerberg and his partner at the time,
Eduardo Saverin met a guy named Sean Parker. Sean Parker was known for creating
a music streaming website called Napster, which was later shut down because of
the copyright issues he had with major music labels. Zuckerberg and Saverin
partnered with Parker and brung him on board to Facebook and helped them by
connecting with investors and venture capitalists which would be the reason why
they grew so huge, so quickly. One of Facebook’s most influential investors was
a man by the name of Peter Thiel. Facebook
gained an immense amount of leverage and flexibility through receiving
resources from some of the most richest and influential people in technology.
Having A Mobile Mindset When Developing New Products
And finally, I believe that the reason why Facebook is
continuing to grow fast is because they realize the potential that mobile
devices have. Facebook developers are
now thinking with a “mobile-first” attitude when developing new products
and features so that they can maintain and improve market share in the mobile
arena. While entering the mobile landscape, Facebook initially experienced a
number of issues with making the mobile interface function smoothly and to be
as responsive as possible. Even though this was a challenge, they’ve improved
the mobile application on all mobile operating systems such as Android, iOS,
Windows Phone, etc.
I’ve compiled a few photos for your viewing pleasures so
that you can better understand the evolution of the most popular social site in
the world: Facebook.
2004
2006
2009
2010
2011
2012
Great article, Ryan. I like how you dissected Facebook's strategy and applied it to everyday life. Your article also touched on how Facebook used business principles that are currently taught here at Morehouse (e.g. the four functions of management) and how they implemented and executed them. Lastly, I also liked how you touched on how Facebook was innovative and set the paradigm for tech companies to have a mobile mindset. Now, everybody has an online platform and a mobile platform.
ReplyDeleteDaniel, great comment and I think that we can improve the course experience to make it based around more business situations instead of learning it in theory.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post Ryan, it is interesting to recall how such a major social media site has grown
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post and I like how you incorporated business principles to asses Facebook’s success as Daniel stated above. Thanks to his success online social networking sites are some of the most popular online destinations right now. I know I am always checking mine.
ReplyDeleteRyan, the thing in your post that really caught my attention is when you acknowledged that Facebook was successful so fast only because of the money or capital they were able to obtain. This is a powerful enzym to the business' success that most companies or people with great ideas dont receive.
ReplyDeleteFacebook has done an amazing job of changing marketing strategies throughout the years. Facebook began by being exclusive to Ivy League schools and now several hundred million members. I remember when I was in high school and my parents knew nothing about Facebook and now my mother uses Facebook more than I do. Nice Post.
ReplyDeleteThis post is so relevant to today's society, because the entire nation is moving towards a more technological age where social networks are as convenient as any other tool. It was interesting how Ryan broke down the steps that Facebook took to become a major success. The pictures that showed progression in the website really captured the essence of what the entire post was about.
ReplyDeleteThis post is very informative concerning where technology is now and where it will be in the future regarding social network like Facebook.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very informative post and it was interesting to see how Facebook has evolved over the years. I definitely agree that Facebook's constant innovation, especially in regards to mobile phones, has contributed greatly to its success. The exclusiveness in the earlier stages of Facebook also attracted many people to want to join the site.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting as I still don't see the value of facebook. Although Facebook is still worth millions its stock price has not traded near the IPO price since it debuted on the NASDAQ. However, everyone still believes that the world is moving to a technologically advanced society and therefore investors are throwing their money behind tech companies.
ReplyDeleteGreat article, I am also interested to see how facebook's acquisition of Instagram will affect their growth in the future.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Article Ryan. I really liked to see the progress and growth of this company. Looking forward to see what they have in store for the future.
ReplyDelete