Facebook: The social network that connects people around the world

Launched in February 2004, Facebook has quickly become the social network par excellence. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow Harvard students, it connects users from all over the world thanks to its many features such as messaging, groups, pages and even events. In this article, we will present to you the various aspects of this digital giant.

Its history and evolution

Initially, Facebook was a simple website aimed at young people, whose main objective was to facilitate exchanges between students. As it grew, the service gradually opened up to the general public before becoming truly global with more than 2 billion active users every month.

The main acquisitions

To remain competitive with the growing popularity of other social networks, Facebook has made several significant acquisitions over the years:

• Instagram on 2012
• WhatsApp in 2014
• Oculus VR in 2014

These acquisitions allowed Facebook to diversify its range of services and thus extend its influence on the digital market.

Interesting features for users

With a plethora of features, Facebook offers Internet users the opportunity to connect, share and discover what is around them. Among these, we can cite:

Profile creation

Each user has the possibility of having a personal page where they can publish content (texts, photos, videos, etc.), interact with friends, integrate interests, indicate their professional situation or even their preferences in matters music, cinema, etc.

The news feed

It is the central point of each visit to Facebook: the news feed brings together all the publications coming from contacts, pages, groups, events followed by a user. It is personalized according to the preferences and interactions of each person.

Instant messaging

Messenger, the instant messaging application, allows users to communicate quickly and efficiently, both in private messages and in groups. It also has features such as audio and video calls, reactions and the ability to send files and documents.

Benefits for professionals

Of course, Facebook is not just for individuals. Many companies also see great potential to promote their business, engage their customers and increase their turnover thanks to two main levers:

Professional pages

Facebook allows the creation of professional pages dedicated to any type of organization (business, commerce, association, etc.). These pages give professionals a digital presence they have control over and allow them to stay in touch with customers and prospects who “like” the page.

Targeted advertising

One of Facebook's main strengths is its ability to collect data about its users. This information is used by advertisers to enable them to distribute targeted advertisements based on the interests, demographics and online behavior of Internet users, thus maximizing the impact of their marketing campaigns.

Privacy and data security concerns

Facebook is not without some controversy due to personal data management of its users. Several scandals have erupted in recent years, notably that surrounding Cambridge Analytica: a British company having illegally exploited the information of tens of millions of users for political purposes.

Measures taken by Facebook

Faced with these controversies, Facebook has taken several measures to further protect the confidentiality of its members' data:

• Reviewing permissions granted to third-party apps
• Implementation of a tool to verify compliance with the rules by developers
• Enabling end-to-end encryption for conversations on Messenger
• Tightening controls and requirements for political advertisers

Facebook in numbers

To better understand the scale of the Facebook phenomenon, here are some striking statistics:

• More than 2 billion monthly active users worldwide
• 1,6 billion users log into Facebook daily
• 35 million businesses have a professional page
• Average revenue per user is around $7
• On average, each user spends 58 minutes per day on Facebook

In short, Facebook has established itself as a must-have in the global digital landscape with its immense network of users and its countless features. However, it also faces issues related to privacy and data security. In this regard, the company has taken steps to strengthen the confidence of its members and continue its expansion.