Even by the time-warped standards of the dot com economy, Facebook's rise from a scrappy startup to a 100-billion-dollar colossus has occurred at a dizzying pace.
Key moments in the company's development:
- February 2004: Mark Zuckerberg founds Facebook from his dormitary room at Harvard University with Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin.
- March 2004: Expands from Harvard to elite schools Stanford, Columbia and Yale.
- June 2004: Moves to Silicon Valley.
- September 2004: Introduction of the Facebook Wall gives people a place to post messages to their friends.
- December 2004: Reaches its 1 millionth user.
- May 2005: Opens to 800 college networks.
- September 2005: Opens to high schools.
- October 2005: Expands to international schools - launches Facebook photos.
- December 2005: Reaches 5.6 million users.
- April 2006: Facebook for mobile is launched.
- September 2006: Launches News Feed and opens network to anyone.
- December 2006: Reaches 12 million users.
- May 2007: Facebook Platform launch inspires the development of apps.
- November 2007: Prompts privacy concerns with launch of Beacon advertising system.
- December 2007: Reaches 58 million users.
- February/March 2008: Launches in Spanish, French and German.
- July 2008: Redesigns website.
- December 2008: Facebook Connect spreads users' identities across the web. Reaches 145 million users.
- February 2009: Introduces the Like button
- September 2009: Shuts down Beacon as part of a class action settlement.
- December 2009: Reaches 360 million users.
- October 2010: Introduces new groups settings enabling people to share with distinct groups of friends.
- December 2010: Reaches 608 million users; new Profile launched.
- April 2011: US President Barack Obama visits Facebook headquarters.
- December 2011: Facebook relocates to new headquarters. Reaches 845 million users.
- February 2012: Files regulatory papers for public share launch.
- May 18, 2012: Facebook to go public on the NASDAQ high technology stock exchange with an initial public offering that values the company at more than 100 billion dollars.
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