What Was Facebook Before Facebook?

Before Facebook became the social media giant we know today, it had humble beginnings and it wasn’t even called “Facebook” at first. The platform started as a much smaller project, with a different name and a narrower focus, mainly targeting college students.

The Early Days: “Facemash”

In October 2003, Mark Zuckerberg, then a sophomore at Harvard University, launched a website called Facemash. Facemash was a controversial platform where Harvard students could compare two student photos side-by-side and vote on who was more attractive. Zuckerberg hacked into the university’s directories to obtain the photos without permission.

Facemash quickly gained attention across campus and just as quickly faced backlash. It was shut down by Harvard’s administration within days due to privacy concerns and ethical issues. However, Facemash revealed something important: people were eager to engage with digital social networks.

Birth of “TheFacebook”

Building on the idea of bringing people together online, Zuckerberg, with the help of his roommates Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, and Eduardo Saverin, launched a new platform on February 4, 2004. They called it “TheFacebook”, taking inspiration from the printed directories (“face books”) that universities distributed to help students get to know one another.

Initially, TheFacebook was limited only to Harvard students. Users had to sign up with a Harvard email address, and the platform allowed them to create profiles, upload photos, and connect with others through “friend” requests. The concept quickly took off, and within a month, over half of Harvard’s undergraduates had signed up.

Expansion and the Drop of “The”

Seeing the rapid growth potential, TheFacebook expanded to other Ivy League schools like Yale and Stanford, then to universities across the United States and Canada. In 2005, the company dropped the “The” from its name, becoming simply Facebook, after purchasing the domain facebook.com for $200,000.

Around this time, Facebook began to introduce features that we now take for granted, such as the “wall” where friends could post messages. It moved beyond just students in 2006, allowing anyone over 13 years old with an email address to join.

A New Era of Social Networking

From its roots in Facemash’s comparison games to TheFacebook’s exclusive college network, Facebook transformed into a platform for global connection. It played a major role in shaping how people interact online changing not just social media, but the entire internet landscape.

Today, Facebook is a massive part of Meta Platforms, Inc., a technology conglomerate focusing on social media, virtual reality, and AI technologies. But it all began with a small idea aimed at connecting students at Harvard.